Summicron 35 f 2.0 --- Canadian version ???

[eliot_rosen1]

Jonathan, my source was Erwin Puts' artcile, but you are correct. He does not say the machines were there in Portugal from the beginning and indeed they must have been moved at a later date. Further research has revealed that the Leitz Portugal plant was started in the 1970s and was initially used in the production of some of the R cameras.

 

I also found a reference to the effect that Leica has used (and may continue to use) the Portugal plant in the production of subassemblies for later R and M cameras, even though the cameras are marked "made in Germany" or something to that effect. The final assembly and testing was done in Germany but subassemblies of some of the M cameras came from (and may still come from) Portugal.

 

So I believe it is true that some M cameras are constructed from parts and subassemblies made in Portugal, but not the M3 and other early Ms before the 1970s.