US2386420A - Gun sight - Google Patents

Description

(3?; 2 s 386 QQZO Oct. 9, 1945.

W. J. A. BAILEY ET AL GUN SIGHT Filed June 1', 1944 Y Q T a 6 M Hwy Wm w. uLUlVll'. l mom. mol uUlvltN l S.

Patented Oct. 9, 1945 GUN SIGHT William J. A. Bailey, Packanack Lake, N. J and Charles E. Whiteman, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignors to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 1, 1944, Serial No. 538,216

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to gun sights and, more particularly, to a detachable front gun sight designed specifically for use as a counterpart to the existing front gun sight currently installed on, and comprising a permanent and integral part of the weapon employed by the United States Army and oflicially designated as U. S. Rifle Cal. .30, M1, but generally known as the Garand rifle. The invention, however, is susceptible to modification and the principles of the same are applicable to many types of firearms, such as, for example, antiaircraft guns, field artillery and the like.

It is well known that in rifle fire in order to hit a moving object it is necessary when only a single front sight is employed on the rifle that the rifieman make an estimation of the speed at which the object is moving, as well as of the distance the object is from the rifieman and then aim a predetermined distance ahead of the moving object, 1. e. in the direction in which the object is moving. Furthermore, in so leading the target the rifieman is obliged to maintain his rifle in motion in order that he may during the aiming process continue to lead the target. Such a method is purely guess work, inasmuch as the rifieman does not keep his eye on the target. By such a method, the rifieman not only is aiming at an undefined point but he also is continually changing his aim indiscriminately and he frequently loses sight of the moving object, which may, unknown to him, change its course or speed, or both. Additionally, the region at which the rifieman is aiming is frequently an indefinite one, as for example, snow, water or sky, and in changing from one to the other the target is often lost sight of. Such a trial and error process required for the rifieman to attain such proficiency must necessarily be conducted over along period of. time and this is costly, both from the standpoint of ammunition wasted and of preliminary training with the use of mechanically propelled targets.

Various attempts to remedy this limitation in the use of rifles have been made by the designing of the so-called multiple gun sights wherein there is provided a sight base attachable to the gun barrel near the front end thereof and including a transverse member having formed thereon a plurality of sight elements, adjacent elements being spaced apart a predetermined distance. The rifieman, utilizing his eye in normal shooting position relative to the rear gun sight, forms with his eye and with the sight line passing through the rear sight element of the rifle and with a selected sight element of the multiple front sight, a predetermined angle which, if extended a predetermined distance, will intercept an object of predetermined length. He is thus enabled to lead the object the proper amount, while at the same time maintaining his line of vision with the object.

Where ordinary single sight rifles are concerned, the rifieman is taught during his training period to lead the object a predetermined amount, depending upon the speed of the moving object and upon the distance of the object from th rifieman, utilizing as a yardstick for his calculations one or more target-lengths. By the use of the improved multiple sight attachment the rifieman need no longer concern himself with target-lengths as he is only required to make his estimation in the usual manner and select the proper right or left hand sight, which when selected is brought into accurate alignment with the object.

The invention relates specifically to multiple front gun sights of this type and is designed as an improvement over existing sights in that mean are provided whereby the sight may more conveniently be applied to and removed from the muzzle end of a rifle, particularly where the socalled Garand rifle is concerned and in that, when so installed on the rifle, it possesses a degree of utility and numerous advantages heretofore unattained in connection with mutiple sights for rifles.

Heretofore, many multiple front gun sights which are attachable to and removable from the muzzle end of a rifle have not been secure when applied to the muzzle end of the rifle in that they are maintained in their transverse position by means of relatively light spring clips. As a consequence, they have not been acceptable for conditions of actual combat. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a precision built, multiple front gun sight which is extremely rugged and durable and which when installed in position makes relatively wide face-toface frictional contact with certain surface areas of the front portion of the rifle to which it is applied in order that there shall be no accidental shifting of the sight relative to the rifle. A similar object of the invention is to provide a multiple front rifle sight which is further safeguarded against shifting relative to the rifle on which it is mounted by the provision of a lower frictional surface contact with the gas cylinder lock strap portion of the rifle and of an upper frictional surface contact with the outer side walls of the conventional gun sight unit.

