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Vertical periscope
All Tiger 1 (except for the prototype "V1") were fitted with periscopes in the two crew hatches in the hull. Later, a third periscope was added in the turret roof, for the loader. But when the turret was redesigned, it was replaced by a smaller periscope identical to the ones in the new cupola. Therefore about 130 vehicles were fitted with three of these large periscopes; the rest had two [6] .
These periscopes were vertical and almost 300mm in overall height. The viewing window was 126mm x 42mm [5] . Each periscope was made of two identical prisms. The above is my diagram of a prism. Dimensions are not precise; I know of no surviving examples or design drawings. The best illustration is in the Turret Manual [4] .
Each prism was held by two screws in a metal sleeve. The lower sleeve was hinged; the upper one was fixed to the roof. Two wingnuts locked the lower sleeve in place and forced the prisms together. The crewman could quickly open them to replace a damaged prism.
The prisms were glass, in bakelite casings (probably dark brown). The lower 40mm of the casing (as in the diagram) was hollow. There were internal rubber seals.
To protect the crewman from hitting the periscope in a moving vehicle, rubber protective covers with windows were provided. Many photographs of Tigers show these covers on the periscopes; however, many others show bare periscopes.
This is my diagram of the cover and how it fits on a prism. I am working entirely from photographs so this is only an approximation.
The vehicle carried four replacement prisms internally. The prism holders were open, sheet metal brackets fixed by three screws to a mounting plate. The mounting plate was welded to the armour. The diagram above shows a holder.
A single prism could be locked into each holder by a hinged metal strip [3] . As this diagram shows, the glass window of the prism was facing the wall when stowed.
Two holders were provided for the driver and two for the radio operator. The driver's holders were mounted on either side of the forward bulkhead, behind his head. The above diagram is facing forwards. The other holder is on the opposite side of the bulkhead.
This photo of the Bovington vehicle (after repainting) show how these mounting plates were attached to the bulkhead.
The radio operator's holders were more convenient. One of them was inside the front plate, to the upper right of the machine gun. This diagram shows the holder, and the holes for the MG mount.
The fourth holder was on the lower hull wall to the right of the radio operator. This photo shows the holder in the 'Saumur' vehicle (after repainting).
During the time when a third vertical perisope was mounted in the turret roof, there was probably extra stowage for two prisms in the turret. But I can find no record of this.
Sources
[1] Survey of vehicle 251114, at Saumur, by Jean-Charles Breucque
[2] Survey of vehicle 250031, by Stephan Vogt
[3] Survey of vehicle 250122, Bovington, by David Byrden
[4] Tiger Turret Manual, Bild 35: Prismeneinsatzlagerung
[6] DW to Tiger 1
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Copyright © David Byrden 1998-2007 except where indicated.
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