Metascope Type B: the Dawn of Night Vision

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Metascopes were early infrared imaging devices developed during the Second World War and largely used by the US Navy for signalling, target designation, and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) at night. Based on special phosphors that converted infrared into visible light, they were lighter and more robust than the electronic tube-based IR scopes which saw limited use near the end of the war.
A huge thanks to Josh Beran for sending me this fascinating device!
0:00 Intro
1:09 Infrared Detection Technology 1840-1939
7:34 Introduction to Metascopes
9:53 Development of IR Phosphors
12:11 Type A Metascope
14:17 Type B Metascope: Design and Operation
18:32 Type F Metascope
20:13 Type A1 and AM Metascopes
21:33 Type K and L Metascopes
22:07 Icaroscope
23:00 C1, C2, and C3 Navy IR Tube Scopes
23:41 Army IR Tube Scopes
24:14 Outro
Crystal Radios Video: • Crystal Radios: No Bat...
Heliographs Video: • Heliographs: Cutting-E...
Stadimeters Video: • Davis Ranger: Going th...
1946 NDRC Infrared Report: archive.org/details/DTIC_AD02...
SOURCES:
ugca.org/07jan/night.htm#:~:t....
www.uscarbinecal30.com/IRmetas...
www.uscarbinecal30.com/IRM1.html
www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi...
spie.org/samples/PM165.pdf
www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...
Metascopes were early infrared imaging devices developed during the Second World War and largely used by the US Navy for signalling, target designation, and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) at night. Based on special phosphors that converted infrared into visible light, they were lighter and more robust than the electronic tube-based IR scopes which saw limited use near the end of the war.
A huge thanks to Josh Beran for sending me this fascinating device!
0:00 Intro
1:09 Infrared Detection Technology 1840-1939
7:34 Introduction to Metascopes
9:53 Development of IR Phosphors
12:11 Type A Metascope
14:17 Type B Metascope: Design and Operation
18:32 Type F Metascope
20:13 Type A1 and AM Metascopes
21:33 Type K and L Metascopes
22:07 Icaroscope
23:00 C1, C2, and C3 Navy IR Tube Scopes
23:41 Army IR Tube Scopes
24:14 Outro
Crystal Radios Video: • Crystal Radios: No Bat...
Heliographs Video: • Heliographs: Cutting-E...
Stadimeters Video: • Davis Ranger: Going th...
1946 NDRC Infrared Report: archive.org/details/DTIC_AD02...
SOURCES:
ugca.org/07jan/night.htm#:~:t....
www.uscarbinecal30.com/IRmetas...
www.uscarbinecal30.com/IRM1.html
www.worthpoint.com/worthopedi...
spie.org/samples/PM165.pdf
www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...

[@pirobot668beta]

I recall small plastic IR detector cards for testing remote controls and the like; they had to be 'charged' in visible light, and would emit reddish-orange (to my eyes) glow in presence of IR. There was a time when IR cards were standard kit for TV techs. Gosh I'm old...

[@Diamonddavej]

6:14 Dr. Erhard Glatzel (1925-2002), a mathematician at Zeiss, designed an f 0.7 lens for a NASA lunar mapping satellite, famously used by Stanley Kubrick to film the candle lit scenes in Barry Lyndon. The lens was based on a lens designed for a WWII German tank's night vision scope (the Zeiss UR-Objektiv 70mm f/1.0). Dr Glatzel found the earlier Zeiss lens design in the company's archives and improved the lens using, for the first time, computer aided design using an IBM 7090 mainframe computer. The NASA contract fell through, however, and an associate of Kubrick, Edmund DiGiulio, obtained about 10 of the mythical lenses. The unusual origin of the lens, a German tank's night vision system, meant DiGiulio had to cut off part of the lens mount and use a 0.7x condenser (reducing the focal length) in order to force the lens to fit the camera.

