FINAL REPORT NO. 184 ITEM NO. 9 GERMAN CAMERA INDUSTRY “This report is issued with the warning that, if the subject matter should be protected by British Patents or Patent applications, this publication cannot be held to give any protection against action, for infringement."* BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OBJECTIVES SUB-COMMITTER LONDON — HM, STATIONERY OFFICEGERMAN CAMERA INDUSTHY. REPORTED BY Team Leader - L,. Wyborn. MeAsPe Deputy - JE. Odlee MAP. H.R.Husband. NoA.Pe J. Danek. MsAsPe Puli. Harris. UeAP. B.I.0.3. TRIP HO. 913 BIOS TARGET NOS: 09/525, 9/121, 09/443, 09/364, 09/547, 9/14, 9/124 30. - BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OBJECTIVES SUB-COMMITTEE 32 Bryanston Square, London, W.l.SECTION suction SECTION 2 3 4 SECTION 5 SECTION 6 SECTION 7 SECTION 8 SECTION 9 SECPION 10 SECTION 11 TABLE OF _CONPENTS arposa of investigation Details of Journey List of Firms visited Introduction. Report on Pleubel Report on Kodak Negel A.G. Report Geuthior Report on Deckel Report on Lorch Report on #. Leitz Repert on Franks & Heidecke Report on Voigtlander Appendices ConclusionsSECTION 2 PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION iol. The purpose of this investigaticn was to exemine the generel structure and manufacturing methods of the Gex Camere Industry- It was realised thet many important firms were situated in the Russian sector, and that it would not be possible to visit these at the time the Team would be in Germany > Nevertheless it was hoped that the firms which sould be visited would provide a representative crosa section of the methods employed and nothing that was subse quently discovered gives reason to suppose that the methods in other factories are so different as to invalidate t general conclusiona. DETAILS OF JOURNEY Qel. The Team left England on August Sth, returning on August 26th and the firma visited were es follows: Eirm Locality Datea Plaubel Frankfurt August Sth end 16%b Nagel AcG. Stuttgart August i1th, 22th enc i Ay Gauthier Celmbach August 15th end i4th Lorch Brankfurt August 17tb E. Leitz Wetzlar Augu 48th and 20th Franke & Heidecke Brunawick August d, 23rd and Voigtlander Brunswick August 23rd, 24th nO and the detailed » 2 to 9 inclusive. 5.1. %It will be noted that under Sect report on Deckel (the manufacturer of of Munich. This Firm was visited as a opportunity by the Leader of the present earlier trip to Germany, but it has been in report as being more appropriates ENERODUCTION 4el1. In introducing these reports 1% sn that the method of investigation emploved the same at all the factories visited whole discussed, with a Director of the firm structure of the business and obtained a bro the orgenisation and manufacturing technige the team split into smaller units to obtain more de tad knowledge of the various departmentd e.g» mechanical,4e1- Cont. optical, inspection etc. Only by this means was at le to cover the ground in the time aveilables icers were dom working singly however end they were thus ebie, in most cases, to cross-check the information obtained and tne impressions gained. In many instances andarad questions were unsuitable, because records were dequ i been destroyed, and as e result, figures coneerning a particular aspect at one factory were nov necessarily obtainable at another. art the Germa ho were interrogated co-operative, but it ist be emphasized that facts or figures quoted can only be taken at values A check was frequentiy possible however ecords or by information geined from another firm, but not of course in every case- sie Waoere balance shests, oF finencial statements, were obtained, these were not in a form easily comprehensible to the British reader and they have therefore been recast, after translation, into a more accustomed form. Tei. In considering the wage rates and salaries: paid, which at firet sight appear low as compared with those in this country, it shovld be borne in mind that 1938 figures were generally obtained and that it is important to consider these vis-a-vis the 1938 cost of living in Germany for the working end middle clesses, and not only vis-a-vie the rate of exchanges oi. After consideration with an guthority in this country of varicus basic cost of Living £ at ested that the ins 1 value of the R-}ION 5. 3RCTION 5. Target Noe 09/364 REPORT ON VISIT TO;- Friedrich Deckel, Preoision Engineers, 7-13, Wsexirchner — Strasse, Munica, 25. ‘ARGET NO. Opportunity ‘YPE OF TARGET Manufacturers of a) the 'Compur' photogrephic shutter b) accurate machine tools and o) fuel injection pumps and fuses. ‘ATE OF INVESTIGATION July llth, 1945. ERSONS INTERVIEWED Herr Ranft, KMenagar of Shutter Dept. Herr Zwick, Chief Engineer Herr Meerz, Commerciel Manager. 5. Size of factory. The factory, including offices, coupies a floor area of 500,000 sq.ft. and anployed in eace time about 1,400 persons. +5. Articles manufactured. The factory is split up into Aree main ypertments for (a) the manufacture of the 'Compur' shutter employing 600 persons (rising on occasions to 1000): (Since 1941 no compur shutters have been manu- factured, the capacity thus released being used for the manufacture of fuses). (b) the manufacture of precision machine tools employing 300 persons and (0) the manufacture of fuei injection pumps and fuses employing about 500 persons. Be Froseit gondstion of buildings. Bomb damage has mplete. estroyed mich of the office sccommodation, all 1e buildings used for the manufacture of fuel injection mps, abd some of the machine shops, The remeining 60% - % is undamaged, except superficially.4.5. Present condition of plant. That used for the menu- facture of fuel injection pumps is completely destroyed, and that used for the manufacture of machine tools sbout 30% destroyed. The plant necessary for the manufacture of the ‘Compur' shutter will be dealt with below. 5.5. Manufacture of Compur Shutter. Deckel attributes the success a accuracy of the Compur shutter primarily to ite design, and secondly to the extreme accuracy in tooling and to the special methods of manufacture. The finel assembly is unskilled and femele lebour can be trained to do this in a period of 3/6 weeks depending on the aptitude of the person. No skilled labour other then supervisory is involved once tooling up is complete. 6.5. The drawings of the shutter were intact but stored in @ house some distence outside liunich. ‘The whole of the jigs, tools, gauges and special purpose machines were steted to have been dispersed to Allgeu {sbout 300 Kilo~ metres south west of Munich) and to be then in possession of the French authorities. 