German army binoculars

SpitfireIV

Heres a few pictures of a cased pair of WW2 German army, Carl Zeiss 6x30 binoculars. This is one of the 'star buys' of my collection, picked these up back in 2001 for the modest price of £20 at a Sunday market. Asked the lady that was selling them the price and couldnt believe when she said £20!! I didnt even try bargain with her I was MORE than happy to pay the asking price there and then . These go for considerably more now adays on auction sites and online militaria dealers.

Anyway, the binoculars are of WW2 vintage, the underside strap of the binocular case and cross strap of the binoculars are stamped with the German eagle and WaA stamp. At some stage however in its life someone has added that grey strap, its not removable, sort of looks 'East German' army, so it was possibly used after the war. There is a very faint date, which I believe is either 1965 or 1955.

The binoculars themself are in excellent working order and the optics are crystal clear and functioning properly. I know I probably shouldnt, but I do use them quite often as I find them a lot better then modern optics/binoculars, so a testimont to German engineering I havent been able to date them yet, I believe they are relatively early war, but thats just a guess, perhaps the code on them is some indication as to year of manufacture?

Anyway, a few pictures for thos of you interested, any comments or questions feel free to ask

Dr Strange

Very nice condition, CB1798!

And for £20 definitely a good buy. Can you try and identify more of the strap code? Maybe using a paper and pencil or something to bring out the number/code. You could also try (it shouldn't do any harm really) putting some water (with a damp cloth etc) on that spot with the number and the code may become more visible.

Can you see any WAa number? I'll try to get you a date for these. Carl Zeiss in Jena are experts in optics and you can still buy their binoculars and microscopes etc. They are used world-wide.

SpitfireIV

Cheers Preusse

The WaA number on the binoculars is '202' and on the case '100' (I believe), unfortunately I cant make out the marking on the carry strap, I tried a damp cloth on it and a pencil and paper, it did highlight the year a little which is definately '1955'.

Dr Strange

CroppyBoy1798 wrote: »

Cheers Preusse

The WaA number on the binoculars is '202' and on the case '100' (I believe), unfortunately I cant make out the marking on the carry strap, I tried a damp cloth on it and a pencil and paper, it did highlight the year a little which is definately '1955'.

No problem, I'll see what I can find out about the WaA numbers.

Dr Strange

Ok, so the information I got on it with the WaA: it was made in 1939/1940. It has the original Bakelite case (good original condition) and is in very good condition (Collector's Item!). You know the maker so that's no news. For that price a definite bargain!

As for the grey/white sling, it is indeed not original to the case and if you want to keep it in original condition I would recommend (not only me but a serious binocular collector I know recommends it as well) to get rid of it. If it doesn't come off just cut it, it definitely does not belong to the case or binos.

It's great to see it used but be careful with it

SpitfireIV

Preusse wrote: »

Ok, so the information I got on it with the WaA: it was made in 1939/1940. It has the original Bakelite case (good original condition) and is in very good condition (Collector's Item!). You know the maker so that's no news. For that price a definite bargain!

As for the grey/white sling, it is indeed not original to the case and if you want to keep it in original condition I would recommend (not only me but a serious binocular collector I know recommends it as well) to get rid of it. If it doesn't come off just cut it, it definitely does not belong to the case or binos.

It's great to see it used but be careful with it

Excellent, thanks a million Preusse

I got one hell of a bargain alright, had that stall owner known exactly what she was selling she could have made herself a bit more dosh, but her loss was my gain

I've always been in two minds about that strap, its riveted on, so once it comes off thats it, it wont go back on. I'd guess it was put on by some sort of military, possibly east German, could have been a private pair belong to an officer/NCO, so it might be part of its 'service life' history......gonna have to do more research on it before I make any decisions.

Many thanks again!

Dr Strange

CroppyBoy1798 wrote: »

Excellent, thanks a million Preusse

I got one hell of a bargain alright, had that stall owner known exactly what she was selling she could have made herself a bit more dosh, but her loss was my gain

I've always been in two minds about that strap, its riveted on, so once it comes off thats it, it wont go back on. I'd guess it was put on by some sort of military, possibly east German, could have been a private pair belong to an officer/NCO, so it might be part of its 'service life' history......gonna have to do more research on it before I make any decisions.

