observation scope??

[johnlax]

IS this scope active ? if so how do I get a view through it??
I know how to raise and lower it! does it have a view feature if so how do I use it what is its purpose??

[John Pancoast]

Originally Posted by johnlax

IS this scope active ? if so how do I get a view through it??
I know how to raise and lower it! does it have a view feature if so how do I use it what is its purpose??

It has a view. Pressing the letter "O" should show it. It's for just as it's named; observing.
It can tilt much higher vertically than the attack scope, so you can look for aircraft, i.e.

Also had a larger head on it. In the game you can also attack with it, but I don't believe that was how it was used in reality (not sure though).

[bstanko6]

Observation scope had several purposes:

1) to sweep the sky before surfacing.

2) auxiliary scope in case attack scope broke.

3) used at night since it let in more light.

3) if necessary, the 1st Officer could jump on it and assist in calculating solutions.

[Fifi]

Originally Posted by John Pancoast

In the game you can also attack with it, but I don't believe that was how it was used in reality (not sure though).

Good question
Of what i recall, in movie Das Boot we see Lehmann attacking from the obs scope in command room...not in the conning tower. So is it for the movie cameras purpose (not enough space in the tower)?...

[John Pancoast]

Originally Posted by Fifi

Good question
Of what i recall, in movie Das Boot we see Lehmann attacking from the obs scope in command room...not in the conning tower. So is it for the movie cameras purpose (not enough space in the tower)?...

Hard to say; there are contraditions for many things. I.e, in the U-boat commander's handbook, it doesn't specifically state that scope attacks happened at night but does mention them.
While elsewhere it will state night scope attacks never took place due to not enough light in the scope(s).


I don't recall any scope attack scene in the movie other than the aborted attack on the destroyer scene and that was in the tower, but I haven't watched it in awhile either.

[Fifi]

Ok solved this question, i watched the destroyer attack scene, and you’re right...it was from the tower. Dunno why my memory is so crappy

Did you know Lehmann himself participated to the movie? As consultant...

[derstosstrupp]

The head was larger, allowing better light transmission, so my understanding is that it was used in lower light conditions, bright nights and maybe a darker dawn/dusk, but not on a dark night. The attack scope was only used during the day, and by some accounts during brighter dawn/dusk.

What’s interesting is that in most newsreels you see attacks happening from the observation scope, particularly Topp, but I think that goes to Fifi’s point, the lack of space in the tower for filming, as well as confidentiality. The Standsehrohr attack scope was a phenomenal piece of equipment. I have seen footage of the skippers turning around on the attack scope, but not very often.

As far as the optics and reticles are concerned, substantially the same as the attack scope.

Good detail here:
http://tvre.org/en/aiming-with-the-periscope

[John Pancoast]

Originally Posted by Fifi

Ok solved this question, i watched the destroyer attack scene, and you’re right...it was from the tower. Dunno why my memory is so crappy

Did you know Lehmann himself participated to the movie? As consultant...

Yes, I guess he was a real pain in the arse. Didn't like the movie; he thought it glorified things, etc.

[John Pancoast]

Hitman where are you ?

[John Pancoast]

Originally Posted by derstosstrupp

The head was larger, allowing better light transmission, so my understanding is that it was used in lower light conditions, bright nights and maybe a darker dawn/dusk, but not on a dark night. The attack scope was only used during the day, and by some accounts during brighter dawn/dusk.

What’s interesting is that in most newsreels you see attacks happening from the observation scope, particularly Topp, but I think that goes to Fifi’s point, the lack of space in the tower for filming, as well as confidentiality. The Standsehrohr attack scope was a phenomenal piece of equipment. I have seen footage of the skippers turning around on the attack scope, but not very often.

As far as the optics and reticles are concerned, substantially the same as the attack scope.

Good detail here:
http://tvre.org/en/aiming-with-the-periscope

Yes, I'd bet the newsreel/photo shots of a skipper attacking from an observation scope were more for dramatic affect, more light and room available for the camera, etc.

[John Pancoast]

Well, found this gem from Wolfgang Luth at u-boat archive's patrol reports in 1941.

"21.59 Four-shot on tanker: Range = 3000 meters, target angle 80°, speed = 9 knots.
M i s s e d s h o t !
Can only be explained by an underestimation of the range through the periscope with the full moon. (emphasis mine). The tanker was first found again in the periscope late, because it had zigzagged away from the boat.
Apparently he was again on his old course and so had increased the range to the boat.
After 10 minutes a torpedo detonation was heard. End of run detonation was presumed.
22.27 Surfaced, pursued.
24.00 CE 9598 ESE 2-3, bright moonlit night

02.12.41 60 nm south of the Azores
04.00 CE 9689 The moon set in an hour, a half hour afterwards the dawn begins. In this period the surface shots must fall."

So I guess that answers the question about scope attacks at night.