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WW2 Binoculars
May
WW2 Binoculars
Second World War Japanese Binoculars
Here at Aviation and Binoculars we have one of the largest collections of ww2 and Cold War binoculars available. The quality and range of optics is breath taking and even after 80 years they are some of the finest binoculars available to buy. As well as looking stunning with their highly engineered polished finish they are practical for use in the home or office, being used for coastal views or star gazing.
Wars and technological innovation go hand in hand, the British developed the radar as an early warning air raid system to defend its coastal waters. Japan on the other hand identified a need for ever an increasing quality and size of its naval optics due to the size of its mostly naval empire. Line of sight pin point accurate binoculars could be a game changing when deploying ships and aircraft in a complex naval setting. This article explains some of the highly collectable Binoculars used by the Japanese and why they are so sought after.
Japan identified that the optical companies Zeiss and Schott were producing the best optical glass in the world and purchased large quantities which they incorporated into their iconic rigid and durable one-piece body castings design. This allowed exceptional internal light baffling, which when combined with the prism mounting systems, allowed a huge amount of light to enter the front of the binoculars to provide a crystal clear wide field of view.
Companies such as Nikko and Toko became world renowned manufacturers of high quality optical instruments.
We are going to focus on two designs, the widely used 15×80 straight through model and the huge big eye Fuji 25×150 Meibo.
The numbering for binoculars (15×80 or 25 x 150) is the times magnification ie 25 with a massive 150 mm front optic lens to the front for a wide field of view and to allow more light in.
Japanese 25×150 Binoculars
Although these have a similar optical design of the smaller 15×80 sets the magnification and field of view makes this the ultimate military collectable!
They are known as Big Eye or Turret binoculars and as well as being used on the largest naval ships were, as military grade optics, also used for coastal artillery, naval observation, and long-range spotting. Here at Aviation and Binoculars we have a show piece set made by Fuji Meibo. They have been professionally polished and fully serviced.
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