Old WWII bins info please... National Instrument Corp (1 Viewer)

Good day... I recently won these at auction and was hoping to get some info... They don't say B&L on them.. But I thought this would be the appropriate place to ask. Just looking for some general info. Looks to be coated.. So maybe late 40's? I believe the sticker that is missing said "coated lenses use care when cleaning". Or something along those lines...I don't have them yet... they are on the way... Anyway, some general thoughts and would they be worth sending out to be cleaned..etc? Thanks in advance!

Hi there,
I don't know this maker, but the prisms look large.
It could be from 1945, as binoculars were marked regarding soft coatings.

If the view is good and the prisms not chipped then I would think it worth having the binocular overhauled by an expert.
Suddarth?

Regards,
B.

P.S.
The National Optical Company in WW2 was connected to Taylor Hobson and produced fine optics in shadow factories around Leicester.
Some of the lenses made are now valuable and sought after.
Maybe the National Instrument Corporation was a similar venture?

P.P.S.
These 7x50s seem to go for about $80, so really a labour of love getting one cleaned.

Thank you for the reply.

I apologise if this in the wrong thread. Can a moderator move if needed.

Thanks

waterman74 said:

Thank you for the reply.

I apologise if this in the wrong thread. Can a moderator move if needed.

Thanks

Click to expand...

You are in the right place.

When you do get them and if you want work done on them contact:

https://suddarthoptical.com/

It is in Oklahoma.

Bob

Thanks

Hello Waterman74,

The binocular looks like a United States Navy binocular model 32 mark 5, but without the US Navy markings. Perhaps Nationional sold it to the civilian market when WWII ended. There were a number of companies who were not in the binocular business who received contracts to assemble binoculars from parts made by Bausch & Lomb and National instruments was certainly one of those.

They were well made, coated binoculars, as you suspected, but I do not think they were soft coated. Rather the missing label was a warning to be careful when cleaning. Without the USN markings they are a little less valuable but they were good binoculars for 1945.

Happy bird watching,*
Arthur Pinewood

*As a big individual focus binocular, your binocular would be better for stargazing or for boating.

According to Worthpoint, National Instruments Corporation became Texas Instruments.

I don't think that's exactly true, as Geophysical Service Inc (GSI) was the progenitor of Texas Instruments. Maybe National Instruments as acquired by GSI at some point. Or by TI after 1951 when GSI reorganized into TI.

Marc

waterman74 said:

Good day... I recently won these at auction and was hoping to get some info... They don't say B&L on them.. But I thought this would be the appropriate place to ask. Just looking for some general info. Looks to be coated.. So maybe late 40's? I believe the sticker that is missing said "coated lenses use care when cleaning". Or something along those lines...I don't have them yet... they are on the way... Anyway, some general thoughts and would they be worth sending out to be cleaned..etc? Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

Binastro & Pinewood:

The binocular in question was not a US Navy “model 32 mark 5.”
It was a US Navy MK 32 Mod (meaning “modification” not “model”) 5 ... or was it the Army’s M7 or M16 which were largely the same instrument. But then, the Army’s technical manual TM9-1580 and the Air Force’s Manual TO38-1-1 are one in the same (attached), so many of the instruments were the same pedigree, as were those for the Marine Corps.

It should also be pointed out that a military binocular that old may have had its backplates changed more than once. During a rush job I might grab a backplate out of a pre-expended bin rather than wait for the paint to cure on the original. That bin might have backplates for B&L, Universal, National, Wallensak, Nash-Kelvinator, or others. We didn’t care; we were repairing binos to be put back into service quickly without regard to the collector who might one day own it. :cat:

Bill

Nice info.. Thank you!