7.5. Mr. Reuft stated that there were no completed shutters et Munich and none could be made unless the dispersed stock of piece parts, or the necessary jigs and tools, sent to Allgeu were returned. If re-tooling were ultimately found necessary, he estimated that, given reasonable facilities, this could be done in 12 months with 40/50 skilled men. These he had. 6.5. It was ascertained that the pre-war monthly output of Compur shutters varied between 30,000 and 50,000 and with this latter output a totel lebour and administrative force of 1000 was employed, 200 of these being female assemblers. The totel floor area was 60,000 sq.ft. Sales were chiefly made direct to canera mekers and Mr. Meerz estimated that between 50% and 60% were ultimately exported (i.e. approximately 20,000 per month exported). 9.5. Rigid inspection was spplied to piece parta imnediately after manufacture and functional, chronometric, co-axislity, and dimensional inspection was applied 100% on the finished shutter.SECTION 7 FIRM: Ernst Leitz. ADDRESS: Wetzlar DATE: 16th and 20th august 1945, PERSONS INTERVIEWED: Herr Srnst Leitz (dar.) - Men: Director Herr Ludwig Leitz - Technical Director Herr Wiedling - Sales Manager GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FIRM AND PpRobucTS: 1.7, This large, old established ana very sound firm was founded nearly a century ago and passed into family control in 1865, It enjoys an international reputation for the high quality of its products, which were originally microscopes epidiascopes, binoculars and sundry optical . instruments. It commenced the manufacture of the Leica camera, and accessories, some twenty years ago and for the year 1938 the output of these totalled 40,000. 2.7, The business has been built up by virtue of the very high quality maintained, The range of products manufactured has been kept within limits which permit each to be made at the highest pitch of development and manufacturing experience, 3.7, When visited the firm were working to about 10. of capacity on microscopes, binocular and instrument repairs, and Leica cameras (150 per week) for the American authorities, SILUANCIAL DETAILS: 4.7. A balance sheet see appendix (2-10., indicates the very strong position of this Company. (he turnover, for their main products for tne years 1927 - 1944 (where the information was available) is shown at appendix s.iu, 5.7. Overheads for i938 were calculated as being cO0, oa direct labour (i, wes x 4a), 6.7. It was stated that there had been no bunk or Government loans and the and to re-invest their prSALES: 7.7. Germany was Leitz! biggest customer for cameras, 5O% to 55% of the output being absorbed by the home market, the remeining 45: to 50% being exported. The dealers' discount on photographic apparatus, binoculars and projectors was 33/$% and up to 40% was allowed on big yearly turnover, To the larger foreign representatives who aid their own advertising export discount amounted to 60% (dealers' discount for microscopes being 15% to i)» 8.7. All German advertising was done from the factory and was paid for by Leitz. Under the heading adver- tising; was included the cost of lectures and lecturers doing training end propaganda work, part costs of books dealing with the Leica camera; for example, the book of the Leica published by Morgan & Lester in America and the expense of demonstrators travelling to various countries. In addition to this two or three scientific men were sent out on a world tour every five or six years, It was the duty of these men to contact leading scientific people with a view to explaining and demon- strating the uses of the Leica camera in the scientific field. A lavish supply of showcards, enlargements from Leica negatives and of local interest, was an additional feature, and agencies were maintained in Berlin, Munich and the larger cities abroad. Ernst Leitz was most optimistic about the future for his exports stating that the six-years duration of this war would mean a pro~ portionelly greater demand than was found after’ the shorter 1914-1918 war. GEN DESGRIPTION 0; STORY. 3 9.7, The Leitz factory is a lerge modern factory built from 1928 onwards and employing 3,400 workers and 400 staff, Of the workers 25; were highly skilled, 50% skilled or semi~skilled, the remainder unskilled. The factory is equipped with a big variety of modern machine tools including Hille capstan and chasing lathes, Wenderer milling machines, Skoda automatics, Lindner thread grinders, Deckel horizontal milling machines and engraving machines, and Hauser jig borers. In the auto section there were four very large hydraulically driven automatic lathes by Monforts of Minchen Gladbach. There were several Steinel multi-spindle drilling machines, Lore?. lathes and ikron gear hobbers. The optical section was fully mechanised,10.7. Under the drection of Professor Riede there is a battery of twelve high vacuum plants used for blooming optics and rhodiumising mirrors etc. In general the German high vacuum plant is very similar to that in use in this country, being in size and robustness somewhere between the British and the American made equipment. Oil diffusion pumps used on all these machines were by Arthur Pfeiffer of Wetzlar. OPpTiIcaL: Rew Material 11.7. Leitz appear to rely (to a greater extent than is normal in the U.K.) on the use of slab glass as opposed to mouldings. They have-no moulding plant, and purchase such mouldings as they use (¢.g- binocular prisms) from Schott. It was stated that the majority of their lenses are made by initially "edging" slab glass - this to ensure more precise and constant diameter (than can be obtained from mouldings) necessary to give a perfect fit into the roughing and other chucks used in the sub- sequent operations. These circular blanks are obtained by (a) slitting and surface grinding a glass plate to the required thickness, 3) cutting into squares, sticking the squares (with sealing wax) face to face to form a "stick" about four or five times as long as the side of the square, (4) cementing on metal ends in order that the stick can be held between centres and driven, (e) rough automatic cylindrical grinding, using a diamond wheel. (Time for this operation for a stick about five inches long is six minutes, one operator looking after several machines), (£) final auto cylindrical grinding using carborundum facing wheel, (Time for this operation is four minutes, one operator looking after several machines) (g) taking the blanks apart and cleaning. 