So I'm sitting in the front seat of this T6 and looking straight ahead. There is a bracketed small rectangular piece of plexiglass sitting on top of the panel. I was told it was a gunsight. How does it work? There is no crosshair or marked in anyway, it's just a plain piece of 3"x5" plexi...
T6 question
- Thread starter Mc Fly
- Start date
Frank Browne
Final Approach
WWII era fighters had reflector gunsights. It was in the form of a reticle that was reflected onto the angled plexi you saw in front of you. This allowed the pilot to move his head somewhat without his sight picture of the target changing.
Check this link...
http://www.429sqn.ca/acmgs.htm
Last edited:
Steve
En-Route
From a P-51B ground crew memoir
http://www.cebudanderson.com/viewfromtheline.htm
They were essentially a piece of glass set at an angle in front of the pilot, through which was projected a light ring with a dot in the center. the intensity of this light was controlled from a rheostat in the cockpit. All the pilot had to do was place his target in the center of the ring and pull the trigger on the stick. Of course, if it was a deflection shot it was more difficult--a hell of a lot more difficult, as the lead had to be estimated just as in wing shooting at birds with a shotgun. Only these birds were going hundreds of miles per hour, and they shot back. the N-3B also included the Type A-1 reflector head for low-level horizontal bombing. Fighter groups in a strategic air force were not noted for their bombing skills, but the device looked efficient in the posed cockpit photos of our pilots. As far as I know they were never used and were soon removed.
http://www.cebudanderson.com/viewfromtheline.htm
They were essentially a piece of glass set at an angle in front of the pilot, through which was projected a light ring with a dot in the center. the intensity of this light was controlled from a rheostat in the cockpit. All the pilot had to do was place his target in the center of the ring and pull the trigger on the stick. Of course, if it was a deflection shot it was more difficult--a hell of a lot more difficult, as the lead had to be estimated just as in wing shooting at birds with a shotgun. Only these birds were going hundreds of miles per hour, and they shot back. the N-3B also included the Type A-1 reflector head for low-level horizontal bombing. Fighter groups in a strategic air force were not noted for their bombing skills, but the device looked efficient in the posed cockpit photos of our pilots. As far as I know they were never used and were soon removed.