Sniper scope - WW II German sniper scope ZF-41 (1.5 Power) SN 1401k (?). The Zf-41 was an optical sight produced in Germany during the Second World War. The Zf-41 was the last of the original German long-eye-relief sniper rifles built in WW II. The scope does not obstruct the iron sights, and it can be removed without losing aim point zero. The Scope Mount Base was permanently built into the rifle barrel in the correct position. This base cannot be removed and the aim point will not wander, unlike the incorrect, reproduction bases often seen today. Starting from 1941 the short 1.5x Zielfernrohr 41 (Zf41) telescopic sight was fitted to some Karabiner 98k rifles for sharpshooting use. The Zf-41 was in fact the first attempt to provide the ordinary infantryman with a rifle capable of being used, if not for pure sniping, then at least for sharpshooting. Most modern-day armies have adopted some form of optical aiming device on infantry weapons. It was initially planned to equip most combat units with the Zf-41 scopes, but only 6% of German weapons production could fit the sight. Though useful for sharpshooting with normal infantry units, the design was generally rejected by sniper schools and disliked by snipers, because the 1.5x magnifying scope was deemed insufficient for shooting effectively over long distances. Problems were the scope's extreme eye relief, poor functioning in bad light and low magnifying power. Nonetheless, lack of better scopes made that the Zf-41 was used by snipers at the early stages of the war against the Soviet Union, though many snipers preferred captured Soviet rifles and custom equipped German rifles with civilian scopes such as the vintage Gewehr 98. By 1945 more than 100,000 Zf-41 scopes had been produced, the largest production of German optical sights during the war. Approximately 3,000 were marked zf-40, 29,000 were marked zf-41(zf-40 and zf-41 later had this etched out and zf-41/1 added when they came back for service or repair) and the rest designated zf-41/1.