Original German WWII Luftwaffe Flak D.F. 10 x 80 Binocular Optics by Josef Schneider & Co with Tripod Original Items

Original Item: Only One Set Available. This is a great German World War Two Doppelfernrohr (double telescope) 10 x 80 German Luftwaffe Flak issue painted gun sight binoculars, produced by Josef Schneider & Co. optics. These were used for direction sighting on the German Flak 36 (88 mm) Gun, and come complete with head rest, offered in excellent condition.

Luftwaffe Flak regiments used these giant 10 x 80 Binoculars during WW2. 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 right side of the binocular body is marked: 

D.F. 10 X 80
dkl

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.

Also included is a hard to find Luftwaffe Gestell 31 Optics Tripod. Constructed of wood and steel, this aiming periscope tripod was manufactured between 1939 and 1945 by MEI. It is nicely maker marked and bears a German Waffen Amt. It retains 90% of it’s original German wartime paint and finish and is totally solid.  All adjustments work perfectly. The leather cover is flexible with no dry rot or damage. The manufacture logo MEI is stamped into the side, along with a nice Waffenamt. The attachment bar and dovetail piece for the optics mount is post war. 

This set is fully operational, with clear optics, and fully functional focus and width adjustments.  They are in overall good condition, add to that an original wartime tripod and it makes this nothing short of an extraordinary find.