Monday 17 February 2014

German WWI Fern-glas 08 vintage binocular

I bought these German First World War military Fern-glas binoculars fairly recently, optically they were in very good clean condition though the exterior needed a good clean!
They are of the Galilean type and do not use prisms, in essence they are like looking down toilet roll tubes magnified six times.

Optically the view is very crisp and surprisingly bright for such an old instrument  from 1916.

The 'Fern-glas 08 were introduced in 1908 as the standard binocular the infantry throughout the German army. 
They were produced by a multitude of sub-contracted manufacturers, this pair being made by C.P Goerz of Berlin. The Fernglas 08 have 6 times magnification and a field of view of 77.4 m/1000m with 39mm objective lenses.
The markings are clearly visible on the focus wheel the type and mark; Fernglas 08 and the serial number Nr.61496 above the manufacturers mark of C.P. GOERZ BERLIN.  The left hand connecting arm is marked IX.16 indicating that these binoculars were manufactured in September 1916. The top of the connecting arm is marked with a large K which denotes the use of special lubricants to allow for usr in extreme cold weather, it may be these were intended or even used on the Russian front? 

Here they are after a good clean and polish but not too much as I didn't want to remove the patina.












1 comment:

  1. i have the same Binocular with the same marks on it. if you can help me in identifying the value. i will be really gratful ...............my GM ID. sangdongkyab@gmail.com

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