How does this work / what can i use it for

[hotponyshoes]

Dragged this out of my box of 'useful inspection tools' to measure the angle on something.
Anyway, after a bit of head-scratching, then a bit of research, it appears to be a ww2 german rangefinder/gun sight

Has a spirit-level built in so I can see how you could use it to measure the angle of a gun barrel or something.
Don't know what the adjusting/fine tuning thumbwheel is for? Maybe other parts are missing?

Can't see how it would attach to the gun though?
Can't see how it would work as a rangefinder either?

More importantly, I can't think of anything I can use it for!

 

[Seadog]

It's a Winkelmesser.
Fancy not knowing that

https://www.martelmaidesauctions.com/auction-lot/a-wwii-german-army-winkelmesser-35-artillery-fie_7184EFE834

 

[brightspark]

you havent an artillery gun then we take it

 

[cheb]

It's a Winkelmesser.
Fancy not knowing that

https://www.martelmaidesauctions.com/auction-lot/a-wwii-german-army-winkelmesser-35-artillery-fie_7184EFE834

Their price estimate was pretty good.

 

[hotponyshoes]

you havent an artillery gun then we take it

Even if I did, I can't see how this works?
Do you just hold it on the barrel or something?

 

[hotponyshoes]

It's a Winkelmesser.
Fancy not knowing that

https://www.martelmaidesauctions.com/auction-lot/a-wwii-german-army-winkelmesser-35-artillery-fie_7184EFE834

Makes sense with the WM on the front.
I was looking at the BVU on the back.
British veterinary union is a name I'm familiar with. Probably just thought it was for measuring surgical somethings and put it in my stash.
Doesn't look like it's nearly 100yrs old...

 

[Memmeddu]

you havent an artillery gun then we take it

Time to get an howitzer

 

[Mick Annick]

Time to get an howitzer

I bet @8ob ’s got one somewhere

 

[More Amps]

It's a Winkelmesser.
Fancy not knowing that

https://www.martelmaidesauctions.com/auction-lot/a-wwii-german-army-winkelmesser-35-artillery-fie_7184EFE834

If you mess with my winkel, I'll show you how it works....

 

[chunkolini]

would it fit onto this?
Meet Spudzilla 50mm bore potato cannon
oxy acetylene powered. Been hiding ina corner for years and years

 

[500e]

Done propane but oxygen and acetylene

 

[chunkolini]

Well dodgy.
Propane goes bang, easy start goes Boom, the mix goes KERACK.
Recoil knocks the idiot operator flying.
Darpa tested various gases and C2H2+O2 gave muzzle velocity of about 600mph.
Spudzilla is relegated to the naughty corner after a few tests.
I was bored and had a stupid idea.

 

[northwest]

It is an angle measuring device and somewhere on the gun there are two surfaces that come together at 90 degrees, you put the device there and adjust it until the level is level and read off the angle, the instructions on the one @Seadog linked to say to grease the sliding surfaces. Presumably the surfaces on the device itself and not the ones on the gun/device.

 

[Agroshield]

An example of a British version here:

Mk VI Field Clinometer

A clinometer is used to accurately set the elevation of a field gun or heavy machine gun so that the shells follow the correct trajectory and land at the range required. Over the years there have b…

talesfromthesupplydepot.blog

You can see some similarities. The main scale is a coarse adjustment and then the bubble itself is on a separate slider for fine adjustment.

The British one the bubble slides along a tapered (I guess) bar. It is graduated in degrees and minutes.

The German one, the bubble runs along a circular track.

I have some hazy thought that in the projectile-throwing world, they might use gradians for measuring angles (400 of them in a complete circle), so that (or a non-degree angle measurement) could explain the scale graduations. The numbers need some thinking about: clearly they are not a distance (as 45 degrees gives the maximum range). The 1/6400 is also probably significant.

 

[arther dailey]

best bet sell it to an enthusiast in ww2 kit then have spending monies for something you would use.

 

[hotponyshoes]

best bet sell it to an enthusiast in ww2 kit then have spending monies for something you would use.

About the only use I can think of is running guttering or drainage pipes but I've got some non-collectable tools for that..

 

[wyn]

Maximum range is at an elevation of around 30 degrees in air and 45 degrees in a vacuum.