Mullard / Philips XX1332 — giant Gen 2 intensifier

NIGHT VISION 2026-06-10

The Mullard / Philips XX1332 is a pretty gigantic Gen 2+ image intensifier tube. It has a 50 mm diameter fiber-optic-plate-bonded photocathode input and a 40 mm diameter fiber-optic-plate-bonded phosphor output screen, which makes it much larger than most tubes. This project builds it into a usable night-vision device.

The large 50 mm photocathode input of the XX1332 tube — FIG. 01 — The 50 mm fiber-optic-plate-bonded photocathode.

The phosphor output screen on the back of the tube — FIG. 02 — The 40 mm phosphor output screen.

I threw the housing together in Fusion since I needed something quick to test some things out. It is modular, so it takes different objectives on the input and different accessories on the output. There is a 1/4″ thread on the bottom for any standard mount, and a battery compartment that you twist to turn on.

The 1/4-inch mounting thread on the bottom of the housing — FIG. 03 — 1/4″ mounting thread on the base.

The battery compartment, twist to turn on — FIG. 04 — Battery compartment; twist to activate.

Here it is running, in the 3D-printed housing with a 100 mm f/1.5 M42 objective:

FIG. 05 — The device in its 3D-printed housing (video).

Tube	Mullard / Philips XX1332, Gen 2+ (large format)
Photocathode input	50 mm diameter, fiber-optic-plate bonded
Phosphor output	40 mm diameter, fiber-optic-plate bonded
Housing	3D-printed (Fusion), modular, with swappable objectives & output accessories
Objective (shown)	100 mm f/1.5, M42 mount
Mounting / power	1/4″ thread; battery compartment, twist-to-activate