Another Andys Rubbish and Ramblings
Its been very busy here of late, ad at last Im starting to get a bit of free time back.
We recently hosted an auction and one of the lots on offer was a German WW1 Artillery sight. The sight caught my eye when I was collecting up the auction lots earlier in the year,The reserve price was very reasonable and I made a mental note to at least try to be present when the sight went under the hammer.
Auction day rolled around and I reminded myself the sight was coming up and somehow I managed to be present as it sold. Surprisingly, I was the only bidder, buying the sight at its very reasonable reserve price.
From my observations, German artillery sights are not exactly scarce as they seem to have been brought home as souvenirs in reasonable numbers, Kiwis were pretty good at bringing home trophies, and seem to have taken what ever they could fit into their kit bags!
This particular example interested me for a couple of reasons, the first being the condition, now I have seen a lot of artillery sights over the years but to be fair most were in very average condition, the second reason was the fact the sight was housed in its original box, something I had not seen before. I have to wonder why it was picked up, I have seen the indirect fire/ aiming circle sights used as a dumpy type level so possibly this may have been behind taking the artillery sight? Or possibly a gunner thought the enemy equivalent of their own equipment may be an interesting item to retain for posterity?
The beautiful constructed sight which is marked Rbl.F.16 ( Rundblickfehrnrohr ) was made by GOERZ, Berlin, 11 (November) 1918 which would account for the condition. The box is a work of art, beautifully made with a very positive latching arrangement and wooden inserts with leather facings to protect the sight. The field grey paint is well work and the box is marked with a possible reference to a mortar? Or if it found its way to New Zealand post WW1 it may have been liberated at a later date.
I believe these are a 4x power sight, they have a triangle type reticle and are adjustable for windage and elevation, They seem to have been the standard type of sight used on many 75/77mm light field guns and would likely be used for direct or indirect fire, relying on artillery spotters, and communication relayed back to the gun crews through various means to enable effective fire