Previously designed multiple front gun sights possess an added limitation in actual use in that because of the large number of uniformly designed and uniformly spaced sight elements employed, the rifleman, for lack of a ready reference point, has difficulty in selecting the proper sighting element and is obliged to make an actual count of the various sight elements from one end of the series thereof in either direction until he encounters the proper sight element for use. Another object of the invention is to overcome this limitation in the use of multiple gun sights and, toward this end, contemplates the provision of a rifle sight of this character employing multiple sight elements on both sides of the guard elements of a Garand rifle which are so arranged that the riflemanmay utilize the guard elements as a ready reference point for determination of the proper sight element to be utilized in aiming. A similar object of the invention is to provide a, multiple front gun sight having means associated therewith in the form of indicia suitably marked upon the sighting element which will serve to identify the various multiple sights employed in order that selection of the proper sight may readily be made for aiming purposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple front gun sight for use in connection with Garand type rifles and which has a plurality of sight elements closely simulating the conventional single sight element employed on such rifles and which, like this latter element, possess depth and in which the various sight elements are individually slightly angularly disposed relative to the normal sight line of the rifle to compensate for their relative displacements laterally from the normal sight line. By such an arrangement, regardless of which sight element is selected for aiming purposes, the effective width of the sight element in sighting will be no greater than the thickness of the metal employed in constructing the individual sight elements.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a detachable rifle sighting assembly which is held in position on the rifle by means of a snap-on action utilizing a pair of spring clips that form an inherent part of the detachable sighting assembly.

The provision of a sight element of the character set forth above which is extremely simple in its design and which may be manufactured at a relatively low cost, one which readily lends itself to standardization, and one which is rugged and durable and which is otherwise well adapted to perform the services required of it under adverse conditions of warfare, are further desirable features that have been borne in mind in the production and development of the invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention not at this time enumerated will become apparem as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings, one embodiment of the invention is illustrated. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the improved gun sight.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved gun sight.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the sight applied to the muzzle end of a rifle.

Fig, 4 is a top plan view of the gun sight.

, In all of the above described views like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts throughout.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and particularly to Fig. 3, the improved sighting attachment is shown as being applied to the front or muzzle end of a conventional rifle of the Garand type. Such a rifle includes a cylindrical barrel portion II], a lower gas cylinder l2, and a gas cylinder lock in the form of a strap I4 connecting the barrel Ill and cylinder l2 and closely fitting about these members. The rifle is provided with a front sight assembly l6 of conventional design and including a substantially cube-shaped block-like body portion I8 from which there extends upwardly at opposite sides thereof a pair of curved outwardly flared sight guards 20 and between which guards there is disposed an upstanding sight element proper 22. The sighting assembly I6 is split transversely as at 24 and the underneath surface thereof is recessed to provide a dove-tailed slot 26, the side edges of which are adapted to be clamped against the edges of a cooperating strap 28, which surrounds the gun barrel l0 and gas cylinder l2. A locking screw 30 projects into the block-like member l8 and is threadedly received in this member and serves to draw the split portions of the member together to clamp the sighting assembly firmly in position above the barrel Ill. The above described arrangement of parts is purely conventional in its design and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated with the same, the novelty of this application residing rather in the construction and arrangement of the sighting attachment now to be more fully described.

The sighting attachment is designated in its entirety at 32 and is preferably in the form of .a sheet metal stamping of irregular contour and includes a horizontal ledge or table portion 34, from which there depends at the forward edge thereof a vertical flange 36 of generally tapering form and. having a central rounded slot opening 38 formed in the lower region thereof and designed for reception therethrough of the upper curved portion or lobe of the gas cylinder locking strap Hi. When the sighting attachment I6 is installed on the rifle, as shown in Fig. 3, in its final position, the rear face of the flange surrounding the slot 38 bears against the front face of the block portion H! of the sight IS.

