British Army Sniper Spotting Scopes

I have recently managed to add to my collection a very nice swift spotting scope fresh from disposal in its original transit case complete with paperwork.
It prompted me to get out my other scopes and thought that forum members might like to see my line up of spotting scopes associated with British Army Sniping from the No4(T) era to present.

• Telescope. Scout. Regiment MkIIs, Broadhurst Clarkson, Serial Number 15267, OS 126 GA with Leather covered body and sunshade.

• Telescope. Scout. Regiment MkIIs, H C Ryland, Serial Number 20552, OS 126 GA with Vulcanised brown coating on body and sunshade (it took a long time to find one with an undamaged finish!) Eyepiece marked OS 1616 SA

Both of the above scopes are fixed 20x power, housed in leather, velvet lined carry cases with leather carrying strap. They saw service through the No4(T) and L42A1 eras.

• Swift Telescope 6650 99 527 7191, Serial Number 85-52829, manufactured in 1985, housed in Case, Telescope 6650 99 527 7084 with original Swift Tripod with pan and tilt head. Interestingly included with the paperwork for this scope was an instruction sheet for a different variant of Issue Swift Tripod V6/6650 99 527 7083. The case carries NSN labels and descriptions for both the case and telescope together with 5 - 20mm diameter yellow labels with different ET numbers ('ET 10-13/6' & 'ET 10-14/1') The tripod caries three labels: 'S/N 523', 'Part of Serial No 82-20895' (I assume this was a previous scope this tripod was issued with) and 'ET 15/2 5/3. I would be interested in anyone can shed any light on the meaning of these numbers.
These scopes have a variable 15 - 60x zoom with separate focussing knob. They were issued at the end of the L42 and early L96A1 era's, and were optically very good but didn't stand up to desert conditions very well and were replaced with a British variant of the M49.

• United Scientific Instruments - Telescope, Observation M49, V5/6650 99 709 4323, Serial Number USI27202, dated 1991. Manufactured by United Scientific Instruments of Warwickshire, UK. Based very closely on the original US issue M49 with the addition of an extending sunshade, rubber eye cup and lens cover secured by cord around the scope body. There is also a red desiccation screw on the body beneath the eyepiece. The scope is housed in a standard plastic US M164 carry case with hinged lid and nylon web carry strap. The issue tripod is the standard US M15 housed in a canvas M42A1 carry case with MRT (Mould Resisting Treatment). Nylon web closure and carry strap.
These scopes are fixed 20x and were used with the L96A1's during the 1990's until the introduction of the current Leupold L1A1 scopes.

• Leupold L1A1-B5/1240-99-146-7493. 12 - 40x 60mm variable zoom scope manufactured by Leupold in the USA. Fitted with killfash B5/1240 99 837 3001. Housed in Moulded plastic transit case with instructions pasted into lid. Accuracy International supplied lens caps B5/1240 99 232 8653. Scope cover B5 1240 99 710 6894 manufactured by London Bridge Trading Company , Virginia, USA. Tripod is manufactured by the German Company, Cullmann with pan and tilt head, telescopic case and ground spike. Maunfactured from aluminium and high impact plactic. The tripod is the same as the commercial Cullman 'Touring set' produced in the '90's with the addition of the compact version of the pan and tilt head.
This current issue scope carries the same mill dot and range finding reticule found in the 3 - 12 x 50 Schmidt & Bender Scope fitted the L96A1 and L115A1 sniper rifles.

I have another (bare) Swift Scope, in its case (but minus tripod) - please pm me if interested. I may also be able to help anyone who is after a British Issue M49.

Nice collection and well presented on the ironed sheet, envy of any instructor in the British Army giving a lesson!
The trusted SWIFT a nice all round scope. Didn't the BUSHNELL appear somewhere in the lineup?

I have a funny feeling that our sniper Swift scopes weren't used/issued with the tripods although the tripods were issued for use with the XXXXXXXXX div operators. Additionally our Swifts were 'locked down' at the ocular end to remain at a fixed magnification that I seem to recall was 20x. There was also another section that was locked down too by means of a grun screw to prevent something to do with............. I can't seem to remember now but I will find out on Tuesday. Good scopes but as soon as the dust got into them they were hopeless and that's why we locked parts of the mechanism down. There was also a problem with some spare parts too. The alloy ocular cover was troublesome. The BEST transit case was an 81mm mortar round tube with a screw-on watertight cap.

