Are there any examples of field use, beyond testing purposes, of night vision? Perhaps Night-Fighter aircraft employment?
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In-depth topic on this here (be prepared it’s a long read with lots of technical terms)
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One of the first notable uses of Night Vision was by the Germans with the “Vampire” scope. It was a giant scope that had an oversized infrared lamp on top of it that was usually placed on the Stg44. It was hooked up and powered by a wire that ran to a massive battery pack that was worn on the soldier’s back. It used infrared so the vision through the scope was red but was not full thermal vision so you would not be able to detect body heat. I believe only a few hundred were made and were only deployed on the Eastern front. The whole ensemble was clunky and very heavy and I imagine very susceptible to damage given the wires and the infrared lamp but you have to start somewhere. It’s made a few appearances in media, off the top of my head one is used by a sniper at the end of The Dirty Dozen, it’s also an unlockable upgrade in Zombie Army 4.
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