The following intelligence report on German antiaircraft sights was originally published in Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 45, April 1, 1944. [DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]

ADDITIONAL DATA -- GERMAN AA SIGHT 30/38 A description of the German AA pivoted ring sight Schwebekreisvisier 30/38 appeared in Tactical and Technical Trends No. 41 p. 4, but a sketch of the instrument was not available for that issue. The accompanying sketches and brief resume of the method of operation supplement the article referred to above. The speed of the target must be quickly estimated, and the appropriate pivoted ring, and corresponding scale, inserted. The layer presses his eye to the eyepiece and by operating the traversing gear, displaces the bead of the foresight in the apparent line of flight of the target to a point so far in front of the target that its nose cuts the rim of the pivoted ring, and the target is heading from that position to the foresight bead. The ring is pivoted, according to the angle of sight, to the target so that at angles near 0° it will be almost horizontal and will appear to the layer to be a line, of which the bead will be a thickening. If, in the case of a surprise attack, there is no time to align the target exactly along the ring, the layer must at least keep the foresight bead ahead and in the line of flight of the target. The sight is only intended to be used to direct the opening rounds; after that, fire is continued in accordance with observation of tracer. The sight is not used for the engagement of ground targets.

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