Sniper scopes from 1900 to 1945

1943 Progress PU scope

PU sniper scope made in 1943 at the Progress plant factory. The different meter dial fonts on both adjustment turrets and the “CB” mark mean that this scope was originally made for SVT40 but has been modified later to be mounted on Mosin Nagant 91/30

R. Fuess Berlin sniper scope carrying case

WW1 carrying case issued for the R.Fuess Berlin 3x sniper scope

Dr. W. Gerard in Charlottenburg Reichswehr sniper scope

Dr. W. Gerard M4x scope, mounted on “Danzig”mount, used for Reichswehr training.

K. Kahles Wien cad sniper scope

Here is a ground-dug K.Kahles 4×60 wearing the war-code “cad”. The recoil ring tells that this scope was mounted on its K98k with a LSR mount. To some people, these dug scopes are just a piece of junk. But these ground pieces don’t lie on their history and sometimes bring very interesting details.

1939 Progress PEM scope & lateral mount

This PEM scope was one of the few PEM scopes made in 1939 at the Kharkov Machine-Building Plant (FED), while most of them were made at the Progress plant. The front part of a lateral mount is still present.

C.P. Goerz 4x sniper scope

C.P. Goerz Berlin 4x is an interesting WWI scope because it was mounted on a mount which could be seen as the ancester of the WWII turret mount. This was, with the similar Goerz 3x mount, the only mounts from 14-18 that could be changed from a G98 to another one without modification (having the right bases on it, of course).

Romanian Vz.24 I.O.R. sniper scope

Here’s another sniper rifle that’s quite well-known among sniper rifle and scope collectors: the Romanian Vz.24 paired with its I.O.R. scope.

The Vz.24 is a bolt-action carbine manufactured in Czechoslovakia between 1924 and 1942. It was developed from the German Mauser Gewehr 98 line and features a similar bolt design. In 1939, following the occupation of Czechoslovakia, Germany acquired hundreds of thousands of these rifles and pressed them into service.

In 1942, factories were converted to the German Karabiner 98k. Several hundred thousand rifles were also produced for the Romanian Army. Since Romania was part of the Axis for from 1941 to 1944, the Vz. 24 saw widespread service, most notably with German and Romanian forces on the Eastern Front. Romanian-contract Vz. 24 rifles feature a two-letter prefix in their serial numbers, with the first letter varying and the second being “R” to indicate “Romania”.

Romanian-contract Vz. 24 rifles feature a two-letter prefix in their serial numbers, with the varying first letter represents different periods of manufacturingand and the second letter being “R” to indicate “Romania”.

The 4,25 x 28 scope was developed by I.O.R. (Întreprinderea Optică Română – Romanian Optical Enterprise). When Romania joined Germany into the war, the production shifted from civilian use to military scopes, especially for the Romanian army and their standard Romanian sniper rifle at the time : the Vz. 24.

I.O.R. scopes were used on two types of mounts : a bracket type mount (see first picture) and a two parts mount (above picture). The split rings mount seems to be the later model. The scope & mount assembly is pretty heavy, compared to other sniper scopes of the same period. When looking at the adjustment block, you can see a clear resemblance to Soviet scopes such as the PE and PEM.

Different canvas / leather carrying cases were issued for the Vz.24 I.O.R. scope :