Question about U-boat Scopes...

[LiveGoat]

I was watching a BotA documentary and it dawned on me that I've never seen any footage of captains using the type of attack scope that has the chair. Some of the footage is close cropped so it's hard to tell if they're in the conning tower or the control room but they're always using a standard scope (no chair). Does any footage exist with the sitting type scope?

[TLAM Strike]

don't they use that type of scope in Das Boot?

[Sailor Steve]

I think the problem is space. Movie cameras at that time were big, clunky affairs that had to stand on trypods. Getting it down the hatches was certainly feasible, but there might not have been room to set one up in the conning tower.



The cinematographer for Das Boot actually created a camera specifically for that closed-in interior filming.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Boot
Scroll down to "Special Camera".

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I think the problem is space. Movie cameras at that time were big, clunky affairs that had to stand on trypods. Getting it down the hatches was certainly feasible, but there might not have been room to set one up in the conning tower.

The cinematographer for Das Boot actually created a camera specifically for that closed-in interior filming.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Boot
Scroll down to "Special Camera".

Yes and no :
The problem is indeed space, but not because the cams of the late 30s were too big. The cam of choice would have been the Arriflex 35, which you could also use as a handheld camera.
Here is is pic of Kubrick using it at Clockwork Orange, an improved model, but basically the same cam which was made available in 1937.



So a cameraman would fit into the conning tower, but to film a person which is basically next to you in a limited space, you'd need an extreme wide-angle (fisheye) lens, which distorts the picture. I am also not sure about the availability of those lenses in the 30s/40s. For filming "Das Boot" they probably used either a half-open con tower model, or at least one with an opening in one side.

Another thing would be filming through the periscope. I think both scopes had a mount for a photocamera, which you could also use for a movie cam - the right adaptor provided. The attack scope was much smaller and also had a smaller angle of sight which means you get less light. While you still could be able to take a photo, this may be to little light for a mivie camera, as the film material at this time was much less sensitive than today's and you can't raise the exposure time infinitely like you can with a still cam (no more than 1/24)