12.7. After Leitz hed confirmed thet the above method was used extensively with optical (as opposed to white plate and similar) glass, it was suggested that the wastage of glass must be very considerable, Leitz replied that there had never been any shortage oflest. Cor optical glass, even during the Wer, and that the-cost of the wasted materiel was negligible when weighed against the sdditionsl certainty of the blanks, Roughing ing of prism binocular ana Ehotographic iy mechanised, Prism mouldings are first » thus:- oor eld by surfaces "B" while surfaces "A" are tally geng-milled parallel and to width by mid milling tools, Time of operation - six minutes - operator looking after several machines. The mould- thea teken apart and clamped singly by the now = "/.", for the milling of the other three15.7. Cont. These three faces are milled simultaneously vy a three-spindle diamond milling machine, the spindles being horizontal, and the prism being fed vertically past the cutting faces, thus; PLAN VIEW DIAMOND “Tools, DIAMOND Tool PRism . Peism Vice PRigM 1S MOlED FROM) To Y Time of operation - 6 minutes - one operator looking after several machines,13.7. Cont. Diamond milling machines are used also for the rounding and the slotting of the hypotenuse but these do not present novel features, Lens roughing is by diamond tools on the “in- clined ring" principle (similar to the British Adcock and Shipley machines) except that the spindles are horizontal on the Leitz machines. All the roughing and milling machines are Leitz design. Pitching and Blocking 14.7. Conventional methods are employed (pitch for lenses, plaster for prisms) and there was nothing novel or of special interest in these sections, Polished surfaces are protected with glossy white paint between the operations, Smoothing and Polishing 15.7. This follows normal practice and poker arm machines are used for medium and large blocks, Small blocks are, however, worked on @ 12 spindle machine of Leitz design and manufacture, which is very compact and particulerly suited to easy handling by one operator. (The height of the machine permits the operator to work sittimg dom), ‘The 10 work-head spindles, each ro- tating about a vertical axis, are fixed in one horizontal row on a cradle supported eat each end. The cradle oscillates to and from the operator, over the required stroke, The axis of oscillation of the crade (A A) passed through the centre of curvature of the lens block, The machine is horizontal, and @ main drive, connected to the oscillating movement, passes along the bottom of the cradle, being connected by clutches to each of the work heads which can thus be stopped individually from rotating (but not from oscillating) for examination. The polisher is held by a vertical rod, mounted in an eccentric to give lateral adjustment. The rod, when lifted for removal of the polisher, is held automaticaliy by @ catch to prevent it from slipping down on to the lenses.15.7. Cont. The following diagram indicates the principles involved, only the end two spindles have been sketched in full. 16.7. All lenses having a finished diameter of S mm, or over are edged automatically on machines having inter- changeable work head spindles. The machines are of Leitz own design and the machines can be set to edge to 1/100 mm, of the desired size. Diamond wheels are employed and the interchangeable spindles are made specially for Leitz by Jung, of Berlin, Leitz stating that they did not consider themselves capable of making these spindles with sufficient precision. The edging time for a negative lens about one inch diameter was stated to be two minutes - for larger lenses more. One operator looked after more than one machine, the number depending on the time cycles governed by the size of the lens. Microscope Lenses 16.7 For this work as rar as could be judged, time- honoured methods are still employed, and little appears to have been done (probably because the necessary17.7. Cont, skilled labour is available) to break down any of the processes into simple operations requiring les.s lengthy training. The percéntage of really skilled craftsmen with twenty or 30 years' experience in this sé ction is very high. All Leitz microscope lenses were wade for t duping the War py W, and H, Siebert, whom Leitz control, although steps are being taken to move some 3f this work back to the Leitz factory at an early date, Time Gid not permit a visit to the Siebert Works. 18.7%, The mounting, centring and adjusting of the objectives, however, was (and still ig carrie¢i out in the Leitz factory. It was ascertained that «11 lenses are edged by hand (at Siebert) using emery arid a brass strip in the old-fashioned way. The lenses are edged to a ring gauge or micrometer, and passed on to,the liens mounter who has previously been provide 4 with the metal cells, rough turned. He is responsible for the final turning of the cells, each to hougse its individual lens, and the cementing and centearing of each component. 19.7, The lenses, which have been polished. to very close tolerances for thickness, are then set up t.o their heoretical separations and sent to the tee:ting depart-— ment. It was stated that only a diatom terst (using, of course, & diatom appropriate to the object:ive) is employed and the objective is passed or re ‘jected on the quality of the image given. If rejected :it is the responsibility of the adjusting department to find out whsre the fault lies and to correct it. Leitz were closely questioned as to whether the testing department gave any indication to the adjusting or assiembly department as to where eny fault might lie but it was definitely stated that they did not. The adjustment of the lens would, therefore, aprear to be a purely mechanical. operation calling for very close; tolerances and very skilled craftsmen, as the quality of the objective does not appear to be checked op tically during its adjustment or prior to its goin; z for final inspection, MANUFACTURING PROCESSES; ica Camere 20.7, Manufacturing processes on the Leic a follow the same general pattern as those generally em ployed in the German industry, namely the maximum possib le use is20.7, Cont. made of standard machine tools and where these are in- adequate there is no hesitation in designing and making special purpose tools. 21.7. The body of the Leica, now die-cast as opposed to the earlier method of forming from extruded tube, is made for them by Mahle of Stuttgart. After machining, the casting is anodized and then dyed black by dipping. it is maintained that this is not simply a surface treat- ment but that the colour gets in between the crystals of the metal. . As might be expected the press shop of the Leitz factory is relatively small but those parts which are pressed, for instance the top cover of the Leica, are very carefully tooled and very carefully finished. The whole cover is brought to a high state of Finish by hand and machine polishing with the finest grades of emery paper, great care being taken to see that the polishing strokes are all in the seme direction and where machine polishing is used special jigs are made to protect all but the particular area being worked. The complicated shape of this cover makes it impossible to machine polish completely and hand work is necessary to get into the corners, In the machine polishing nothing is left to chance or the operator's possible lack of judgement and the work is located and masked by swinging supports which are