Panoramic periscope

In a panoramic periscope having a ray path for the visual observation of objects and having a central tube with an ocular disposed laterally thereon, the central tube being provided with a system of lenses, prisms and mirrors and having a peripheral viewing window which is mounted so as to be rotatable with an angle speed about the longitudinal axis of the central tube through a horizontal angle of 360.degree. or more, said window being mounted in a viewing hood disposed above the central tube and lying at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the central tube, the window being radially disposed in a viewing housing which has a prism or the like and is mounted so as to be additionally rotatable with an angle speed about its own longitudinal axis at a vertical angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the central tube, the improvement comprising a system of prisms and/or mirrors connected into the ray path of the periscope and being constructed in such a manner that, when the viewing window is rotated in one direction passing the zenith, a real, true-to-side, upright image appears in the eye lens or ocular;

• and in the event of the ray path of the viewing window passing the zenith, an additional prism system is incorporated into the ray paths between the eye lens and the viewing window which, despite the ray path overhead, permits a true-to-side, upright image to appear and which is pivoted out of the ray path between the ocular and the viewing window prior to the ray path passing the zenith.