Its the clean table cloth - and I have to say my wife wasn't too chuffed when I spread it out on the patio!

I don't know of a bushnell spotting scope (trial rifle scope maybe) but I'm sure that PL might chip in and mention a Kowa that figured during the L96 era

Ooooops....... made a mistake. It was the little green KOWA that replaced the SWIFT that we locked down to 20x magnification and not the SWIFT. Mind you, the SWIFTS were usually locked down to wherever the grit got into the multiple threads. There was an instruction that the serial number had to be stamped into the flat between the infinity ring and the manification ring because the Instrument shoips at Base workshops were permitted to strip them for cannibalisation spares prior to returning the shell to Ordnance. And the serial number was originally engraved around the OG lens mounting ring andd therefore all paper trail/acounting was lost. Anyway!!!!! It was the green KOWA that went on into the last days of the L96 as they became part of the rifle CES and fitted into the top left part in the bottom of the chest. The swift also had two over engineered front and rear lens protectoirs that were not available as spare parts from Swift either for reasons best know to themselves. So these were made in a replacement plastic by Helix from Walsall with a length of string tied through to prevent loss. It didn't prevent loss of course as you'd have to chain them on to prevent that!

You mentioned you had an instruction sheet for a different variant of Issue Swift Tripod V6/6650 99 527 7083, I believe it was the red one in picture 6, do you think you could post a more detailed picture of it so that we could read what it says ?

Attached is an image of instruction sheet for the different variant of Issue Swift Tripod
Attachment 55131V6/6650 99 527 7083

Ain't that just the same as the commercial camera tripod? We used to have to those at the xxxxxxx div for use with 'other things'.

I oversaw the codification of the fitting kit to put the Kowa telescopes into the L96 sniper chest. Oddly, the kit also consisted of a pot of 'evostik' adhesive and a slim/thin wooden spatula. The tin of adhesive would have done 50 kits but a smaller tube was deemed to be too fragile!

I was looking at pic #2 and realized I have one. It was my dad's for use in Wyoming. I never thought much about it. I have used it only to 200 yds. I have never compared it to other scopes, it does the job for me.
It is stamped Japan, not Great Britain
It's a model 841 Swift Mark II. 15X to 60X, 60mm. SN 71-9490. 33 ft. to infinity.
Your collection is just great. Just wondered if I had anything good. Or if you could lead me to a place to look.
Thanks

The Swift issued to the British Army is - to all intents and purposes - the same as the commercially available 841 Mk II during the 1970's and 1980's.

They were all made in Japan

The serial number you refer to also gives you the year of manufacture - yours is 1971 (the first two digits of the serial number)

These scope are still readily available on that infamous auction site for anywhere between £100 and £250 depending on condition and completeness

Thank you Waco.
I will put the info in my binder. I like to keep record of the history of my little collection. I never thought about the spotting scope until your picture.

There's nothing a sniper likes better than a telescope or pair of binoculars with the objective lenses a few inches lower than the oculars. And periscopes? Who needs those silly old things?

It's comforting isn't it, to know that we are no cleverer than we were in 1914? No wait, we're actually more stupid as we've had two world wars to learn the obvious! Well, that's progress for you.

I managed to pick up a brand new M49 spotting scope today, complete with carry case. Nice piece of kit. I note from Pete's post that the scopes may not have been issued with the tripod when part of the L96A1 CES? Can anyone confirm that?

If they were, and anyone has the correct tripod gathering dust, please let me know.

Attachment 68677Attachment 68678Attachment 68679

Personally, I don't remember those telescopes with the L96's. We had the big SWIFT that was good - so far as it went - until the dust got into the mechanisms. Then we got the little Kowa prismatics. The little Kowa stayed the course and was incorporated into the L96CES. I see the date of the M49 is 1993 so I'm wondering whether this was an interim between the old Scout Reg and the Swift. I wouldn't mind betting that the M49 was a militarised commercial scope, much as the Swift and Kowa were/are.