presented to the wheel at exactly the right orientation, Then follows a very light sandblasting and acid etch followed by a very rigorous degreasing operation before the cover is nickel and then chromium plated, 22,7.. With the exception of the die-cast body and the Slow speed mechanism for the shutter, the latter being supplied complete by Gauthier of Calmbach, the whole of the camera is manufactured on the plant. In assembly Leica. cameras are handled in batches of ten and are handed out in trays and are accompanied by the required number of screws, pins, rivets, etc., required on sud- sequent processes. Assembly is mainly carried out by female labour with certain exceptions such as shutter assembly and range finder assembly, which are carried out vy skillcd male labour; the proportion is roughly fifty fifty. Gach operator has certain fixed operations to carry out after which the batch of ten bodies is passedvator where they receive further operation a jiz, a fixture, is provided for speed and une of the more important of the roller blinds to length, and glueing them in «ture was of steel and into S, one pair of blind rollers. of one of the blinds and the the exact position of these ing indicated by the fixture; the other two ollere are attached to a swinging arm hinged to the fiz With the two blinds stretched taut and swinging arm pivotted away from the fixture, the unat ends of the blinds are then in the correct position for achment,to the rollers. They are glued and the excess tapes trimmed with a razor blade. The assembly is then slipped out of the fixture and rolled up and elloweé to dry for 2 days before being passed along to the shutter agsembly point for incorporation in the camera. tapes of + relative to 24,7, Shutter assembly is carried out by skilled male operators, 6 assemoly itself is straightforward - the checking of speeds is the important item, The faster spesds are checked visually by stroboscopic methods, the 1/200, 1/500 and 1/1000 being the speeds concentrated on. In the lower speed range the 1/20 and 4 second only are checked; it apparently follows that the other speeds will automatically be correct. “Checking of the slower speeds is by revolving a series of lights in front of the shutter in the weli kmown manner, 25.7. For high speed checking a horizontally disposed dpum with 33 eqvelly spaced horizontal slits illuminated riss of equally spaced vertical in the aperture of a correct- is incorrectly set the t will describe a curve ight or left according to fe or too slow. The check apement manufactured by Lines will » falling awa: whether t on .25.7. Cont. Gauthier) is carried out by ear by an elderly and apparently vastly experienced workman, A metronome was used as an alternative, 26,7. An important operation is the checking, and . squaring if necessary, of the lens flange with the focal plane. This is done by means of an auto-collimator located by the lens flange and directing a beam of light on to a steel reflecting surface which in turn is located accurately by the focal plane. Any lack of accuracy in squareness is immediately visible in the auto-collimator. Where any correction is necessary a specially adapted vertical milling machine is used to alter, appropriately, the orientation of the face of the body which carries the lens flange. At this point the camera has reached the end of its assembly stage and goes on to final inspection, 27.7. The total number of man-hours spent on a Leica in. 1958 was 50. Ernst Leitz explained that under present conditions 50/55 hours were being spent but he hoped to reduce this in a short time to about 35 hours, 28.7. Leitz maintained their own finishing departments om completely orthodox lines - there was nothing new in either the blacking shop, where gas-fired convection ovens were used, or in the plating shops where all the standard finishes were produced, INSPECTION: 29.7. All incoming raw material is inspected. Press and piece parts are checked periodically depending on the part concerned, Bach major assembly operation is inspected after completion and before the next operation is begun, The camera is inspected after complete assembly, Every complete Leica lens is checked by taking 10 photographs of the usual flat black and white test chart at distances varying fron 1.25 to 10 metres. The chart: is illuminated with twenty 500 watt bulbs, All the re- sulting negatives are identified with the particuler lens involved and are filed away as a permanent record of lens performance, The film used in these tests is Isopan FF of speed 10/10° DIN and developed for two minutes in a Metol Hydroquinone developer.LABOUR RATES AND BONUS SCHEMES: 50,7. Total employees in 1938 - 3,400 workers. 400 Office staff. Of workpeople, 50. skilled, 25% semi- skilled, 26% unskilled. Average workman's earnings 1 Mark per hour in- cluding piscework. Toolmakers 1.15 to 1.35 per hour, APPS TORS AND EDUCATION: 31.7. Leitz maintained.a large apprentices room where thorough training in all branches of engineering was given with special reference to toolmaking, RSS EVELOPMENT: 32.7. The firm is self-contained in this respect and has no direct contact with Universities or Research centres as in the case of Zeiss. Fundamental research is limited but the work of proféssor Berek on the determination of the refractive indices of minerals is qooted as an example. Development however, both scientific and manufacturing, is on a considerable scale and the following staff is kept: 10 Scientists & Chemists 3 Physicists & Mathematicians 25/30 Optical computors 20 Key Development Engineers GoncLUS ION: 85.7, The administrative and financial structure of the Leitz organisation is impressive. They are the largest single outsides Zeiss and like the other factories aged througnout the war on armament pro- the most important types. The Leitz plant ch a mass production mit as a factory turn- ng out large numbers of really high class optical and scientific inst ats, The main impression one gets is the usual oroughness but in tne case of Leitz in suy of the other factories 2 supplemented by a conviction that masters of their art and from research lete grasp of every problem likely visited, these people to sales have a to arise.Oe 2/124 SECTION 8. REPORT CW FIRi: Franke & Hoidecke ADDRESS: Salzdahlumerstrasse 196, Brockenblick, Brunawick. DATE OF VISIT: August 22nd, 23rd, 2kth. EERSONS INTERVIEWED: Herr Paul Franke one of the two partners, Herr F. Scherreiks, Works Manager, and Staff. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FIRM AND FRODUCTS. 1.8. he factory produces the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord Cemeras with a total production of 50,000 cameras per annun. The factory is organised on quantity production lines. The managewent is under the control of the proprietors Franke & Heidecke, and the concern is assen- tially a family business which has grown up successfully round excellent designs. 