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Just before World War II, a Coast Guard PBY-5, V189, was specially outfitted at Air Station San Diego with a nine-lens-camera for mapping coastal regions around the country. While the arrangement worked well in the lower 48, after two mapping trips to Alaska the camera was transferred to a newer PBY-5A (PBY BuNo 08055) that had landing gear, making it more versatile in the extreme environment of Alaska. | ||||||
A list of the crew of ill-fated Coast Guard PBY-5A. LCDR George O. Olson (CG Aviator #53)
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The nine-lens camera used for the mapping survey. This camera could photograph 313 square miles of terrain with one shot of the shutter at 21,780 feet.
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Remains of Coast Guard PBY BuNo 08055 on Mount Moffett, Adak, Alaska. | ||||||
At left is an enlargement of a section of the photo above. To the left of the covered bodies appears to be the 9-lens camera. | ||||||
After the crash the nine-lens camera was recovered and reinstalled into a Coast Guard B-17 |
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Read the entire story about this fatal crash and the story of two PBYs and the 9-lens camera in our upcoming book. | ||||||
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