[@cagneybillingsley2165]

when military science, engineering, and film making intersect

[@shanek6582]

What did the lens do different than an ordinary lens? I know nothing about lenses lol, thanks

[@ronchappel4812]

​@@shanek6582 Large aperture lenses gather more light, and the 'f' number shows how much.Smaller numbers are better. The part i dont remember is the number where lenses start gathering more light than the naked eye

[@user-ov3gv8gd9k]

@@cagneybillingsley2165 ⚠ God has said in the Quran: 🔵 { O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous - ( 2:21 ) 🔴 [He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him]. ( 2:22 ) 🔵 And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. ( 2:23 ) 🔴 But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.( 2:24 ) 🔵 And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, "This is what we were provided with before." And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally. ( 2:25 ) ⚠ Quran

[@0NK3LS4T4N]

@@ronchappel4812at f/1.0

[@aiden1838]

Langley's device revolutionized the world of night-time cow-finding, never again would the well equipped rancher be unable to locate his stock on moonless nights ;) Love your work Gilles

[@atomic_wait]

It revolutionized the Iowan sport of cow tipping.

[@WolvesDontPray]

Surprised this channel doesn’t have over a million subs, what a blessing to have discovered it

[@sidsimon5963]

For this channel to have as few subscribers as it does bespeaks volumes of a sad commentary on the English speaking audience. I wonder how many subscribers this channels Asian counterparts have, comparatively.

[@n1gak]

I think you have a technical error -- 3nm is nowhere near infrared... I think you meant 3 micron (um) which would be "fairly long IR" ... (900 nm is a typical IR LED like a remote control might use; 685 nm is a common red LED; 450 nm is a typical blue LED )

[@rkirke1]

I agree. I think it was meant to be 3um. If anyone wants to confirm for themselves, just search for "lead sulfide spectral response"

[@chuckygobyebye]

Apparently 3nm is the start of x-rays, which is very different indeed.

[@MedSpark]

Exactly. Anyone who knows the basics of light wavelengths would know that 3nm is FAR from being IR.

[@ThePlayerOfGames]

3µm shurely…

[@trey1531]

You need to get Nile Red to make you a phosphor disk

[@EggBastion]

or cody's lab, but it might be made of calcified or carbonised bees

[@yucannthahvitt251]

That’s more of an applied science project. Nilered does chemistry but his process control is inadequate

[@RealWunderBanana]

Phosphor screens are typically (now days) plated straight onto the anode via atomic layer deposition.

[@tfrowlett8752]

I have a pair of type E tabby night vision binoculars that technically still work, though I haven’t tried them since they’re over 80 years old now. I don’t know how many are left today, they only ever made 3000 of them, and many were destroyed during and after the war. I would guess less than 1000 remain. It uses a CV144 tube to produce the image and needs around 3000V to work. It was put in the same class as radio equipment (ZA 23001) because of how much power it consumed.

[@JohnnyWednesday]

A tie clip and cufflinks - history with style!

[@thisissoeasy]

Amazingly detailed documentation!!! I can't even guess, how much research was involved in producing this... Thank you!

[@robinbrowne5419]

My Dad had some night vision goggles when we were kids. My sister and I used to use them. The green vision made it seem like we were seeing the ghosts of people. Spooky :-)

[@marcberte4035]

3 microns, not 3 nanometers

[@wiesejay]

Ah, that makes more sense 😂

[@Treblaine]

Yeah, 3 nanometers would be x-rays.

[@BitchinSpectre]

Convert that to scorpions. That's the only unit of measurement currently recognized.

[@randylahey2242]

​@@BitchinSpectre3 scorpions but you have to guess which ones

[@johnopalko5223]

@@BitchinSpectre How many scorpions in a smoot?

[@sidsimon5963]

Thank You for this highly educational presentation. I have learned more about night vision from you in 30 minutes than I have accumulated in 40 plus years of casual research. Back in the 1960s these devices were looked upon in the same light as Spock's Tricorder, except they really existed, and finding any educational material on theory was impossible for the general public.

[@mikecimerian6913]

The intro is hilarious. Thank you, this was captivating in a mesmerizing way and most fascinating. ^-^

[@bradlevantis913]

It’s really wild the foundation for modern NVG goes back as far as it does. Excellent insight into this piece of history

[@Redacted-Arms]

Get this man some gen 0! We need the full story! This is really quite interesting!

[@cyphre]

Man I love the aesthetic of those early scopes for rifles. Thick cord to a portable power pack and a crazy looking contraption on the gun. Must have been the most futuristic looking thing in that era.

[@Salamandra40k]

Take a look at the mechanisms of a b29's remote turret- it looks like 80s sci-fi

[@klan792]

Neat, so that’s how the IR detection phosphor charges. I always wondered why the IR detector in the PSO scope of the SVD needed to be charged in the sun. Also, the MCP was not introduced until Gen 2. Starlight scopes worked as a “cascade” with three Gen 1 tubes stacked to progressively intensify light

[@David0lyle]

It’s pretty fascinating that IR capability is now days such a common feature of baby monitors and door bell cameras. 😳 We do indeed live in an age of miracle and wonder.

[@michaelcerkez3895]

Thank you for the education, and might I say well presented indeed. I look forward to more installments.

[@SylphDS]

Great video! Small tip regarding pronounciation: The Dutch 'oe' sound in the name 'de Boer' is more like an English 'oo' sound or French 'ou' sound, think of 'tour' but then replace the t by a b (and of course the r sound is a bit different too, but that's something the Dutch themselves can't even agree on, so don't worry about it).

[@tonyb7748]

That intro had my whole family on the floor, so good!

[@juslitor]

never heard of metascopes before this. Thanks for this episode.

[@mattmiegel]

The beginning of your videos always makes me laugh

[@Danecooks1]

Always creative start…love the cat

[@curtwuollet2912]

I remember the image intensifier tubes being surplused about 1971 so there might still be some lurking in a closet someplace. A friend of mine made an attempt to use one, but the high voltage and optics proved too difficult.

[@elendal]

What a fascinating device. Thank you for making this video!

[@jrob8931]

It would have worked, but alas, the Icaruscope got too close to the sun...

[@petebeatminister]

Interesting, I didn't know the beginnings were that old. Always assumed its a post WW2 technology.

[@SpinStar1956]

It would be interesting if you could collaborate with some of the more chemistry-inclined channels to see of the coatings could be replicated and replaced, as there are many more modern methods of chemical deposition...

[@TheChipmunk2008]

Gilles, need the name of the cat who allowed you to do that, and possibly a behind the scenes story :)

[@GashimahironChl]

Only thing i'm worried about is what the peep hole was for that organic night vision scope we just witnessed being used.

[@CAMacKenzie]

In the TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1968), the enemy THRUSH agents were often seen carrying a rther impressive looking carbine, which was actually an M1 carbine with a war surplus infrared scope, similar to but not quite exactly like that seen like that seen at 23:56

[@felixthecat265]

No.. the M1 scope used an electronic high voltage tube.

[@tonytfuntek3262]

A tremendous amount of detailed information thank you.

[@AppliedCryogenics]

Great episode and fascinating topic. Cheers Gilles!

[@felixthecat265]

There is one of these metascope type devices embedded in some versions of PSO 1 scope for the Russian SVD sniper rifle. The Metascope screen can be rotated to lie behind a window on the top surface of the scope where it can be charged with either sunlight or a torch. The screen is then rotated into the optical field of the scope for use.

[@BIG-DIPPER-56]

Absolutely Fascinating - Thanks! 😎👍

[@romanovrex]

Very well researched, bravo!

[@user1acount]

2:55 Theodore Case looks like a well-off and educated quarterback.

[@mikehawk-yt5rv]

/fitlit/

[@AcousticallyYours]

Night vision technology is certainly fascinating! But I was wondering if you have done an in-depth segment on the origins of stereo photography? It has a fascinating history with its origins paralleling (pardon the pun) the dawn of photography itself.

[@haywoodyoudome]

Those intros just keep getting better and better.

[@hattifattener1]

Vietnam era starlight scopes amplified image by stacking three multi alkali photo cathode image intensifiers (cascaded 1st generation). micro channel plate is used in Gen2 and Gen3.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video, Gilles...👍

[@mrpicky1868]

great respect for making it informative

[@nunyabidness9257]

Really enjoyed the video!

[@mikemechanic7179]

The tilted bowtie replaced, yes! GILES is one hell of a good researcher! DAMN THOROUGH! KEEP IT UP!

[@jennyearl5194]

Here in the uk I picked up some surplice IR equipment in the mid1970s it was not featured in the video but a few were mounted as a pair and some as a single. At the time there was provided a paper detailing how to get them working. I can recall they required a Zambini pile battery which I also had. Sadly beyond my skills to understand them.

[@ATomRileyA]

What a great video, learned a lot. So thanks. Subscribed :)

[@starsandnightvision]

Fascinating stuff.

[@williamogilvie6909]

Very interesting about the early history of night vision equipment. I worked for a defense contractor that manufactures night vision cameras for the US Army. Their sensors required a very high vacuum and extensive tests during the manufacturing process.

[@Zeno2Day]

Ty, quite informative.

[@jp-um2fr]

Perfect as always.

[@JS-qk4jp]

Great video!

[@birdsoup777]

You make awesome videos thank you

[@davidduffy9806]

Brilliant, I want one!

[@alansmith8837]

Keep going gilles

[@sealpiercing8476]

15:10 > Low light/infrared scope for naval use > Moisture sensitive, box needs desiccant Gotta love wartime expedients. "Strictly speaking it's better than not having the capability at all. Hopefully we'll be able to fix this in a later version."

[@ibrahimkocaalioglu]

thank you nice technology.

[@robertl6196]

Very nice.

[@Mighty_Cat_Mods]

What a lovely cat! 🐈‍⬛

[@Rias-Gremory-a-gamer]

Damn very interesting video thanks

[@smockdust5934]

Keep going sir,, I'm watching your channel from IRAQ😎

[@nickjung7394]

Professor RV Jones did a lot of work on IR sensors for use on nightfighters early in WW2 at the Cavendish Laboratory, England. See "Most Secret War" R V Jones.

[@P-B-G_YT]

I didn't realize the cat scan also works for night vision.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Gilles. We need to know more about your cat, Gilles. 😊

[@Woffy.]

2:59 Wow he has long arms !

[@dxb338]

i cant unsee it

[@jj74qformerlyjailbreak3]

Less then 3 minutes in and i had to sub for a new voice in my headphones at work. Yhis should please you. 😂 Love the content.

[@unclestoma4699]

fascinating

[@alpineflauge909]

world class content

[@Zbigniew_Nowak]

Very interesting, I had no idea there were so many different approaches to seeing in the dark. Although I know that even before World War II, people experimented with detecting enemy heat to trigger shooting traps.

[@ChrisAthanas]

Amazing

[@GordonFreeman.]

Would really love a video on the weapon mounted gen 0 NV. Vampire, sniperscope, starlight, etc

[@ryanvargas4889]

I’m very happy with my pair of NVG’s but there is a lot of feeding and scooping involved.

[@daleolson3506]

Nice one

[@kcdsTM]

It may be from "A Random Walk In Science" or another of the books my grandfather had lying around when I was growing up, but I remember a limerick that read: Oh, Langley devised the bolometer It's really a kind of thermometer That measures the heat From a polar bear's feet At a distance of half a kilometer I had no idea how close the performance claim in the limerick was to reality!

[@andreasu.3546]

24:46 Now that looks comfy to wear!

[@paulmaxwell8851]

Way back in the 1970s I bought a Capehart-Farnsworth type 6032 infrared imaging tube from Edmund Scientific. Remember them? I had dreams of building a see-in-the-dark device of some sort. It sat in its box for about forty years, and eventually I sold it to someone on Ebay, hoping they'd have more ambition (and time) than I did. I hope he had fun with it.

[@choppergirl]

It's agreed then. From now on we all go back to calling Infrared... it's true, rightful name... Calorific Rays.

[@Iowa599]

Mechanical infrared scope...wow your jokes were so bad I was lmao! 😂

[@guessthetankifunny3772]

Hey, I have a pair of working NS-71 night vision that I think falls under Gen 0. You should do a video on those

[@WetDoggo]

The idea is so cool... Convert light into electrons, so you can accelerate them into a phosphor, which turns them back into more visible light.

[@hindsight2022]

I wanted to hear about the red night vision . Sadness

[@stevegyro1]

Enjoyed all your research and dynamic presentation.. but need you to help me understand on wavelength’s mentioned around “3 nano meters”. I may be mistaken so please correct me: red light wavelengths is approx. 600-700 nano meter. So infra-rad being lower frequency, should be a longer wavelength, correct? Possibly 3 micro-meter (micron) is the intention in this dialog? Thank you sir.

[@stevegyro1]

Oh I see other mentions of same orders of magnitude. Thank you all!

[@zhuzzir]

I always wondered n amazed by these Night Vission apparatus since I was a kid, heck even imagining to built one (since its so damn expensive). Until the advance of youtube brought to me a simple idea of building one cheaply myself. Lo n be hold, my own n self-build one base on infra-red light n a CCD censors (or even less technologically one based on used film as filter)

[@jameslawrie3807]

Due to 'bloom' your IR spotlight not only gives out a beam of light but also illuminates your whole vehicle . . .

[@herptek]

There were quite a bit of emitting devices in use by the coalition forces during the Iraq war of 2003, giving it a sort of futuristic media image. Any sort of pointers and beams are not so usefull however if NVGs are common on the opposing side as well. It seems unlikely that active emitters will be the future of NVGs at least for any important tactical purpose.

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

The German version of this would be the “Vampir” sight.

[@exploringtheplanetsn]

I wonder if bomber crews and night fighters were issued these devices. Probably would have made the work of RAF bomber crews looking out for German night fighters much easier.

[@shanek6582]

I used to have a bigass an/pvs-2 on an ar15 a2 Hbar, it was so stupid heavy lol.

[@lucashinch]

Every time I hear the capacitor charge on gen 1 NVG as it powers up, I think of the movie "Silence of the Lambs" whenever they're used by "Buffalo Bill".

[@WetDoggo]

8:38 literally built in a beaker 👌

[@auroran0]

Pun made and pun intended. That gets the video a like.

[@jonathanreedpike]

Gold plated radium buttons on the surplus market, what could go wrong?

[@c3rber3s00]

MCP was introduced during gen 2 night vision not gen 1 if I am not mistaken.

[@Harpoika]

Someone has said once to a military organisation for a first time "we have a night vision capability for you."

[@gunier.j.kintgenanimations]

10:15 From what I can deduce, the 1st standard of the phosphor screen recipe is remarkably similar to modern glow-in-the-dark pigments, now made of strontium aluminate & copper chloride. Could it be possible to make a new phosphor screen with a modern strontium/copper G.I.T.D. material?

[@brianforman6093]

Great

[@deltacx1059]

That mirror shape is very hard to find by the way, the only place that makes them is global optics and it's in a set with specific sizes, I know this because I'm building another telescope at some point soon.

[@spencereagle1118]

As I understand it the British had the first fully operational night vision at the start of WWII, with the "TABBY" RG receiver.

[@Treblaine]

American codenames: Viper, Raptor, Anaconda, Apache, Talon, Ripper, British codenames: Tabby, minnow, badger, teapot, fluffy blanket, hedgehog British naval vessel: Dreadnought, Warspite, Steel Bastard, Vanguard, Devastator, Impregnator.

[@JCWren]

Impregnator?

[@Treblaine]

@@JCWren *HMS Impregnable.

[@JCWren]

@@Treblaine LOL, yeah, that's a little different.

[@spencereagle1118]

@@TreblaineImagine heading off to battle the Luftwaffe in your Fairey Firefly.

[@SteveMacSticky]

That night vision goggles sound always reminds me of Buffalo Bill. "It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again"

[@OscarFerro]

1:14 It wasn't Johm Herschel but his father William wio discovered infrared radiation at the beginning of the 19th century

[@R_C420]

Anyway.. That's all i have for you today. It's how almost ALL of my favorite KZbinrs end their essays

[@aa3konthego]

Who else knows of that famous downtown Brooklyn institution, Sid's Polytechnic? OK, inside joke for those of us who graduated there in the mid 1980's.