Original German WWII U.S. Captured Luftwaffe Flak D.F. 10 x 80 Binocular Optic Set in Transit Chest with Mail Home Address & Bring Back Certificate - No Tripod
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Original Item: Only One Set Available. This is a very good pair of German World War Two Doppelfernrohr (double telescope) 10 x 80 German gun sight binoculars (flakfernrohr), in its original transit chest, which was captured and sent home by Sergeant Nathan Chalnick, 890th Signal Aviation Depot Company, with his sent-home address painted on the lid and his capture paperwork taped on the lid, and despite heavy wear to the tape it is still somewhat readable. There is no tripod, and the different pieces have varying levels of oxidation, but we were able to get all the pieces put together for display. However, it does not sit flat and will need some sort of base for display.
These were used for direct sighting on the German Flak 36 (88 mm) Gun and are offered in very good condition. They painted a lovely deep gray blue finish, the typical color for Luftwaffe equipment. There is some heavy wear, so the correct red primer can be seen in areas.
They come complete with the mount cradle, which displays the elevation on the left side as the binoculars are moved. This in turn is attached to the top of the correct azimuth turntable, which allows for precise adjustment of the side to side angle. All of this is meant to be mounted on top of a tripod, which is NOT PRESENT with this set. The sight director for the top of the optics as well as the forehead pad are also present, and there is even the eye-shades and a battery box included in the case. This set needs the tripod or a custom-made base to be displayed properly.
The lid of the transit chest is inscribed:
FROM:
SGT. N. CHALNICK
36561340
HQ. - HQ. SQ. DIS. DIV.
IX AFSC. APO. 149 ℅ PM.
NEW YORK, N.Y.
TO:
MRS. L.A. CHALNICK
2274 PINGREE
DETROIT (6,)
MICHIGAN
The capture paper taped to the lid appears to be dated September 1945, and notes that Nathan Chalnick has captured a “Flak Fernahr 10 x 80”, with the certificate signed by his commanding officer, confirming the capture. The chest is missing the inventory card.
Most commonly seen being used by the KRIEGSMARINE (German Navy) on Ship Bridges and on Conning Towers of U-Boats, these are the giant 10 x 80 Binoculars so much favored in WW2. The binoculars themselves are in fair condition, and are definitely a great example of the D.F. 10x80, of which we have had several before. There are adjustments for eye relief, width and a selection of various tinted filters, which rotate into place using the control on the left side. The dial is labeled klar (clear), hell (light), mittel (medium), and dunkel (dark). In a typical example of German WW2 era (over)engineering, the control actually controls a mechanism that swings each individual filter in place on both sides simultaneously. A more modest implementation with filters that were fitted over the eye pieces would have probably been more economical. The filters switch without issue but they could likely use a cleaning.
The right side of the binocular body is marked:
D.F. 10 X 80
O dkl X
31688
"D.F." Is the abbreviation for Doppelfernrohr (double telescope), with 10 x 80 indicating the magnification power of the optics. The German wartime three letter code dkl stands for Josef Schneider & Co., of Kreuznach, a specialist lens maker, and under that the set's serial number is given. Wartime serial numbers for this maker range from 5437 up to 82,036, indicating this is a mid war example. The colored symbols on either side of the maker indicate the type of lubricants to be used on the binoculars.
The mount cradle on this example is marked with cll / 1927, while the azimuth adjustment is marked cme / 235281. The cradle was manufactured by August Baumgart, Feinmechanik und Praezisionsmaschinenbau (Precision mechanics and precision mechanical engineering) in Rathenow, Germany. This is not a matched set by any means, very common for examples that saw long service in the war. There was a handle on the side of the azimuth that is now entirely broken off.
The combination of the named transit chest, painted mail-home address, original September 1945 bring-back certificate, D.F. 10 x 80 Schneider optics, cll-marked mounting cradle, filter mechanism, forehead rest, sighting components, battery box, and documented U.S. capture provenance makes this a particularly compelling wartime optical grouping. The missing tripod, broken azimuth handle, oxidation, and mixed component markings are all part of the set’s service history, while the Chalnick documentation gives it a level of personal provenance rarely retained with German heavy optics.
- This product is available for international shipping. Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or Germany
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
- 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.
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