# Boston Camera

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The **Boston Camera**, also known as **Pie Face** and officially classified as the **K-42 Camera Model**,[1] was a prototype [airborne photo reconnaissance](/source/Reconnaissance#Airborne_photo_reconnaissance) camera. It was manufactured for the [United States Air Force](/source/United_States_Air_Force) by [Boston University](/source/Boston_University) in 1951[2] and was tested on the [Convair B-36](/source/Convair_B-36) and the [C-97 Stratofreighter](/source/C-97_Stratofreighter). The model carried on the first [ERB-36D (44-92088)](/source/Convair_B-36_variants),[3] had a 6,096-millimetre (240.0-inch) [focal length](/source/Focal_length), which was achieved using a series of [lenses](/source/Lens_(optics)) and mirrors. The lens had an [f/8 stop](/source/F-number) and used a 1/400 second [shutter speed](/source/Shutter_speed). It could photograph a golf ball from an altitude of 45,000 feet (14,000 m). The camera used 18 by 36-inch (46 by 91-centimetre) [negatives](/source/Negative_(photography)). The camera was installed aboard Boeing C-97A 49-2592 installation and serial number citation needed[citation needed](not an "RC-97" or "EC-97" as often widely quoted) which was used operationally by the 7405th Support Squadron based at [Wiesbaden](/source/Wiesbaden), West Germany, between 1952 and 1962. It was given to the [Air Force Museum](/source/National_Museum_of_the_United_States_Air_Force) in 1964, along with a contact print of a golf ball on a course.

In the words of CIA historian [Dino Brugioni](/source/Dino_Brugioni):

The lens was designed in 1947 by Dr. [James Baker](/source/James_Gilbert_Baker) for installation in a camera designed by the [Boston University Optical Research Laboratory](/source/Boston_University). The camera weighed about three tons, and eight hundred pounds of lead shot were required to balance it. Supposedly, it was first installed and test-flown in an [RB-36](/source/RB-36), then installed as a left-looking oblique camera in an [RC-97](/source/RC-97). The first photo which [Arthur Lundahl](/source/Arthur_C._Lundahl) and I observed from this project was of New York City. The aircraft was seventy-two miles away, and yet we could see people in [Central Park](/source/Central_Park).[1]

The Boston Camera was plagued with problems that caused it to vibrate and produce smearing on the newspaper-sized negative, so that photo interpreters would see several smeared frames along with several clear ones.[4] It is currently displayed at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

From the display placard:

This camera, manufactured for the US Air Force by Boston University in 1951, is the largest aerial camera ever built. It was installed in an RB-36D in 1954 and tested for about a year. Later it was used in a C-97 aircraft flying along the air corridor through communist East Germany to Berlin, but a 10,000 ft. (3,000 m) altitude restriction imposed by the communists made the camera less useful than at a higher altitude. It was also used on reconnaissance missions along the borders of Eastern European nations. The camera made an 18 x 36 inch negative and was so powerful a photo interpreter could detect a golf ball from an altitude of 45,000 feet (14,000 m). Dr. [James Baker](/source/James_Gilbert_Baker) of Harvard University designed the camera. Technical Notes: Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec

Weight: 6,500 lbs (3 [metric ton](/source/Tonne)) (camera and aircraft mount)

## References

1. Brugioni, Dino A (2010). *Eyes in the Sky. Eisenhower, the CIA and Cold War Aerial Espionage*. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-612-51014-9.

1. ["B-36 Reconnaissance Aircraft and Camera"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070702040333/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1874). *Fact Sheets*. National Museum of the Air Force. Archived from [the original](http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1874) on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2008-03-04.

1. Baugher, Joseph F. ["1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090107041313/http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1944_6.html). *Encyclopedia of American Aircraft*. Joseph F. Baugher. Archived from [the original](http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1944_6.html) on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2008-03-03.

1. Chiba, Milan A. *"Make It as Big as You Can"*, Hycon Company, cleared for open publication May 12, 1970, Directorate of Security, Department of Defense

- Jenkins, Dennis R (1999). *Warbird Tech, Convair B-36 Peacemaker*. North Branch, MN: Specialty Press. ISBN 1-58007-019-1.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Boston Camera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Camera) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Camera?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.