infra red sights
Moderator: Tom Houlihan
infra red sights
I was talking to a waffen ss vet yesterday.he spoke of a unit in late war using infra red sights to knock out over 100t 34's. this appears to be something similar to what the much berated joscua wrote. as i only read about joshuas claim today it just seems funny that i heard a similar story the day before. can anyone confirm whether the germans had infra red sigts on their tankks in late war.
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Commissar D, the Evil
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See:
http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... 20&start=0
http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... 91&start=0
Best,
~D, the EviL
http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... 20&start=0
http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... 91&start=0
Best,
~D, the EviL
Death is lighter than a Feather, Duty is heavier than a Mountain....
Infra Red Sights
There were some infra red optics being developed towards the end of the war. There was the Vampir system ( Zielgerat 1229) where an Infra red optical scope was mounted to an Stg 44/MP 44 and the gas mask can was used to house the battery for the sight. There were some other versions as well. There was an optical mount for the driver of a Panther Tank and for the Gunner as well. There was a mount for the 251 Half track for the driver. The web site below gives a bit more of a description.
http://www.geocities.com/desertfox1891/ ... nthers.htm
http://www.geocities.com/desertfox1891/ ... nthers.htm
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michael kenny
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The site says:
The opposing artillery men and supporting personnel fled in panic. IR Panthers went into persuit and destroyed several trucks and support vehicles. The attack was a success which demonstrated the tremendous potential of IR technology.
As usual the uber -weapons prevail....................the Allies flee in terror!
Then:
Mid April 1945: More IR Panthers appeared towards the end of the war. Some were encountered by British armored units: one unit met some IR Panthers near Uelzen and after a one-sided fight, 1 British platoon of Comet tanks was annihilated
A story we hear all the time.
Perhaps this link might help.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/954934532/
Extract:
"The Royal Armoured Corps official vehicle returns (June 1945) report the RAC lost a total of 26 Comets during WWII. By examining the published histories of the 7th and 11th Armoured Divisions, the 4th and 29th Armoured Brigades, and finally all the various Comet regiments you can find every vehicle accounted for.
Having read through that lot, the loss of 4 Comets in a single night action (or any other tank at this stage of the war) would have been worth a book on its own. The highest single loss of Comets at any point (in 1945) occurred (in April) to the 23rd Hussars when 2 Comets where hit in the engine compartment by A/T gunfire, around morning teatime.
Obviously I was prepared for the 'maybe they weren't Comets' argument, I have spent considerable time in the Bovington library examining the war diaries of:
7AD, 11AD, Grds AD, 8AB, 29AB, 33AB, 34TB, 8 Corps, 12 Corps, 30Corps and the 21st Army group as well as the Canadian, Czech and Polish AD's.
And nobody lost 4 tanks in a night encounter with German AFV's in April 1945 at a time when all losses are recorded. Its that simple.
Maps and everything would help but please stay with me. 12 and 8 Corps only hit the river EMS at the start of April having crossed the RHINE late March.
The reason the story specifies Comets is to make it believable, at this stage of the war the most frequent British tank being encountered by the few remaining German AFV's where Comets. And it has to be April because they (Brit tanks) were not in action before then.
The 11th Armoured division was an all Comet unit at this stage of the war, they were attached 8 Corps, it was the 11th and its Comet regiments that fought passed Minden, Fallingbostel and Padaborn all hot spots in the I/R story. It was the 11th who captured Kamphgruppe UHU at Bad Seeburg, near Lubeck.
As I've said no such loss is recorded in the 11th AD, the most likely British unit in this fabrication.
The 7th Armoured division in 12 Corps had peeled off west to take Hamburg. The closest they come is a unit of the 8th Hussars being bounced at night with panzerfausts and kids. 30 Corps and the Canadian Army are too far west to be involved."
The opposing artillery men and supporting personnel fled in panic. IR Panthers went into persuit and destroyed several trucks and support vehicles. The attack was a success which demonstrated the tremendous potential of IR technology.
As usual the uber -weapons prevail....................the Allies flee in terror!
Then:
Mid April 1945: More IR Panthers appeared towards the end of the war. Some were encountered by British armored units: one unit met some IR Panthers near Uelzen and after a one-sided fight, 1 British platoon of Comet tanks was annihilated
A story we hear all the time.
Perhaps this link might help.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/954934532/
Extract:
"The Royal Armoured Corps official vehicle returns (June 1945) report the RAC lost a total of 26 Comets during WWII. By examining the published histories of the 7th and 11th Armoured Divisions, the 4th and 29th Armoured Brigades, and finally all the various Comet regiments you can find every vehicle accounted for.
Having read through that lot, the loss of 4 Comets in a single night action (or any other tank at this stage of the war) would have been worth a book on its own. The highest single loss of Comets at any point (in 1945) occurred (in April) to the 23rd Hussars when 2 Comets where hit in the engine compartment by A/T gunfire, around morning teatime.
Obviously I was prepared for the 'maybe they weren't Comets' argument, I have spent considerable time in the Bovington library examining the war diaries of:
7AD, 11AD, Grds AD, 8AB, 29AB, 33AB, 34TB, 8 Corps, 12 Corps, 30Corps and the 21st Army group as well as the Canadian, Czech and Polish AD's.
And nobody lost 4 tanks in a night encounter with German AFV's in April 1945 at a time when all losses are recorded. Its that simple.
Maps and everything would help but please stay with me. 12 and 8 Corps only hit the river EMS at the start of April having crossed the RHINE late March.
The reason the story specifies Comets is to make it believable, at this stage of the war the most frequent British tank being encountered by the few remaining German AFV's where Comets. And it has to be April because they (Brit tanks) were not in action before then.
The 11th Armoured division was an all Comet unit at this stage of the war, they were attached 8 Corps, it was the 11th and its Comet regiments that fought passed Minden, Fallingbostel and Padaborn all hot spots in the I/R story. It was the 11th who captured Kamphgruppe UHU at Bad Seeburg, near Lubeck.
As I've said no such loss is recorded in the 11th AD, the most likely British unit in this fabrication.
The 7th Armoured division in 12 Corps had peeled off west to take Hamburg. The closest they come is a unit of the 8th Hussars being bounced at night with panzerfausts and kids. 30 Corps and the Canadian Army are too far west to be involved."
Vampir IR System
I don't know of any proven encounters with the Vampir IR systems. I have seen plenty of pictures of the system. I have found one of the back racks for some of the components that a soldier would wear. Has anyone seen one of these optical systems in person?
Zair
Zair