Doppelfernrohr, Binoculars with Revolver, Astramar San Giorgio (SAI) - Regia Maria, circa 1938

Doppelfernrohr or "Astramar" double turret trinocular binoculars revolver made by San Giorgio - Società Anonima Industriale (S.A.I.) Genova - Sestri, installed on warships of the Italian Royal Navy from around 1938. These binoculars are equipped with 80 mm high brightness achromatic doublets with extendable lens hoods, the 12-20-40x eyepieces are placed on rotating turrets equipped with a particular and ingenious locking system.

The interpupillary adjustment is regulated by applying light pressure on the two levers anchored to a gear device which allows the eyepiece turrets to be moved further or closer. For use, the binoculars are attached to a tilting element whose micrometric azimuthal adjustments allow the initiation of trigonometric calculations useful for shooting.

Both optical-mechanical elements are secured to a sturdy stand through which, in addition to being equipped with extendable elements, a manual mechanical rack system allows its elevation more suited to the observer.

Its production began around 1938 to be installed on board the large ships of the Italian Royal Navy, but supplies did not reach the hoped-for number, so much so that Admiral Inigo Campioni, Commander at sea of the Italian Fleet in the battle of Punta Stilo held in July 1940 against the forces of the English Navy, in his report on the battle, he lamented the lack of Astramar binoculars in his battle station and suggested putting at least a couple of Astramar on all ships that can accommodate the Admiral commanding a Naval Squadron.

The construction quality and the massive, solid but also light and versatile material used for its construction made this bino-triocular the leading model of the Italian mechanical optical industry and a proud model of the S.A.I. San Giorgio of Genova Sestri.

"San Giorgio" - "Italian anonymous company for the construction of maritime and land automobiles" was an Italian car manufacturer active between 1905 and 1909.

Founded in Sestri Ponente in 1905 with the name of "San Giorgio" - "Società Italian company for the construction of maritime and land automobiles" began its activity with the construction of cars and railway carriages. The company was owned by the Odero family, owners of the Odero shipyards in Genova. After a very satisfactory start, the economic crisis of 1907 hit the company mainly due to customs duties with Great Britain from which it imported important components, the unfavorable sales trend led to the closure of the company's automotive branch in 1909.

Subsequently, "San Giorgio" specialized in the production of optical devices, in the design of precision instruments and in electromechanics. Among these, coincidence rangefinders and stereotelemeters were manufactured and supplied to the Royal Navy and widely used on Italian warships during the Second World War. At the beginning of the First World War the company already had 3,000 employees.

Over the years the company will undergo further more or less radical evolutions both in production and ownership until it reaches the present day with the name "Leonardo".