2.8. The firm was founded in 1920 when two former employees of Voigtlender joined forces with the object of producing a stereo camera on the Reflex principle and the first productions were twin lens mirrow reflex stereo- scopic cameras. In 1928 they conceived the idea of producing a roll film cemere using the same principle as their stereo camera and in 1929 the present factory wes begun in Brunswick. The production of the factory consists of cameras of the twin lens reflex type and accessories therefor. The range of cameras manufactured consisted of the Rolleicord 1A, the Rolleicord 11, the atandard Rolleiflex and the autometic Rolleiflex. All these gave 12 24" x 24" negatives on 120 film. In addition there is « smaller Rolleiflex giving 12 1g" x13" negatives on 127 film, snd a host of accessories includ- ing supplementary lenses, plate sdapter beck, 35 mm. film adapter, lens hoods, filters, stereo attachments, eto. The output of cameras of all types in 1938, 50,000 was approximately equally divided between Rolleiflex and Rolleicord, Up to 1939 approximately 330,000 caneres of poth types had been manufactured » Heidecke. ke & Hi As goon as it became apperent thet the business would2.8, Gont, be successful, Ziess, who supplied than with lenses, offered to acoommodate them financially with e view to embracing them in the Ziess organisation but the fim managed to remain independent FINANGIAL DETAILS. 3.8. Turnover 1937 - 5,946,000 1938 - $2277 000 1939 - 6,117,000 Balance Sheet 1938 - See Appendix. 4.10. Note on some costa. Leifl. tomat Compur shutter 11.05 Rolleiflex Automs {pomeus £/3.5 lens 19.20) ™S- Compur shutter 7.60) Rolleicord 3.5 (roree £/3.5 lens 11.50) 8 Compur shutter 7.70 Rolleicord 4.5 Triotar f/4.5 lens 7.40 RMS. The above are the prices paid by Franke & Heidecke for the lens and shutter equipment for their various cameras. SUBSIDIES. 4.8. It was learnt from Herr Franke that the German photographic industry was subsidised (a) to e small extent out of its own resources (b) to a mach greater extent by the State. 5.8, subsidy (a) was e 23% levy for all photographic firms, on home sales only, to provide a pool from which payments were made to the weaker manufacturers who could not compete with the stronger. As the larger and more efficient firms had little nesd of this subsidy, or paid in as much as they drew out, they were not willing supporters, Franke & Heidecke, for example, drew nothing from this pool and allied thenselves with Leitz for its ultimate cancellataon. Subsidy (b) however was a selective State aubsidy, and selective in two ways. It5.8. Cont. could vary in extent between 15% foreign competitors, but wes o those countries whose foreign exchange needed by the German State. For example, it operated ongs% others against Americas, England and Countries in the Per East, but not for instance against France, Fu nea of foreign competition was required, and the subsidy was granted between the limits 15% to 50% in % Franke stated, with pride, that « E was concerned, no State subsidy had bee Was no foreign competition against the ¢ in vespect of granted as there ollei type camer 6.8. Other industries were subsidised «nud each industry wes handled by en economic group. In tha case of the optical industry the group waa Lad by ry Heinrichs of Carl Zeiss and this group handled sil export arrengenents of the industry, dealing cn the id bank, and on the other side with PATENTS. 7.8 Difficulties ware experienced a: Zeisa-ikon but egreement wee reache: out Litigation. Franke considers the patent caver spacing impertent. A list of the Franke & Heidecke patents will be found at Appendix 5.10. TAXATION. 8.8. Under peacetime condit written off in five years, Lege the war years this figure wes e precision equipment. on allowed during the wer end 9.8 Franke steted that the gr local and central goverment? te: no excess profits tax. Weges h. of 10% above pre-war, and they were 1 peduced to tha 1939 level. Price cen tion was exercised but ths m turnover with a resulting | to a gross 60% tax. In his Sage in the business to a considerab) _ There wes528. Cont. could vary in extent between 15 So underquote foreign competitors, but was only epriic: in respect of those countries whose foreign exchange was necded ‘Dy the German State, For example, it oparated amongat others against Americe, England and Countries in the Per Best, but not for inatence against France. Evidence of forsign competition was required, and the subsidy was granted batween the limits 15% to 50% in o % WMOUOT Se Franke atated, with pride, that so far a6 has own Compeny was concerned, no State subsidy had been granted as there Was no foreign competition against the Rollei type cameras. 6.8. Other industries were gubsidi wes handled by an economic group. I optical industry the group was les »: Carl Zeiss end this group handled of the industry, deeling on the bank, and on the other side with +: 2 esoh industry na dase of the Herr Heinrichs of i export arrengenents ide with the Reichs- Jacturer. PATENTS. 7.8, Diffioulties wore experienced + tlender and Zeiss-ikon but exrsement was reached + litigation. Frenke considers the patent covering = paoing important, A list of the Franke & Heidecks patents will be found at Appendix 5.40. TAXATION. 8.8. Under peacetime conditions soma madiines could be written off in five years, i.e. 20% depreciation. During the war years this figure wes as high es 30/104 for precision equipment. On general purpose tools 15/305 wes allowed during the war and 10% in peacatime. 9.8. Franke stated that the gross totel of taxes, i.e. local and central government taxes was 60%. Thera no excess profits tax. Wages hed been pegged at a of 10% sbove pre-war, and they were later in th reduced to the 1939 level. Price control of war > tion was exercised but the menufacturer increasing turnover with a reaulting higher profit, was only 1 to a gross 60% tax. In his cess profi in the business to a considerable extant.SALES. 10.8. 50% to 60% of the Frenke & Heideake output was sold abrosd, eng foreign customers in order of importance were U.S. Aes dugtria, Engiend, France and Italy. The company wes represented in these countries by agencies: in England by p,p, Punter Ltd., in America by Burleigh Brooks of Kew York, and Beney Freres & Cie of Peris. The home Market was qivyided into twelve districts and with a totel of OOO hang-picksd dealers whe cerried stocks and received the usual discounts, end who represented other optics! fipns so long as their goods did not compete. The widely distrinuted Rolleiflex Golden Book was subsidised by the fim, and was excellently got up. By 1935 they had manufactured 200,000 cameras, - The feotery 48 very up-to-date and well laid out in two two-storey blocks totslling 50,000 to 6C,000 sq.ft. end extensively equipped with modern machine tools and plent. About 18,090 sq.ft. part of one block, had been destroyed by bombing, gpeciel purpose machines, made by themselves, were in evidence together with improvements in standard plant (eg, puffs fitted-with "vacuum cleaners") for the sake cf cliganiiness end efficiency. Typical mechine tools ware Reinggker gear cutters, lathes by Fittler and by Hilscher, automatics by Bechler of Switzerland, by index Werke ang py Hahn snd Tessky, in eddition te the usual drilling, mijjing, boring and turing equipment, Generel purpose togig are listed et Appendiz G10. 