The camera was a Fairchild K-17
The Fairchild K-17 was a big camera made for the US Air Force. It was made by Folmer Graflex, which had a licence from Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation. During the Second World War, these cameras were mostly used to take pictures from the air. A Fairchild camera with a 12 lens cone and a full magazine weighed about fifty-five pounds, while a K-17 with a twenty five lens weighed a whopping 75 pounds. In the 1940s, the Kodak K-24 was another camera that was used for the same kind of thing.
How to Ride the Rotor
In the late 1940s, a German engineer named Ernst Hoffmeister came up with the idea for and got a patent for the Rotor. The ride is a big barrel that turns 33 times every minute. When the barrel reaches full speed, the floor pulls back, leaving the riders stuck to the wall because of the force.
Since the 1950s, rotors have been built at many amusement parks in the US and Australia. This one is at Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. In 1955, this picture was taken.