Vickers Tank Periscope MK.IV
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The Vickers Tank Periscope MK.IV, invented by engineer Rudolf Gundlach, was first patented in 1936 as Gundlach Peryskop obrotowy. It was the first device to allow the tank commander to have a 360-degree view from his turret. The main advantage of this was that the tank commander no longer had to turn his head in order to look backwards.
The design was first used in the Polish 7-TP light tank. Shortly before the war it was given to the British and was used in most tanks of WWII, including the British Crusader, Churchill, Valentine, and Cromwell and the American Sherman. The design was later copied and used extensively in tanks of the USSR (including the T-34) and Germany.