The ledge portion 34 of the attachment 32 is divided into right and left sections by means of a rectilinear slot 39, see Fig. 4, formed in the metal of the device. The sides of the slot 39 are provided with a pair of downwardly extending vertical flanges 40, the lower edges of which terminate a slight distance above the upper extremity of the slot 38 formed in the flange 36. When the sighting attachment is installed on the rifle, the two side sections of the tablerportion 34 are adapted to straddle the block portion [8 of the rifle sight I6 with'the flanges 40 fitting snugly against outer side surfaces [9 "thereof. Because of thefact that the inner edge of the curved slot 38, the rear face of the depending flange 36 and the-inner side surfaces of the pair of flanges 40,- engage the muzzle end of the rifle in areas or regions which are relatively widely separated from each other, the attachment 22 is extremely stable in its mounting onthe rifle and is not-subject to displacement under conditions of reasonably hard usage.

A plurality of sighting elements 42 project upwardly from the upper surface of each of .the

side sections of the table portion 34,such sight-,

3d. HtUMLHUUM. liblliUMLl'l la.

Search Ream ing elements being shown as associated with each element for convenience of illustration. The opposite edges of the table portion 34 are turned upwardly as at 42 to provide an additional sighting element for each side portion, thus making five sighting elements in all on each side portion. While the sighting elements 42 may be integrally formed with the member 32, these elements are preferably formed separately and are in the form of fiat sheet metal stampings havingcurved upper surfaces and tapering slightly rearwardly so as to take on the genera1 appearance of the conventional sighting element 22 of the sight assembly l8, as shown in Fig. 3. Each of the members 42 is securely attached to the table portion '34. The end members 42' which are integrally formed with the table portion 34 and which constitute upwardly extending flanges thereon are similarly shaped.

Reference to Fig. 4 will show that the various sighting elements 42 and 42' occupy angular positions with respect to each other and each of these spaced elements is in true accurate alignment with the rear peep hole sight, not shown, of the rifle. In other words, the extended longitudinal center line of each of the spaced elements 42 and 42' passes through the center of the peep hole sight of the rifle and thus these members lie upon radial lines diverging from a common center located at the rear rifle sight position. By such an arrangement, the marksman or rifleman, upon selecting any one of the sighting elements 42 or 42' for aiming purposes, will be assured that his line of vision passes over the selected sight element in true alignment therewith so that the efiective sighting width of the element appears to be to him no wider than the thickness of the metal from which the sighting element is constructed, a condition which would not obtain were the various elements arranged in true parallelism.

It is to be noted that even though the rifleman has at his disposal, in the present instance, no less than eleven sighting elements, any one of which he may select for aiming purposes, he is unlikely to become confused in his selection of the proper sighting element for the particular conditions under which he is obliged to aim, in-

asmuch as the two guard portions 20 provide securely in position at the muzzle end of the rifle, a pair of spring members have their forward ends anchored as at 52 in any suitable manner, as for example, by spot welding or the like, to the outer sides of the flanges 40 near the forward edge thereof. These spring members :50 occupy a horizontal position and project rearwardly along the sides of the flanges 40 and are provided at their free ends with latch members 5B which are designed to snap over the rear edge of the block portion l8 of the rifle sight [6 when the rear face of the flange 36 is brought into abutting relationship with the front surface of the block portion l8. The latch members 56 are provided with tongue 58 by means of which they may manually be spread apart to release the attachment for removal purposes.

If desired, the rear edges of the side sections of the table portion 34 may be turned downwardly, as indicated in dotted lines at 60, to provide a vertical surface on which various indicia 62, also shown in dotted lines, as for example, the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, corresponding to the various right and left hand sighting elements, may be applied to this surface 60 beneath the respective sights to which they pertain to serve as a further aid to the rifleman in making proper selection of the sighting elements for aiming purposes.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be desorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as the invention has been particularly pointed out in the accompanying claim is the same to be limited.

What is claimed is:

A front sighting attachment for firearms comprising a metal member having a horizontal table portion, a plurality of sighting elements projecting upwardly from said table portion at transversely spaced points therealong, said sighting elements being in the form of relatively flat upstanding flanges, said flanges being arranged with their longitudinal axes converging toward each other in one direction and intersecting substantially at the location of the rear sight of a gun upon which the sighting attachment is mounted.

WILLIAM A, BAILEY. CHARLES E. WHITEMAN.

Images