Soviet military camera, the T.S.V.V.S. (in Latin) and T.C.B.B.C. (in Cyrillic ) should have been made for the topographical services of the USSR.

On its cover are engraved  : its number in front of the accessory shoe , the year of manufacture topped by the Soviet star, with between each of its branches the letters T.C.B.B.C.
It seems , in fact,that this camera made a career more "creeping" than "flying ."
This camera  is surrounded by some mystery ..

First of all , it is only " assumed " thatit was produced by FED.
Then, it is said that this unit was offered by the top Soviet military command to deserving senior officers during WW2.
This model would have been called in the USSR , the "FED of the Generals ".
Finally, as the Leica and other rare rangefinders , many copies of TSVVS have appeared on the market of the collection ...
- It is a 35 mm full-frame rangefinder camera with interchangeable lens . The loading of the film is done by the base.
- The lens is untreated : CARL ZEISS IENA SONNAR f1.5/50 mm with CONTAX mount . This lens shows a very high manufacturing quality ( Serial No. : 226xxxx ).

 A f 2.0 ( Serial No. : 300xxxx ) made ​​of aluminum , was mounted on the first models . On these early models , the cam range finder was strange and looked like the end of a golf club. Thereafter a " spearhead" shaped cam replaced it . The frame is placed on a plate, which is screwed at four points on the body. It differs from Orion CONTAX because it is adapted to the focal length of 50mm : lack of coupling ring for 35 and 85mm lenses .
- Viewfinder for 50mm full frame
- Rangefinder separate  from the viewfinder , with round image , very large , highly contrasted and yellow.
- The top of the trigger is concave with engraved concentric rings and a port for a cable release . Its base is ribbed along its entire height.
- Curtains type shutter. . Speeds selected by a wheel on the cover: 1/20 to 1/500 of a second + B. No slow speed or synchronization . The camera body and its internal mechanismare made of brass . A number is engraved on the cocking side and also inside the baseplate. The baseplate is heavier than those of the the Fed and Zorki .
This camera is heavy : 570 grams + - 10 without lens.
The known specimens of this model are dated 1949 or 1950. Less than 1000 units have been manufactured .

The specimen that I present here is numbered 153 and the year of manufacture is 1949.
Its "internal" number is 53.

I bought it twenty years ago. The shutter release button is not present, I replaced it by one from a Fed.
It has been appraised by Peter J LOY , who assured me that it was indeed an "original"