Item Description
Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is an excellent example of a rare German WWII Panzer Zielfernrohr 1 (Tank Rifle Scope 1 or 1 Pz.Z.F.1), a 2.5x28° optic used to aim Panzer Tank Machine Guns, complete in its original transit chest. These were used with guns such as Panzerlauf MG 34 machine guns, when they were mounted into their Kugellafette armored ball mounts. The sturdy optic was fitted into armored mount, seeing the outside through the armored ball. The first German Tank to feature these was the Panzer II, or Panzerkampfwagen II (PzKpfw II).
This wonderful German WWII Pz.Z.F.1 came to us from the American Armoured Foundation, Inc. Tank and Ordnance Memorial Museum. The AAF Tank Museum was a living memorial dedicated to the Tank and Cavalry soldiers of the world. Before 1981 some of the artifacts that make up the AAF Tank Museum was a private collection belonging to Mr. William Gasser. Mr. Gasser felt that his collection would be beneficial in educating present and future generations to the sacrifices made and the technologies gained during war. Therefore, in 1981 the AAF Tank Museum was established as a non-profit charitable organization, and Mr. Gasser's donated his private collection to the Tank Museum. Mr. Gasser is still active as Volunteer Director and Curator of the Tank Museum and his knowledge of military history has been a great asset to the museum. Unfortunately after 20 years of operation it had to close its doors, which is when this optics were acquired.
This fantastic panzer machine gun optic comes with the original rubber forehead rest and eye shield in its original transit chest, which measures approximately 31" x 8" x 5". The optic measures 29 inches long, and has the German maker information on the left side:
P.Z.F.1-2,5X28°
dpw
Nr.4347
This indicates production by Zeiss-Ikon AG, Goerzwerk, located in Berlin-Zehlendorf. This company was made by the merger of four camera companies into one, and became the Camera making arm of the Carl Zeiss foundation. This was a legendary optics maker in Germany, and after the merger the component companies stopped production of their own lenses so they could use the ones made by Carl Zeiss optics. This is a known maker of the Panzer machine gun optics, with this being later version bearing their three letter code. There is a blue triangle on the right side of the plate, indicating the type of lubricant to be used.
As far as we can tell, the optic is fully functional, with a working focus adjustment, and the rubber eye piece is still somewhat supple. The forehead rest fits on easily, and the canvas eye cover (for the unused eye) snaps on correctly. The optic fits along with the forehead rest into the original tan painted transit case, which is correctly marked on the lid with:
Pz.Z.F.1 2,5 x 28°
There are no other markings inside, except for a Waffenamt Wa.A. 763 stamp on the inner lid. There are spaces for spare bulbs and the Anstecklampe (Clip On Lamp), however they are empty. All of the wooden inserts and pads appear to be intact, and the case closes up securely.
A wonderful example and comes more than ready for further research and display.
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon