It is one of several types of optical rangefinders, and does not require a large instrument, and so was ideal for hand-held implementations or installation in a submarine's periscope.The hand held stadimeter was developed by Bradley Allen Fiske (1854–1942), an officer in the United States Navy.It was designed for gunnery purposes, but its first sea tests, conducted in 1895, showed that it was equally useful for fleet sailing and for navigation.[2] The United States Navy Bureau of Ships contracted on several occasions for orders of hand-held stadimeters starting shortly after its development in the late 1890s.During World War II the Mark 5 version was developed to function more like a sextant, with a single pivot arm replacing the linear screw worm drive which set the height of the object.
A stadimeter operator adjusts the lower knob until the top and bottom of the object are aligned, and then reads the corresponding range off the edge of the lower knob through a small magnifying lens.
A Mk 5 Mod 0 US Navy Stadimeter made in 1942 by Schick Inc. of Stamford CT.
