SS-Dienstglas RUKA Rathenow

[sszza2]

I doubt if many pre war binos were stored until after WW2. Looking at the serial numbers they don't seem to be in any single batch either. Maybe certain units had them locally marked themselves?

As to veterans - if the SS was as numerous yet the skull binoculars so rare, it would be a million to one shot to find a veteran that actually used a skull bino - many are in fact pictured using standard Dienstglas, donated civilian and captured British binoculars. Worth a shot though!

Agree with your comment about binos being stored until post war and then tampered with by fraudsters. Just absurd. Regarding serial numbers - studies indicate specific ranges for Dhd markings. I believe those who argue that all are fraud are intentionally dis-informing the collecting community for their own benefit.

I also agree with your comments about veterans and their recollections. My experience with US and German veterans has been that they did not pay attention to such absurd collector marking minutiae. All they cared about was that optics, weapons and clothing functioned well or didn't.

[amberjake]

Exactly the point I was trying to make,for me they are right,for the fact that they are always rathenow and all fall within certain serial numbers,my synopsis is that they were a contract pre war maybe 1935 36 ,when war broke out and the SS expanded,it became too expensive,too time consuming to mark all SS binoculars this way.so they were issued with the usual dienstglas models

[Sgt Bilko]

Have a look at this guy's bino - the right prism plate has a central symbol on top and, next line shows a short word then a long.....

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...6c2ac95ea5.jpg

[amberjake]

I don't have any myself as I do collect binos but not this type and to be honest ss stuff is not my thing,so I have no axe to grind,just ny observations,i have had three through my hands ( not mine as I say but people wanting them cleaned),all three serial numbers were within 150 of each other,all the same construction,and non came from eastern Europe,one was found in a cellar in Norfolk,one in an attic in devon and the other was in some guys late granddads military box when he died a few years ago,all had graticules,and the attic and cellar ones had been there for decades going by the state of them,funnily enough the guy whose granddads they were uses them but has covered over the totenkopf with black tape,the other two I think were owned by collectors

[sszza2]

Have a look at this guy's bino - the right prism plate has a central symbol on top and, next line shows a short word then a long.....

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...6c2ac95ea5.jpg

Yes quite an interesting photo!

[sszza2]

I don't have any myself as I do collect binos but not this type and to be honest ss stuff is not my thing,so I have no axe to grind,just ny observations,i have had three through my hands ( not mine as I say but people wanting them cleaned),all three serial numbers were within 150 of each other,all the same construction,and non came from eastern Europe,one was found in a cellar in Norfolk,one in an attic in devon and the other was in some guys late granddads military box when he died a few years ago,all had graticules,and the attic and cellar ones had been there for decades going by the state of them,funnily enough the guy whose granddads they were uses them but has covered over the totenkopf with black tape,the other two I think were owned by collectors

I agree with your comments and observations on this subject.

[Mikedenmark]

I think the totenkopf markings were only used by the SS Verfügungstruppe. The predecessor to the Waffen SS.
I am not an expert on SS organisation ( luckily, that could easily bring me to need a room at an asylum for the insane) but I think the verfügungstruppe were originally part of the black allgemeine SS. ( In contrast to the SS-Führerguard units)
So, when the first Waffen-SS units were formed, they were filled up with Verfügungstruppe personnel. Some of these were at that time paid as part of the police. ( and I don´t know how they may have amalgamated with the State Schutzspolizei. Schupo was responsible for anti riot activity, where the ordinary police did ordinary police work. Schupo personnel were also part of the first W-SS divisions.)

I think that was 2 SS Divisions. Mainly armed with czekoslovakian weapons, as the W-SS did not at that time have access to Wehrmacht supplies. So RUKA bino´s and CZ rifles and MG´s.

If photo´s of the Death head binos in use should be located, I think one has to either look for SS-Verfügungstruppe, or those 2 SS-divisions.
( I didn´t look too closely at that radio SS photo, but now I have. He is indeed member of the SS Totenkopf division. Exactly one of the divisions created with SS VT personnel)

Later in the war, those death head binos could probably be anywhere.

[amberjake]

that was also my conclusion mike,as you say early pre war,it makes sense as the SS began to grow it became too costly and time consuming to issue every SS unit with them so they were issued standard dienstglas instead

[Sgt Bilko]

Some photos also show them with civilian centre focus binoculars. And I have an SS Norland marked Zeiss Delturis.

[Mikedenmark]

I found a wikipedia page on the 3rd SS division. and included, a description of how the division commander Theodor Eicke was taking away Verfügungstruppe equipment to outfit "his" new division.
Being nazi germany, apparently Himmler got worried about what Eicke was doing. That sort of stopped him in the tracks. Himmler didn´t like people with personal divisions. So the units (TK Standarden )between the VT and the W-ss created by Eicke, was disbanded, and the division became part of the W-ss.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS-Totenkopfverb%C3%A4nde

look under development.

Amberjake. I think it went a bit differently. The W-SS was not a state/national corps. It was a nazi party enterprise. heavily underfunded. As any homemade military unit is bound to be.
Along the way, they made a name for themself, and with a pushy boss, (Himmler) eventually, they became funded by the government. After that, they were entitled to receiving standard german army equipment.
But everything was a mess prior to 1943. Even in 1943, the Luftwaffe contracted hungarian pistols M37, as a private order, because they were not allowed to buy pistols in sufficient numbers in Germany. Weird, given that the Luftwaffe was the airforce of the country.

[Rusmann]

For refresh the theme
My RUKA 10x50

[gabe]

Found in Hungary on the battle fields of 1944-45 operations.
Photo credits to tarrkamilitaria.hu

[Sgt Bilko]

Another Ruka SS 6x30 just sold on EbayUK - number 101614 and looking good.