Art
05-06-2021, 07:11
I started a thread in the Books and videos forum about the Australian mini series "Gallipoli." One of the things that impressed me was its detail and accuracy when it came to the uniforms, equipment and tactics of the time. One of the minute details it got right was the "Galilean Sight."
At the start of WW I the British encountered German snipers armed with telescopic sighted rifles. Not only did the British not have any telescopic sights in inventory they weren't set up to make any in 1914. This is astonishing when you consider that (contrary to what the video states) the Brits had one of the premier optics industries in the world at the start of the 20th century. The Brits needed a quick solution and came up with a stop gap from the British target shooting fraternity. This was the "Galilean Sight." A "Galilean Sight" is sort of a telescopic sight without a tube. There were several varieties of these all had one lens is mounted on the front sight, barrel or nose cap of the rifle and the other on the rear sight or receiver depending on the manufacturer. They provided a magnification of about 2.5 power. These sights were being used shortly after the war began by the Brits and Colonies and were made standard issue at the start of 1915. Over the course of the war they were gradually phased out as traditional telescopic sights became available.
In the video when Tom volunteers to be a sniper he is issued a "Galilean Sight" for his rifle. Now that's attention to historical detail. They could have used some sort of vintage telescopic sight and no one but a tiny handful of gun geeks and serious WWI historians would have been the wiser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW_gdCrGk30
At the start of WW I the British encountered German snipers armed with telescopic sighted rifles. Not only did the British not have any telescopic sights in inventory they weren't set up to make any in 1914. This is astonishing when you consider that (contrary to what the video states) the Brits had one of the premier optics industries in the world at the start of the 20th century. The Brits needed a quick solution and came up with a stop gap from the British target shooting fraternity. This was the "Galilean Sight." A "Galilean Sight" is sort of a telescopic sight without a tube. There were several varieties of these all had one lens is mounted on the front sight, barrel or nose cap of the rifle and the other on the rear sight or receiver depending on the manufacturer. They provided a magnification of about 2.5 power. These sights were being used shortly after the war began by the Brits and Colonies and were made standard issue at the start of 1915. Over the course of the war they were gradually phased out as traditional telescopic sights became available.
In the video when Tom volunteers to be a sniper he is issued a "Galilean Sight" for his rifle. Now that's attention to historical detail. They could have used some sort of vintage telescopic sight and no one but a tiny handful of gun geeks and serious WWI historians would have been the wiser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW_gdCrGk30