Original German WWII Kriegsmarine 7.7× 0.7m Stereoscopic Rangefinder by NEDINSCO in Transit Chest with Accessories Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent example of a German WWII Kriegsmarine 0.7m Stereoscopic rangefinder, made in occupied Holland by the NEDINSCO company. It comes complete with most of the original issue accessories in its original transit chest, which measures 34 1/4″ x 8 3/4″ x 7 1/4″. It still retains the original German markings and data plates, with the left one giving the maker information:

jux
209470

This is the German three letter code for the Dutch company NEDINSCO – Nederlandische Instrumenten Companij, located in Venlo. They are a known maker of German WWII optics, and continued to make optics post war.

The other data plate is marked with the correct Kriegsmarine Waffenamt inspection markings and identification:

M (Eagle) IV/a
Nr.5863
0,7 Rf Vergr. 7,7x

There were several main Marinewaffenamt (MWa) or Naval Weapons Offices, and “IV” was the one responsible for Optics. They had several sub offices, so we are not able to identify where exactly IV/a was located, but this is a known marking and totally correct. The plate also indicates that it is a 0.7m (70cm) range finder, with a Vergrößerung (magnification) of 7.7. The chest bears additional markings, which match those of the rangefinder.

The rangefinder is in wonderful condition, with the original paint very well retained, as well as the original pads on the end. It comes with an original manual, eye filters, eye sunshields, and also the light with attached battery pack. There is even the knurled post for holding it by hand, as well as a set of unused bulbs still in the chest.

A wonderful example and comes more than ready for further research and display.

A stereoscopic rangefinder or stereoscopic telemeter is an optical device that measures distance from the observer to a target, using the observer’s capability of binocular vision. It looks similar to a coincidence rangefinder, which uses different principles and has only one eyepiece. German instruments tended to use the stereoscopic principle while British ones used coincidence.

A stereoscopic rangefinder uses two eyepieces and relies on the operator’s visual cortex to merge the two images into a single picture. A reference mark is separately inserted into each eyepiece. The operator first adjusts the direction of the range finder so that the fixed mark is centered on the target, and then the prisms are rotated until the mark appears to overlap in the operator’s combined view. The range to the target is proportional to the degree of rotation of the prisms.