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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Binocular Mystery


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We have a pair of binoculars we believe to be of WW1 vintage found among some family articles but the internet is not giving up her secrets on this pair.  Below are some pictures.  We would appreciate any input in identifying their lineage and if they are in fact from the WW1 era.  The manufacture appears to be "The B.F. American Optical Co" along with a reference to "Montmartre, Paris".  Thanks for the help

 

 

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  1. If there is a /|\ or an S followed by a number then they are commercial binoculars brought into British service as a secondary standard to the official models because of the shortage of officical binos.  Lacking such markings they are probably a set of private purchase binoculars. did you have a serving family member in the past? It was not uncommon for an officer to purchase something like your set.
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Googling the makers revealed that they seemed to produce their own stamps, also bearing the Boulevard Montmartre address. I don't know whether the 'American' bit reflected a subsidiary to a US company, but their design shrieks French origin.

 

I think Reese's explanation is the most likely. The central focussing plus right eye correction makes them quite posh for WW1 and is very unusual for binos made to military spec., and they look very soundly made, but they could still easily be in WW1 period. The 10x magnification is also higher than usual for a military glass - they'd normally be 6 - 8x to get a bigger field of view and better contrast in poor light. I'd say it's a quality civvy instrument that might have seen (not very severe!) wartime use. 

Edited by MikB
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There is a very wide variation in such things as binnoculars even today.

In the mid-1960s I found a pile of Canadian Lease Lend bins in an electronics! stored depot. They were there because someone had decided that as they were not the regular type, just identical, they should not be on the normal stock.

I grabbed the lot when I was at Faslane, and the subs were delighted to have them, with or without official approval or stock numbers.

There, I've admitted my sin. Will official disapproval be involved?

 

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9 minutes ago, healdav said:

There is a very wide variation in such things as binnoculars even today.

In the mid-1960s I found a pile of Canadian Lease Lend bins in an electronics! stored depot. They were there because someone had decided that as they were not the regular type, just identical, they should not be on the normal stock.

I grabbed the lot when I was at Faslane, and the subs were delighted to have them, with or without official approval or stock numbers.

There, I've admitted my sin. Will official disapproval be involved?

 

Off-topic, but I'm guessing they may've been REL 6x30s? Copies of an early WW2 Bausch & Lomb model. The ones I've seen gave an attractive, bright and sharp image with easily readable angular graticules in the right optic. They were a bit heavy for their size, but a nice glass. Mine had been engraved 'Commander (E)' to a skilled manual standard, so probably saw service somewhere.

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On 04/02/2019 at 12:31, MikB said:

Off-topic, but I'm guessing they may've been REL 6x30s? Copies of an early WW2 Bausch & Lomb model. The ones I've seen gave an attractive, bright and sharp image with easily readable angular graticules in the right optic. They were a bit heavy for their size, but a nice glass. Mine had been engraved 'Commander (E)' to a skilled manual standard, so probably saw service somewhere.

Sorry, but I haven't a clue what maker they were. The story I was told was that they had stuck in a corner because the 'pattern' items were British and although identical these were Canadian. The subnmarines didn't care as long as they had binnoculars.

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