wayne556517
Lieutenant General
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Yep i would buy one.
sdkfz251uhu (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter wayne556517
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binder001
Command Sergeant Major
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The Germans get the credit for a major deplyment of IR to enhance night combat. The US and British were ready with massed armored searchlight vehicles (the CDL program) but the Germans went a generation further. The concept is quite interesting.
Currahee Chris
Sergeant Major
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Interesting Wayne- what front was this vehicle active on?? 1945 assuming???
I believe the King Tiger had rudimentary IR/Night Vision capability as well correct???
I believe the King Tiger had rudimentary IR/Night Vision capability as well correct???
DMNamiot
Moderator
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These were bad mothers! They worked in platoons with the massive IR Light illuminating the enemy and the Pathers going to town on them! I will take a look and see if any KTs were equiped with this. From what I have in my references they were only used on Panthers against the Soviets in conjunction with the Uhu Searchlights beginning in around mid to late 44. This was a technological leap for the time and interestingly the only army to adopt this technology within 10 years of the end of the war was the Soviets on their T54B models. We didnt get into it until the M60A1 hit the streets in around 1965. Amazing that we took so long to see the value in owning the night...
Dave
Dave
fmethorst
Command Sergeant Major
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That is a great looking model Wayne. 
The concept included:
The Panther had it's own 20cm IR spotlight (200 watt). The vehicle commander had a 5x (restricted to 1.2x when guiding the driver) monocular IR image viewer. Targets could be acquired out to 400m. The unit required the vehicle commander to operate with the turret hatch open and his head exposed. The unit was removed during the day. The driver operated blind and relied on directions from the vehicle commander.
The 'Uhu" was created to improve the range of the system and featered a 60cm (6000 watt) carbon arc searchlight with IR filter. A 10x monocular IR image viewer on the vehicle could be used for observation to 1500m. The light increased the acquisition range of the Panther to 700m. As noted 1 "Uhu" would support a platoon of Panthers (5 tanks). The searchlight was folded down when the vehicle was on the move. The driver used of a 20cm IR headlight (200 watt) and an IR night driving device. Approximately 60 of these were built.
The "Falke" was a standard SPW fitted with a 20cm IR headlight (200 watt) and an IR night driving device. The MG was also fitting with an IR viewing device. This vehicle carried Panzergrenadiers armed with Sturmgewehr 44s fitted with IR scopes and illuminators. This weapon system was known as "Vampir".
All of this stuff was well ahead of it's time, including the assault rifle. The Germans also experimented with thermal imaging systems.
I am unaware of any Tiger IIs making using of IR.
The concept included:
- IR equiped Panther
- Sd.Kfz.251/20 SPW "Uhu"
- Sd.Kfz.251/1 SPW "Falke"
The Panther had it's own 20cm IR spotlight (200 watt). The vehicle commander had a 5x (restricted to 1.2x when guiding the driver) monocular IR image viewer. Targets could be acquired out to 400m. The unit required the vehicle commander to operate with the turret hatch open and his head exposed. The unit was removed during the day. The driver operated blind and relied on directions from the vehicle commander.
The 'Uhu" was created to improve the range of the system and featered a 60cm (6000 watt) carbon arc searchlight with IR filter. A 10x monocular IR image viewer on the vehicle could be used for observation to 1500m. The light increased the acquisition range of the Panther to 700m. As noted 1 "Uhu" would support a platoon of Panthers (5 tanks). The searchlight was folded down when the vehicle was on the move. The driver used of a 20cm IR headlight (200 watt) and an IR night driving device. Approximately 60 of these were built.
The "Falke" was a standard SPW fitted with a 20cm IR headlight (200 watt) and an IR night driving device. The MG was also fitting with an IR viewing device. This vehicle carried Panzergrenadiers armed with Sturmgewehr 44s fitted with IR scopes and illuminators. This weapon system was known as "Vampir".
All of this stuff was well ahead of it's time, including the assault rifle. The Germans also experimented with thermal imaging systems.
I am unaware of any Tiger IIs making using of IR.