1 - eyepiece
2 - diagonal prism
3 - handle
4 and 6 - wrapping system
5 - periscope tube
7 - lens
8 - lens
9 - diagonal prism
10 - lens
A - with two flat mirrors
B - with two angular prisms
1 and 2 - mirrors
3 and 4 - prisms
5 and 6 - eye of the observer
7 and 8 - periscope tube
H is the optical height of the periscope
Periskop (from other Greek: περι- “around” and σκοπέω - “look”) is an optical device for observation from a shelter. The simplest form of a periscope is a tube, at both ends of which mirrors are fixed, inclined 45 ° relative to the axis of the tube to change the course of light rays. In more complex versions, prisms are used instead of mirrors to deflect the rays, and the image obtained by the observer is enlarged using a lens system.
The most famous types of periscope - such as periscopes on submarines , tanks , manual periscopes and stereo tubes (they can also be used as a periscope) - are widely used in military affairs.
Technology History
Johannes Gutenberg invented the periscope prototype in the 1430s; its device allowed pilgrims to look over their heads in a crowd at the Aachen festival.
Jan Hevelius described the periscope in his work Selenografia, sive Lunae Descriptio (Selenography, or description of the Moon) in 1647. He also proposed for the first time to use the periscope for military purposes.
The French scientist Hippolyte Marie-Davy in 1854 proposed a marine periscope, consisting of a tube and two mirrors deployed at a 45 ° angle.
A workable prismatic periscope for a submarine was first implemented in the United States during the Civil War of 1861-1865. American Thomas H. Doughty.
Left - shooting from a periscope rifle ( 1915 ).
During the First World War, soldiers sometimes used periscopes attached to rifle trunks, since this method allowed the shooter to be in the trench and at the same time fire, without exposing himself to danger of being hit by enemy fire [1] . In the Russian Imperial Army, a similar device (known as a hyposcope ) was used on Maxim's machine guns of pack type [2] .
During the Second World War, periscopes were also used on tanks with the aim of making safer visibility for the driver or gunner. In particular, periscopes were installed on German Tiger tanks.
In submarines, periscopes are used to observe from the underwater position (from the " periscope depth ") the navigational situation on the surface of the sea and to detect enemy aircraft . When immersed to great depths, the protruding periscope tubes are drawn into the hull of the boat. Periscopes can be combined with a device for operating the engine under water .
| Anti-aircraft and panoramic periscopes on the cabin of the submarine S-56 ( Vladivostok ). | The central compartment of the submarine S-56 : periscope, control and monitoring units. | Soviet submarine moves at periscope depth , picture from an American plane, 1986. |
Record Models
| External Images | |
|---|---|
| Images of periscopes | |
| Loading the Star Track periscope for removal from the manufacturer and installation on board SSBNs | |
- The record for the length and size of periscopes established during the " arms race " of the Cold War belongs to the American Star Tracker Periscope , which was manufactured at the Collmorgen optical equipment factory in Northampton , Massachusetts , and installed on nuclear submarines-carrier SLBMs " Polaris " ( SSBN-598 and other SSBNs such as " George Washington "), equipped with a function of navigation through the starry sky [3] .
Notes
- ↑ Trench periscope
- ↑ Hyposcope // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
- ↑ Periscopes Now Well Wedded to Optical Display Systems. (Eng.) // Missiles and Rockets : The Missile / Space Weekly. - Washington, DC: American Aviation Publications, Inc., August 22, 1960. - Vol.7 - No.8 - P.36.
Literature
- Observing Instruments // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.