12.8. In 1938, 725 people were employed about 40% being non-produgtiye. Tae feetory is under the control ef 21st Amy Group to mom are supplied the cameras now being made. Present lapour totals 180 sll skilled, MANUFACTURING PROCESSES. 13.8. The pasis of both Rolleiflex and Rolleicord cameres 18 an oxtrenly DeBUtifully designed end extremely well mede pressure die-casting in sluminium alloy. The tools for this gasting coe¢t 6,000 RMS. and inmite of the fact that the oggting has e high degree of finish when it leaves the press there are 160 milling and drilling opera- tions on it, The pressure dic-castings are made by Réders of golial. There ere severe] extrenely well meds13.8. Cont. pressings in aluminium in the Xollei cameras ell of whieh are Manufectured on the premises. The camera back ig an example of this type of work. The reflex mirror ig rhodiumised and the optical viewfinder in the hood of the camera is silvered. 24.8. The very smooth focusing movement of the Rollei- flex is achieved by meana of two pairs of opposed cams with spring loaded followers. These followers carry the front plate of the camera which in turn carries the taking end focusing lerises. These followers end their associated cams are very precise pieces of engineering. The cams are blanked. A special purpoge tool than machines them on the periphery to exact size and shape in relation to their orientation on the focusing spindle. Tha followers are stampings in steel and are shaped to move back and forward ina parallel slide bearing. These two faces of the follower ars accurately ground simuitaneously in a small double headed grinder - the work being moved up to and past the two wheels. 15.8. The front plate carrying the lenses must be at exactly 90° to these peraliel faces and therefore it is important to have the front face of the follower exactly square with the two bearing faces. This is done in enother spevial purpose grinder designed and made by Frenke & Heidecke. The eccentrics are brass and the steel followers have pads of sbonite °3% into their contact faces so that there is no metel to metal contact end wear is reduced to a minimum end is compensated to some extent by the gpring loading of the followers. 16,8, The black fishes of the Rollei cameras, supplied ‘by severel firms, are given in order of quality (eccording to the Works Meneger): Duco of Berlin, Schramm of Offenbach end Cerl Hans Blume of Magdeburg. There were apparently no special techniques attached to their use. All aluminium was acid dipped before finishing. Some of the bright beading on the Rollei cameras is achieved by grinding after - Dlacking, and ingenuity wes seen in the application of dual grinding heads for finishing the edges of certain parts. Many parta were ground and burnished. The usual high16.8. cont. standard of attention to deteil in polishing prior to plat- ing was noticed. The cameras exhibit a wide diversity of finishes, nickel, chrome, polished alwninium eto. and care was evident at all stages. The hobbing of knurled oontrol wheels was again seen, 17.8. Leather was used for covering the body of the camere. The lenses were Tessars made by Zeiss and shutters were Compurs by Deckel, In this connection it should be noted that, as a result of the Russian occupation of the Zeiss factory, Franke & Heidecke were going over to ‘Schneider lenses. INSEECTION. 18.8. 100% on sll component parts end finished instruments. LABOUR RAPES. 19.6. Total’ number of empleyces in 1938 aoe 725 Productive workers aoe toe 605 Unproductive workers ... see Lot , Clerks vee 1i9¢ Skilled men ... 275 Trainees end women wae wee 266 Total employed today ... ave ote bee 180 (All skilled men) Wage Rates: Toolmakers... wee wee 1038 Mechanics nee eee ees ° 1.35. (piecework included) Mele treinees nee se) 1M to 1,10 (plecework included) Women cote ee aes +60 to .75 APPRENTICES AND EDUCATION. 20.8 Great attention wes paid to the training of eppren- tioes and encouragement was given for educational schemes outside the works, In addition to the compulsory day classes for apprentices, which included lectures from the20.8. Cont. foremen totalling 6 to 8 hours per week, the firm paid the expenses for 15 to 20 of their more advanced men to take avening classes, the more successful of these being merked for promotion. 21.8, On the purely welfare side Frenke & Heidecke were very lavish. Besides » considerable lending library, both technical and recreational, the children of employees were catered for by the provision of a well squipped nursery ard playground under the charge of two trained nurses. A canteen was provided and the washrooms included miniature lavatories and wash basins. A swimming pool had been constructed for the anployees but this was converted into a statio water tank during the war. (How fer the amenities provided for the children was philanthropy and how mach Nazification could not be judged, but the latter may have played some part in it). EGSEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 22.8. See Appendix Flo for list of pstenta. 80 far as research and development was concerned there was 00 collaboration with research sssociations or univers ties. 23.8. The original camera on which the models are bessd was developed by Pranke & Heidecke themselves with ten skilled man working for two end a helf years before a cameras was completed. Franke considers the besic feature to which success of the design is attributed is the use of the lerger aperture in the viewing lens then in the taking lans. He considers the patents on film movement which thay held to be important. On the subject of invention and patents generally Herr Franke said that the Germans hed specialized in the preduc~ tion of high grade cemeras and had covered them liberally with patents. This was a large part of the secret end, at the same time, the protection of the German photographic industry. His firm maintained e number of designers on their ateff, devoted mainly to improving the present products. No new, nor major change to the present pasic, @esign was contemplated.10 CON! 24,8, The business is essentially a partnership concern, built up gradually over a long period. Loans and accommodation from Zeiss.were refused in order to main- tain independence. Profits for many years are report- ed to have been piougned back, and the balance sheet indicates a fiourishing state of affairs. There was a wide range of war equipment manufacturered without additional plant or extension. This firm is an excellent example of the best type of German precision engincering factory. Its standards are of the highest in every sphere of its activities and tne resuit is a series of absolutely first class photographic instruments. 