Many thanks again!

Hi CB1798,

no problem, glad I could add some more information to your item. I think it is always nice to find out more about these items even if it's only some tiny amount of information. I might still come up with something for the sling but not sure. It is interesting to note that the West German Army (Bundeswehr) was instituted on the 5th of May 1955 by Konrad Adenauer.
The East German equivalent, the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) was instituted on 1st of March 1956! Just about a year after the West German Army. However, already in 1948 did the Russian controlled sector have the kasernierte Bereitschaft, a kind of police-in-waiting in barracks which became the Kasernierte Volkspolizei in 1952 (People's Police in Barracks).

In both armies former Wehrmacht soldiers made up most of the recruts however, the former Wehrmacht soldiers for the East German Army came mostly from Russian captivity and had undergone political anti-fascistic indoctrination.

From tyhat point it would definitely be interesting to find out if the strap was attached and the binos used by the East German or West German Army. A lot of Wehrmacht material and weapons were still in use by the West German Army in the 1970's.

SpitfireIV

Ok, now........what if I throw a curve ball and say that whilst I was looking at the strap very closely under a bright light, I spotted what looks VERY similar to a broad arrow, ie 'a crows foot'......





Its not a great pic, I tried to highlight it, but to the naked eye its definately an arrow, also a partial number, '9'. A British strap?? Grey........RAF perhaps? Navy? A WW2 capture that was used after the war? Or just a WW2 binoculars that someone has stuck an old british strap on it in its post service life

Dr Strange

I'll check. However, there's one thing to note: Any Wehrmacht material used after the war would have a marking and/or number permanently put on it (engraved, etc.) There should be a marking other than the WaA on the binoculars themselves if they had been reused by either of the German armies. If there is nothing else there the binos were probably not used by the army and the strap was most likely fitted privately after the war.

SpitfireIV

Not as good a make as Carl Zeiss, and no case.....asking price £185 :eek:

http://www.michaeldlong.com/Ko-Bespoke/stockdetails.asp?product=Militaria/M5/4/102555


Thanks again for the info Preusse, much appreciated. I'll have ti dig out some other items and see what you think of 'em, unfortunately I dont have that many German items, still kicking myself that I passed up a WW2 German field telephone for a relatively low price, I just didnt realise what it was at the time!

Dr Strange

CroppyBoy1798 wrote: »

Not as good a make as Carl Zeiss, and no case.....asking price £185 :eek:

http://www.michaeldlong.com/Ko-Bespoke/stockdetails.asp?product=Militaria/M5/4/102555


Thanks again for the info Preusse, much appreciated. I'll have ti dig out some other items and see what you think of 'em, unfortunately I dont have that many German items, still kicking myself that I passed up a WW2 German field telephone for a relatively low price, I just didnt realise what it was at the time!

That's way overpriced. Always be careful and compare prices at different militaria dealers.

By the way some German collectors' want me to convey their congratulations because it seems you have made a real good buy there.

Dr Strange

CroppyBoy1798,

some news about the sling/strap. Apparently, it is a British Forces strap.

Best,

Preusse

SpitfireIV

Preusse wrote: »

CroppyBoy1798,

some news about the sling/strap. Apparently, it is a British Forces strap.

Best,

Preusse

British forces, wow......now how on earht did that end up on a pair of WW2 German binoculars *why cant you talk binoculars!!* .

With that I've decided I'll leave the strap on, its part of its history and doing it no harm.

boneless

Speaking as a keen bird watcher, Croppy Boy... I'm jealous as hell!! Wonderful glasses. I had the pleasure of using a pair of them a while ago and they rock the socks off some modern brands.

Have you tried to contact Zeiss themselves to see if there is a service history? A long shot but hey, who knows?

mastermind2005

lovely set alright. what value would be on these?

Dr Strange

mastermind2005 wrote: »

lovely set alright. what value would be on these?

Hi mastermind2005,

the value depends on the item. In this case around €150.

Best,

Preusse

mastermind2005

Be nice to have a pair like that with history behind them