Leica IIIc K grey

W.W. II camera production was not easy for Leica. One of the wartime shortages was chromium. As a result some IIIc were painted gray to conserve the precious stuff long enough to get cameras finished while those pesky American and British bombers did their best to bomb the Leica factory. Some of the gray cameras had special ball bearing shutter bearings for low temperature use. Marked "K" on the top plate and on the shutter curtain, these special cameras were intended primarily for the German Air Force or Luftwaffe. This particular IIIc K camera survives in much better than average condition. Like most of the other rare Leica cameras, beware of cameras being in like new condition. While a large K was most likely on the original shutter, this camera has replacement shutter curtains without the K. The vulcanite body covering is grey to match the top and bottom plates. Grey IIIc variations include the IIIc with no marking, IIIc K and the IIIc K Luftwaffen.