Evaluation of Periscope Eyepiece Modification at Sea

摘要

The increase in the need for eyeglasses among young men in the last generation has made it increasingly difficult to find men who meet the visual standards of the submarine fleet. The problem is particularly important where periscope operators are involved. Uncorrected refractive errors are manifest as significant reductions in visual acuity. The amount of correction which can be obtained with the optics of the periscope is limited for spherical errors and nonexistent for cylindrical errors. Periscope operators who have uncorrected refractive errors therefore suffer some degradation of vision. The use of eyeglasses is inconvenient and not totally satisfactory, since the spectacle frames make it impossible to bring the eye to the proper position for periscope viewing. A proposed modification of the periscope eyeguard which permits the insertion of the operators refractive correction was evaluated by three submarines on patrol. No unforseen problems or mishaps were reported. Operators with large refractive errors were more favorably disposed to the modification than were the operators with small refractive errors which could be corrected with the periscope optics. The periscope modification appears to be a satisfactory back-up system to improve the vision of those periscope operators who have large refractive errors.