So I found a periscope manual from 1940 and I'm pretty sure there was no bearing transmission then. I did find somthing really cool that I wish was in the game though.
http://www.maritime.org/doc/pdf/peri...type2-1940.pdf
Read page 9 of 15 (of the pdf, the actual pages are not numbered), right hand page under the headings "description of stabilized azimuth line" and "operation of stabilized azimuth line". That is one cool tool. Also, pretty sure it's impossible to get it in the game.