Target device 1229
The target device 1229 ( ZG 1229 ), also known by its common name Vampir , was an active night vision device , developed during the Second World War for the Wehrmacht for mounting on the assault rifle 44 in order to give soldiers equipped with it a certain night fighting ability.
design
The ZG 1229 Vampire weighed approx. 2.25 kg and was assembled with a clamp assembly on the assault rifle 44 directly in the factory of the company CG Haenel in Suhl and delivered ready. The soldiers equipped in this way were referred to by the Wehrmacht High Command as night fighters . In addition to the device itself and the infrared spotlight mounted on it, there was a 13.5 kg battery for the spotlight and another, smaller battery in a gas mask canister , which supplied the infrared device itself with energy. The batteries were transported by means of carrying frames 39 on the soldier's back. The headlight was basically a normal incandescent lamp with an upstream filter that only allowed the infrared portion of the light to pass through. In contrast to thermal imaging devices, work was carried out in the upper infrared range and the device could therefore not make any heat radiated by living beings and devices visible. In contrast to today's night vision devices, the vampire device was useless without the headlight, since the image converter of generation 0 could not amplify the remaining light (moon, stars, etc.) in sufficient quantity; this is called an active night vision device.
commitment
Vampire devices were used for the first time in February 1945, although production of the devices had been on a small scale since early 1944. By the end of the war, it is documented that 310 units had been delivered to the Wehrmacht, which they mainly used on the Eastern Front . In reports from contemporary witnesses, one can read of " snipers who hunted enemies at night with large, non-glowing headlights mounted on equally enormous telescopic sights". Similar devices were also mounted on MG34 and MG42 machine guns.
swell
- German Infrared Night-Vision Devices on achtungpanzer.com (English)