25.8 The factory itself is well laid out, well lighted and ideally equipped to carry out the production of high class work. The proprietors took an active interest in the work of the factory and appeared to be men with an expert knowledge of tne business. ‘the plant is good, weli looked after, and in excellent condition, and the employees, appeared to be proud to work for the company. Pride of achievement and of workmanship were everywhere apparent and profit did not appear to be the only motive that kept Franke & Heidecke moving, 26.8. Wranke considered there were no manufacturing secrets in making precision cameras other than good jigging, special purpose tooling and concentration on a standardised limited range, (with, he added, "the proviso of 25 years experience",SZCTION 9 FIR: Voigtignder ADDRESS: Brunswick DATE OF VISIY: 28rd, 24th and 25th August. PERSONS LIERVIgvmD: Herr Oehme - Commercial Director Herr §técker - Works Superintendent Herr Schmeus - Chief Planning Engineer Herr Richter - Manager of Optical Shops Herr Meimer - Machine Designer Dr. Mueller - lianufacture of Dia:.ond Wheels Herr Baumgartner - Chief Desiger i Dust ‘L RODU 3 1.9. “The Voigtlander Company,avery oid established concern, made a wide range of cameras in the medium price range, 50 — 200 Marks. In 1938 they made 200,000 cameras, all fitted with Voigtlander lenses and Compur or Prontor Shutters. They also had a fair sized output of 6 x 80 and 8 x 40 binoculars, which during the war to- talled 6,000 per month. Wo addition was made to their peace time capacity, either in plant or space, for war purposes, . 2.9. The factory is at present under the control of 21st Army Group to whom are supplied the Vito, Bessa, and Brilliant range of cameras now being made, also a large number of 6 x 30 binoculars. The figure for the latter was given as 4,000 per month by Herr Stocker, Ni Et 3 3.9, Voigtlander is controlled by Scherings, a public company centred in Berlin, The balance sheet attached (Appendix 7.10) showed a loss which may well have been fictitious, The turnover in 1938 was 7,000,000 Marks of which 50 was exported. The overhead for 1938 was pearly 500% and a make-up of the factory price was as ollows:- Wages (Productive) . 12.4% Material ... . 35. Se Overhead... soe 52.4%3.9, Cont, Purther figures for that year analyse financial totale:- Wages (Productive) 710,282 BMS. Material eee 2,018,000 RMS. Factory on cost eee 3,000,000 RMS. See Appendix (8.10) for summary of cost of lenses and mounts and cemeras in the Voigtlander range. The figures for 1944 are interesting: Wages (Productive) .+. % Material soe eon 1% Overhead eee eee aoe | 74K Subsidies: 4.9, In'1938 the factory paid about 13% on German turnover into the pool organised by the industry. ‘This amounted to 45,900 Marks, They received in return 78,600 Merks in respect of exports to the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, China, France, The British Colonies, Italy, Japan, Manchukuo, South America and Mexico. The Commercial Manager said it was-not worth keeping the necessary books, Patents: . 5.9. Herr Cehme stated they had no patents of any value. SALES METHODS: 6.9. Dealers received the usual 33.$% plus 10% for large turmovers. A make-up of the price illustrating the discomts allowed is shown below: Assume final price toe eee 100,00 Dealer takes 33.4% aes aes 35,33 66, 67 Extre 10% premium eee eee 6. 66 60.61 Distribution costs, agents commissions at home and abroad and profits 30% ee 18.00 FACTORY Cast 42,017.9 Horr Oehue stated that the firm decided what types of camera to market. Ho investigation, through dealers, as to the users' views were initisted, Germany was. divided for sales purposes into 15 territories each covered by an agent carrying stocks. Advertising expenditure in 1939 wes 717,762 Marks. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FACTORY AND PLAN: 8.9. There is in possession of H.A.P. a plen of the works and aren. 600 slave workers were employed during the war and their accommodation, on adjacent ground, was seen. rt is incredible that so many could be housed in so few ramshackle corrugated iron huts. 9.9. In Appendix (9.10) will be foumd a chert illustra- ting the administration of the factory, under the technicel Menuger Stocker. The large number of Departments (14) reporting direct to Stocker is wusual. 10.9. The factory itself consists of several larga three storey buildings situated on the extreme, outskirts of Brunswick. The plant is laid out for the masa pro- duction of medium grade cameras of almost eny type and consists mainly of standard machine tools in the following queptitdes;- 94 Automatic Lathes 214 Centre Lathes se Grinding end Finishing f 122 Small Fresses TS Large Fower Presses 399 Miscellaneous Gensral Purpose Machines The opticad. ish the ancillary processes tool room was very well . turning lathe being worthy MANUPACTURING Ss Mechanical: 11.9, Generally speaking, manufacturing processes and tools are fairly stenderd and vary from British prac- tice only in detail. neve ware faw, if any, special TOO pe. pindles and11.9. Cont. purpose tools, full reliance being, apparently, put on the general purpose plant. The design technique did not call for special purpose machines, other than of a simple character, and in view of the numerous, and changing models,of camera produced this is understood. 12,9. In press work, of which the Bessa 6 x 9 coms. camera body is an example, the tendency is toward simpli- Pication of individual tools coupled with generosity in the numbers of them, From the blank to the finished pody there are something like 14 to 16 operations of which i2 are press operations. Most of the pressed components are of steel for the sake of economy and for the reason that paint finishes adhere much better to steel than to brasa. The pressings are well designed and show much fore- thought with the result that the finished job has strength and lightness. In addition, neatness, pre- cision and clean lines are very evident in all this work. The forming of a camera body is illustrated in the sample parts in the possession of M.A.P. The operations involved are listed at Appendix (11.10). 15.9. In like mamner the top cover of the Vito I (one of Voigtlander's pre-war 35 mm. cameras) is demonstrated by a series of samples see Appendix (12.10). 