Original German WWII Kriegsmarine Navy 8×60 Binoculars by Carl Zeiss (blc) of Jena – Serial 2118267 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very good pair of extremely rare German WWII Kriegsmarine 8×60 binoculars, made by the legendary Carl Zeiss of Jena, a specialist lens maker that exists to this day. These wide angle binoculars were very popular aboard ships, and they feature sealed screw holes and other fittings for moisture removal that made them perfect for use at sea. They are, as far as we can tell, completely non-magnetic, and look to be made from “Duralumin” alloy, which was then anodized to give it a lovely black color, much like flare pistols early in the war. They do not have any rubber eye pieces fitted, but the bakelite eyepieces are removable, so they could probably be fitted.

The rear of the left barrel is marked with the following, indicating the maker and binocular specifications:

blc
8×60

The use of the three letter code indicates that these were made after 1940. “blc” marked on represents Carl Zeiss of Jena, a specialist lens maker, and one of the finest makers of optics at the time. They designed many of the optics used by Germany during WWII, and continue to produce world class lenses and other optics to this day. The front cover of the central hinge is marked with serial number 2118267, a 7 digit code not far from others we have handled.

The rear of the right barrel is marked with the correct Kriegsmarine Waffenamt inspection marking M (Eagle) VI/1, and under this is a serial or issue number 909. 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/1 was located, but this is a known marking and totally correct for Zeiss-made binoculars in Naval service.

The binoculars do show signs of use and wear, especially present on the finish, but the optics are still clear and the binos present as being completely functional. They do show what looks to be light tinting, and there is no reticle / graticule present in the eyepieces as far as we can see. In general these seem to have been used for general observation and not for any type or range finding.

A solid example of an incredibly rare set of Kriegsmarine binoculars. Comes more than ready for further research and display!