L1A1 fitted with a No.32 Scope

[Gil Boyd]

Skippy,
All I can say is the pointer was facing uppermost 9base up)and I thought it was a SUSAT but we called the TRILUX because it was easier, as the illuminated post could light up brighter and you could adjust its intensity.
Because of so much time going past, and so many trials of various kit Peter and his colleagues or whoever it was sent them to us in those first few years, made us undertake in those early days I found the Trilux SUSAT if that is its correct name the best. I had it on the border on the first tour, so assumed unless I had another on the second tour can't help there.........memory fade

We were even issued secondhand US bodyarmour direct from Vietnam, dirty round the collar which we promply cut off and stitched the top round covered in Ace of Spades and a guys name etc, we were the testers for everybody

[nzl1a1collector]

Hopefully the photo will clarify the various sights everyone is talking about

If the Pointer is facing downwards then the sight is a Sight Unit Infantry Trilux (SUIT)
If the Pointer is facing upwards then the sight is a Sight Unit Small Arms Trilux (SUSAT)

[Peter Laidler]

KtK has got it in one. One pic does indeed describe a thousand words. The old L2A1 SUIT sight from the L1A1 rifle was an OK sight in itself but the interface mount between both these sights, the A1 and 2 and the rifle was, well, dire if you really want my opinion. Hence the term Shooter Usually In Trouble. The A1's seemed to go by the board quite quickly but a few did hang arounbd for a long time. Someone told me that AVIMO bought them all back when the A2's started coming on stream. The internals were the same just the overhung shade and TRILUX lamp button were different. The A1 type button overhung and got lopped off but you could use a later SR (Saunders Roe Technology) trilux lamp anyway.

So said, these buy-back A1 type SUITS were refurbished by AVIMO in Taunton and these are the ones that were eventually sold off commercially to other Armies, such as Israel who wanted their troops to suffer. You'll note this by the flat fronted OG shade on a lot of the foreign ones

The ribbed eye cups were a bad idea because by putting/pressing your eye up to the rear just caused the ocular lens to mist up so they changed the eye cup to the straight tubular type and as KtK says, this didn't alter the designation at all, it was just a B class modification.

I can confidently say that the SUSAT sight was the only part of the L85/SA80 that wasn't subject to any serious complaints. It was solid, tough, reliable, waterproof (unless you put it in the dishwasher of course.....) well liked, easy to use and squaddie proof. In the later years there was meant to be a vented rubber eye cup to prevent the ocular lens misting up but I never saw one. The sight also cost more than the rifle! I used to keep an unserviceable one (with a broken mounting base and with the grat taken out) in my pouches just to use as a prismatic 4x telescope. Gave it to my son when he was a School Cadet to use and when he left for Uni, he gave it to the Warrant Officer who still uses it

Good illustrative pic KtK. Thanks

PS. The Universal mount on the SUIT was for a picatinny rail ((correct me if I'm wrong KtK) and ordered by the Kuwaiti Army originally.

[Gil Boyd]

SUSAT yes as I remember its right name.. the good one IMHO..........thanks for refreshing the old memory banks with a Janet & John style briefing.... spot on..........for those who don't know who they were, they were a pictorial kids book of the 50's, those who went to borstal like me, didn't see written words ha ha! .
SUIT was yet another one we trialled, and loaned the eye cup from them for other uses, mostly to keep the rain out of the eyepiece !!!
Thanks for the images very helpful

[tankhunter]

Mmmm, Wouldn't Mind a Genuine ACOGs myself for the collection.........

[Gil Boyd]

Ah well don't feel so bad now, this S/Sgt calls the sight "This sight here" and "this one here" thats the proper covert names for rifle sights......enjoy:

BBC News - UK troops leave Afghan mission with better equipment

Gil

[Gil Boyd]

Look whats for sale on Fleabay an original single point as issued:

A FINE VINTAGE SINGLE POINT SIGHT SCOPE | eBay

[Peter Laidler]

BIG insurmountable problems with these sights. Never really took off. We had a whole box-load of the different variables of those trialled but......... Strangely, the trijicons have a 'sort of' red dot system fitted inside. Although to be fair, it's not really a red dot but just a red illuminator for the grat. But VERY effective

The one thing that NEARLY(?) got the old red-dot as I recall was the little Sterling/L2A3 SMG but that wasn't a long range weapon anyway so the apparent/relative size of the dot wasn't that important. Another hiccup was the fact that with the red-dot fitted, you couldn't use your iron sights. Especially if irons were a better answer to your dilemma

[nzl1a1collector]

[nzl1a1collector]