14,9, In common with most other German photographic manufacturers, Voigtlander lay great emphasis on their rivetting technique, The assembly and sub-assembly ben- ches are well equipped with rivetters of various sorts. Neatness of rivets and rivetting is a feature of the Voigtlinder range of products. With the exception of die-castings, plastic mouldings, bellows and shutters, everything was made on the premises. There are extensive screw and rivet making sections, a large press and gear cutting shop. Finishing: 15,9. See Appendix (15.10) for explanatory notes on the samples held by M.A.P. No air conditioning was used in the Lacquer Plant which was rather dirty and out of date. The firm employed barrel plating and cleaning. The polishing shop was well equipped with a large variety of grinding and polishing wheels. The firm is interested15.9. Qont. in bright colour anodising and intend to develop this, but have no plant. ASsembly: 16.9. Assembly is carried out by female labour supervised by a male overseer on each bench of approximately fifteen or twenty operators. There are, in each department, one or two additional skilled men, where were no special assembly "tricks" so far as could be found - cameras, in batches, pass from one operator, doing certain fixed op- erations, to the next, There are no belt or conveyor systems installed. Qptical Shops: 17.9, These were clearly laid out for mass production, the vafious operations being broken down to reguire the minimum of skill from the operator, There are 700 Polishing spindles, mostly poker arn, In addition there were a few multispindle, spring tensioned micro polishing Machines, Line manufacture was instituted during the latter part of the war and proved partially successful. It was stated that further experience was Pequired to keep the timing of the different operations in perfect phase, Two such lines were seen, the sequence of machines for the "second side" being as follows:— (a) Hot Plate for Blocking mouldings. (>) Automatic ana totally enclosed block rougher. (c) Automatic totally enclosea washer (Power water jet). (a) Smoothing machines. (e) Automatic washer, (f) Polishing machines. (g) Automatic washer. (h) Hot plate and soaking off trays. (4) Automatic eagers and chamfering machine,27.9, Dr, Mueller claimed that the wheels were the best in the world, and were capable of removing 150 to 200 cub, mm. of hard glass per sec, as against 30 to 60 cub.mm. by the wheels of his best competitors. Althougn the process was patented by him in England in 1937 or 1938, he claimed that additional secret processes were involved in the manufacture of these wheels. Anastigmat Lens Mounting: 28,9, Despite the close tolerances on the lens and lens fitting diameters, the diameter of the lens is deliberate- ly lert 0.2 mm, (.008") small. Despite close question- ning the reason for this was not adequately explained. If the lens is single, as in the flint or front crown of a@ Tessar type, it is spun in, with or without a bezel ving, by means of a bench machine in which a small wheel, free to rotate, is forced down by a hand operated lever on to the bezel of the mount which is power rotated on a vertical axis. A conventional screw chuck is used for the mount. The true chamfer (see Roughing) permits this to be done by girl labour. 29.9, If the lens is a doublet, it is cemented first and trued up in a V block, the edges cleaned and then loosely Spun in as above, It is then tigntened by further Spinning on a bench iathe, warmed and centrea, and bezelled tightly while on the lathe. INSPECTION ARRANGEMENTS: 30.9. These were normal, but very highly organised, there being piece work prices in many cases. It was not pos- sible to obtain full details of the system, Optical gauging was employed fairly extensively. U! Pg NDB SCHEME: 31.9. Total personnel in 1938 - 900 of whom 50% were skilled. Administrative and workpeople were: - Productive workers 400 Staff and Non-productive 500 and of these the optical workers totalled; 3% Skilled men 30 Semi-skillea 1Q ‘omen 60 Inspectors and supervisers The same staff and non-productives can handle up to 1,200 workpeople, All labour is graded into eight$1.9. Cont. categories; ~ 1 and 2 Unskilled Sand 4 Semi-skiilea 5, 6,7 and 6 §kilied and these grades are used in compiling wage rates and the master production cards. Every operation in the shops is allocated to a definite labour grade. The 1938 wages rates for 48 hour week varisd from 70 pf. to 1.50 M, toolroom and skilled optical workers earning 1.50 Me Salary of the Production Manager Stocker was ... «s+ 1,409 RUS per month, Salary of Chier Assistant Designer was eee eee 800 RMS per month, Foremen received . oes ane 350 Marks per month, Time study and ratefixere ... 500/400 Marks per month. Draughtsmen up to wee nee $00 Marks per month, 32.9. Piecework is widely used, even on certain in- spection on which rates were fixed. APPRENTICE AND EDUCATION: 33.9. Care is taken to train toolmakers, but littic elee is done. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: $4.9. 600,000 Marks were spent under this heading in 1958. There is a well staffed and active design office under Baumgartner and in addition a separate office with tool designers and draughtsmen under Meixner, ‘he cal- culating machines used in optical computing were of two makes - (1) Hamann Selecta and (2) Deutsche Telefon und Kabel Werke. 35.9, There was no fundamentel research or scientific development, The designs department was paid to de~ sign cameras attractive to the public, and to design tools enabling them to be made at competitive prices, 56.9. At Appendix (14.10) will be found 2 detailed re- port of the ruture Voigtlander designs.SURVEY, ICL: 3 37.9. This factory is a mass production plant, highly organised, It is difficult to believe that the Balance Sheet loss is genuine, The plant itself is almost com- pletely standard and one got the impression that almost any non-specialised camera could be designed, tooled, and produced in a comparatively short time. Die-castings, plastic mouldings, shutters and bellows are bought out. 38,9. The phenomenal low prime cost of their products, see Appendix (8.10), is worthy of special note. 89.9. Apart from machines and plant they have 70,000 Compur -and Prontor Shutters in stock of which 40,000 are reckoned to be servicedble. They also have 20 tons of optical glass, equivalent to two years supply at 1938 rates. This was taken by Voigtlander transport from Schott at Jena after the end of the war but before the Russian occupation. (fhe fate of the Voigtlander Berlin factory making paper has shaken the Brunswick executives). 40.9, Oehme gave some information as to the estimated size of the German industry in 1957, He considered the gross value of annual production of cameras to be 74,000,000 Marks of which 50% was exported. 41.9. In Germany he said a workman earning 500 Marks a month would buy a 400/500 Mark camera by instalments.