History of Science and Engineering Annotation << Back The Use of Periscopic Devices of the USSR and Germany During the Great Patriotic War Kormazov A.Yu. This article reveals the role of ground-based periscope devices created during the Great Patriotic War. The use of optical devices of various types on the battlefi eld was a widespread phenomenon for both the USSR and Nazi Germany throughout the Great Patriotic War on all fronts: on land, in naval battles and in the air. Mentioning such a device as a periscope, an association immediately comes with naval battles of surface and underwater vessels, however, periscopes have found wide application on land as a means for reconnaissance, observation of the enemy, as well as special equipment for small arms designed to save the life of the shooter by allowing him to fi ght from the depths of the trench. Keywords: periscope, optical devices, SVT-40, DP-27, rifl es, machine guns, trenches. DOI: 10.25791/intstg.4.2024.1476 Pp. 23-29.