The m49 spotting scope and tripod has its own training section in the 1990 sniper Pam. The tripod illustrated is the bog standard m15 with m42 canvas carry case. The only difference in the whole set up from the US version is the scope which has a sun shade encorporated. Mine is 1991 dated and has a small broad arrow stamped on the data label. My tripod has a US data label with a 1985 date. This label also has a very small broad arrow stamped on it.

I wonder why the M49 has a UK 99 (the xxxx-99-xxx bit) identifier in the part number. Don't forget that this surveillance/observation stuff was pretty much generic across the whole Army

Doesn't the 99 denote UK manufactured?

99 = UK manufactured. But is/was this UK manufactured?

United Scientific Instruments Ltd are here in the UK, and manufactured these scopes, don't know if they are a UK company though.

It feels quite robust, few moving parts. So, Pete, would the swift scope I have be more appropriate for an L96 CES that this M49?

The sniper div will have used all 3 but the only ones I used to see were the old Sct Reg, the big Swift and the little dk green Kowa (that were obtained from a supplier in Reading and a very affable Jock was the link man there). That said, the Kowa also had a 99 UK identifier - presumably because it was sourced in the UK.

In the early 2000's the Kowa was codified as the tele for the L96 and as such added to the CES in much the same way as the Sct Reg was codified/made part of the L42 CES. All that meant to us or the unit was that instead of the tele's being on the G1098/armoury shelf as general surveillance kit it became part of the rifle kit. I don't remember stands for them either although the reccy div and xxxxxxxxxx team would have had access to them.

Re the big Swifts (anyone know/remember who made them......) were good but...! We had to get new OG lens retaining rings made for some reason - I think it was dust and sand getting behind the OG lens - and Sgt Alex Lxxxxxx (one of the last REAL instrument Techs) had to formulate the plan of action with the manufacturer of the new rings (they were at Bury St Edmunds?). To do that job I wrote a few off that they could use as samples. We had a lot of them. Our new made rings were flat instead of beveled and were screwed down using pin pliers instead of a large flat concave screwdriver. Sorry to go off at a tangent with this useless info.

Incidentally, I seem to think that the Swifts came a dark grey colour and were over painted khaki prior to issue. The ones for Gulf 1 were then poorly overpainted sandy yellow

USI Ltd are indeed British and still located at Kenilworth, Warwickshire

I wonder why they were called the M-48 scope using a US type nomenclature and not the standardised L48A1 UK type nomenclature. Strange....... Were they MADE here I ask? I suspect that they were imported. I am thinking '...trials Bushnell telescopes' from the US.

Peter,
I suspect looking at the layout of the way the numbering is stenciled for the NSN, that it was for offshore NATO country use not here IMHO. I have NSN's for some of my kit and mine is laid out differently as per laid down by Donnington, and have had stuff sent back becuase it didn't conform!

With Japanese optics to know who the actual maker of an item was one often has to look at the factory codes. Production can cross over on "export" brands. http://home.europa.com/~telscope/jbcode.txt

The codes are usually not picked out in colour and marked in an unobtrusive location.

We might have solved the UK Military M-48 querie. Just waiting for a reply from the Equipment manager and his contact at USI

Thanks for the information I think I have one some where in my junk draw never thought it was related to the l42a1 . It looked less than military capable !!

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Originally Posted by tr63

Thanks for the information I think I have one some where in my junk draw never thought it was related to the l42a1 . It looked less than military capable !!

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I would agree 100%. The open "cutouts' in the top of the body for the focusing dials would fill with water pretty quickly.

They could have had the R.E.L. Telescope, Observing, Sniper's, with Stand, Instrument CNo.47 fifty years earlier; in test it stood up to six months straight in the rain.

I suppose some kind of sunshade was improvised on the not-so-Swift, so that the objective lens didn't collect bullets?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tr63

Thanks for the information I think I have one some where in my junk draw never thought it was related to the l42a1 . It looked less than military capable !!

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Well I found the Swift 841 scope the serial is K89-3751 there are no marks as to government ownership . It has the shipping box but no owners manual . Anyone have a copy of the owner's manual that I can down load , etc. . Thanks for any help. This thing is very heavy it must weight more than the 3 draw Scout Reg.

This is a set of paperwork from a military issue swift as it cane from disposal, in its case with tripod

Thanks for the pictures of the Swift manual . I wonder was there a military version issued user manual for the scope ?

Thanks for the pictures of the manuals .