Hensoldt

Hensoldt is a historic German optics brand that originated in 1847 when optician Moritz Carl Hensoldt founded an optical workshop in Sonneberg. The company later moved to Wetzlar and became a leading manufacturer of binoculars, riflescopes, and spotting scopes. It was known for numerous innovations, including the world's first binocular with five-sided roof prisms (1897) and the first riflescope with a prism erecting system (1902). In 1928, the Carl Zeiss Foundation acquired a majority stake, and the company was eventually fully integrated into Carl Zeiss. In 2006, Hensoldt AG was renamed Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH, which continues to produce sports optics under the Zeiss brand. The Hensoldt name also lives on in the separate Hensoldt AG, a defense electronics company. The brand's legacy is marked by a strong tradition of precision engineering and optical innovation.

The history of Hensoldt begins on 15 April 1847, when precision mechanic and optician Moritz Carl Hensoldt founded an optical workshop in Sonneberg. Some older sources cite 1852 as the founding year of the later Hensoldt AG. From 1861, together with Louis Engelbert, a cousin of his wife, Hensoldt built microscopes in Braunfels under the name Engelbert & Hensoldt, which quickly gained a good reputation. At the end of 1865, the company moved to Wetzlar. In 1896, Moritz Hensoldt's sons Waldemar and Carl became partners in the optical workshops M. Hensoldt & Söhne. The founder died in 1903. In 1922, the company was converted into a stock corporation and was known as M. Hensoldt & Söhne Optische Werke AG. In 1928, the Carl Zeiss Foundation acquired a majority stake. Meanwhile, Carl Zeiss Jena had begun building prism binoculars in 1894 based on earlier ideas by Ernst Abbe, and Carl Zeiss became the world's leading company for civil and military optics. In 1945, the Americans took leading employees to the West, who founded a new company in Oberkochen. Initially, binoculars and riflescopes were developed and manufactured in both Oberkochen and Wetzlar; since 1964, production was concentrated in Wetzlar. Since then, they only bear the name Zeiss. On 1 October 2006, Hensoldt AG was renamed Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH. In the meantime, the Oberkochen and Wetzlar sites belong to the "new" Hensoldt AG. The development and production of military optics, also based in Wetzlar, was bundled in Carl Zeiss Optronics. At the end of the 2011/12 financial year, this was majority-acquired by EADS GmbH and operated as Cassidian Optronics within the Airbus Group. In the early years, Engelbert & Hensoldt mainly produced microscopes. In 1877, Moritz Hensoldt began building telescopes. In 1879, a scale rangefinder was developed as a military product. From 1880, the company supplied first the British, later also the German army. Besides telescopes and binocles (double telescopes) for military, private, and hunting use, astronomical telescopes and measuring instruments were produced. In 1880, the production of an orthoscopic eyepiece, a further development of the eyepiece by Moritz Hensoldt's friend Carl Kellner, succeeded. In 1892/93, a base rangefinder followed. In 1897, the world's first binocular with five-sided roof prisms (Penta 7×29, Model A) was introduced. This double telescope produced a so-called "upright image" through double reflection and allowed the use of large, bright objectives. The first riflescope from M. Hensoldt & Söhne with a prism erecting system was presented in 1902. The newly designed roof prisms used here for the first time enabled a straight axial beam without parallel displacement. Around 1900, Hensoldt was the only manufacturer capable of series production of precisely machined roof prisms. The special prism construction of the riflescope later found successful application in the prism binoculars developed from 1906 by Hensoldt's youngest son Carl, the Hensoldt-Dialyt. In 1893, a patent was filed for a "double telescope with increased objective distance". From 1919, the wide-angle eyepieces developed by Zeiss designer Heinrich Erfle were used in binocular construction. In 1933, Hensoldt – now taken over by Zeiss – began using light metals to replace brass and zinc in housing construction. Two years later, production of binoculars with the reflection-reducing T-coating from Zeiss began. Light transmission could thus be increased by up to 50%. The first notable innovation after World War II was the use of telephoto lenses to reduce the height of binoculars (1954). From 1956, movable rubber eyecup seals were installed in center-drive models to seal them against moisture. Two years later, B binoculars with a large eye relief were introduced. The "B" stands for "usable for spectacle wearers". A trend-setting cut for the appearance of modern binoculars was the introduction in 1964 of a new series of Dialyt binoculars, which have a straight prism erecting system according to Schmidt. This construction makes slim and small binoculars possible. In 1968, a pocket binocular 8×20 was introduced. Such pocket binoculars later (1974) received center focusing and eyeglasses-wearer eyepieces. An improvement in optical transmission properties and image contrast was achieved from 1979 through the T* multi-layer coating (Carl Zeiss T*). The P-Coating was developed in 1988; it can additionally reduce interference effects due to phase shifts during image reversal. In 1982, an aspherical mirror objective was introduced, which allows a reduction in the overall length of spotting scopes. In 1990, Hensoldt brought the world's first binocular (20×60 S) with mechanical image stabilization to market. In the same year, a new series of binoculars and pocket binoculars was launched (DesignSelection). In 1994, a monocular night vision binocular with 20,000x light amplification (5.6×60 N) followed in the DesignSelection series. Diafun binoculars were intended (from 1997) for sports and leisure applications. For the Victory binoculars, ...

• 2006

  Hensoldt AG renamed Carl Zeiss Sports Optics GmbH.

• 1990

  Launched the world's first binocular with mechanical image stabilization (20×60 S).

• 1964

  Production of binoculars and riflescopes concentrated in Wetzlar; products thereafter only bear the Zeiss name.

• 1928

  Carl Zeiss Foundation acquired a majority stake.

• 1922

  Converted into a stock corporation, M. Hensoldt & Söhne Optische Werke AG.

• 1902

  Presented the first riflescope with a prism erecting system.

• 1897

  Introduced the world's first binocular with five-sided roof prisms (Penta 7×29, Model A).

• 1896

  Sons Waldemar and Carl became partners in M. Hensoldt & Söhne.

• 1865

  Company moved to Wetzlar.

• 1861

  Partnership with Louis Engelbert as Engelbert & Hensoldt, producing microscopes in Braunfels.

• 1847

  Moritz Carl Hensoldt founded an optical workshop in Sonneberg.

Premium precision optics for hunting, sports, and military use.

• Penta 7×29 binoculars

  World's first binocular with five-sided roof prisms, introduced in 1897.

• Prism riflescope

  First riflescope with a prism erecting system, presented in 1902.

• Hensoldt-Dialyt binoculars

  Prism binoculars developed from 1906 by Carl Hensoldt.

• Dialyt binoculars

  New series introduced in 1964 with Schmidt straight prism erecting system.

• 20×60 S binoculars

  World's first binocular with mechanical image stabilization, launched in 1990.

• DesignSelection series

  New series of binoculars and pocket binoculars launched in 1990.

• 5.6×60 N night vision binocular

  Monocular night vision binocular with 20,000x light amplification, introduced in 1994.

• Diafun binoculars

  Binoculars for sports and leisure applications, from 1997.

1. 1Hensoldt product - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Carl Zeiss Sports Optics - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org