The M1 Carbine Infrared Sniper Scope

Never seen one myself, but it kind of looks like some of the "crap" we tried to use in the early 60's. It took longer to set it up and calibrate it, then the amount of time we got to use it. :D

12106 Infrared "Snooperscope" for M1 Carbine http://oldguns.net/cgi-bin/f2f/f2f....bine+Infrared+Sniper+Scope&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6 (Partial) set with chest - Officially called "Sniperscope, Infrared, set No. 1, 20,000 volt" these were made circa 1951 and were mounted on M1 or M2 carbines in the field. (Unlike the earlier T3 carbine which was specially made for use only with the very early 1945 vintage M1 or M2 "Snooperscope") . This is a partial set, missing two major components, but what is here is in excellent condition, and all from the same contract dated 8/31/1950 by American Optical. This set has the carrying chest, one of the cleanest I have seen on the outside, although one of the plywood dividers that serves as a cradle when storing the scope is slightly damaged. The scope is serial number M3.5557.50, and appears to have been slightly modified for use by previous owner. They added a toggle switch on the right side of the light source bracket which eliminated the need for the hand grip trigger. They also snipped off about 6 inches of the strain wire and modified the ends of the power cable by removing the connectors, but these can be reversed with a little work. I have no way of checking the operation status of the electronic mysteries inside to see if they actually work, so being sold for display purposes only. .The light source IR filter looks okay. Set is missing the front grips with trigger to activate the light, and the power supply/battery assembly, and also the long mounting bar which takes the place of the rear sight and clamps on the barrel at the front. The mounting bar is about 14 inches long and has a clamp block to fit around the barrel at one end and a male dovetail at the other end that fits into the carbine's rear sight dovetail after the normal sight is removed.. The top of the bar has a hole and a pair of adjusting knobs just like used on the Redfield mounts on the M1903A4 that match up with the corresponding parts on the bottom of the scope assembly. We have sold four or five of the mounting bars over the years, but have none available right now, but some dealer probably does. The power supply will be harder to find, but most are inoperable now anyway, and many were transisterized by Edmunds Scientific back in the 1970s when most of the scopes were sold off as surplus. Every serious carbine collector needs one of these, the first widely used U.S. military night sniping unit. Primitive as it was, it allowed shots out to about 135 yards, which was a major breakthrough for that time, but pretty poor compared to today's night vision devices which do not need the tell tale infrared source. Only the second possibly operational unit (but missing some parts) we have had in several years. We include a photocopy of the manual with info on all the items in a complete set, their operation and maintenance. The chest is the correct American Optical type which is a rigid pressed fiberboard type construction instead of the "footlocker" style with riveted edge pieces used by Capehart Farnsworth. Outside of chest has been painted flat black instead of OD. While not a complete set, it is an excellent start towards one and can be the centerpiece of a carbine display.

12106.jpg
Click to expand...

Regards,
Badger
 
Last edited:
What does the image through the scope look like at night?
Is it an outline of the target in one color, or can you easily identify your target like a TV image?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom