Leica produced several esoterica cameras for the US military during the Vietnam War conflict. Namely, the KE-7a and ECAN lenses produced, which was a special M4 produced with a specific design for the U.S. Military. The lesser know military M camera set was the KS-15, a Leica M2 configuration with the M4 rapid load system. the KS-15 M2 might also be known to many as the “M2-R,” which was the limited production civilian model produced around the same time with the same M4 rapid load system. The KS-15 was the first of its kind to feature the M4 loading system, which can be found in modern analog film cameras today, such as the recently announced Leica M6 and the Leica M-A and MP cameras.
Sean and Camera West have a long history of digging up interesting finds within the Leica world and telling their story or lack thereof. Sean originally purchased this particular KS-15 set at an army surplus auction during Camera West’s primitive days in the early 2000s. Later this particular set, found its way into the hands of a customer and recently, this special set made it back into our hands here at Camera West. This unique set highlights an interesting time in Leica’s history and many of the special changes made any these Military issued cameras would go on to influence general production cameras and lenses.
Included in the KS-15 set are the following items:
- KS-15 Camera (M2 with an M4 loading system)
- 35mm f2.0 Summicron 8-Element
- 50mm f2.0 Summicron Dual Range
- 135mm f2.8 Elmarit with Goggles
- Leica MR Meter
- Leather Carry case
- Contrast filters for the various lenses
