WW1 'Periscope Prism company' sniper scope???

[lmg15]

Interesting observations Surpmil re PPC scope.

I was wondering if it was a manufacturing expedient that avoided the need for the two brass pads under the windage screws? This effectively becomes a one piece sleeve with the added bonus of giving an extra couple of mm elevation travel for the crosshairs.

However, when all else fails, I had a look in The British Sniper pp.42 - 43. According to the CISA blueprint, the pre- Feb 1916 scopes used the wrap-around arrangement, (as per Roger's previous comment) which was substituted thereafter by the two brass pads under the windage screws labelled "O.C. END IMPROVEMENTS. INCORPORATED SUBSEQUENTLY TO FEB 1ST 1916. I have to say that I did a double take on the Feb 1916 date. My dodgy eyesight, small print and preconceived notions made me read that as Feb 1915 initially, but IDS then says it again in plain English on p.43.

The dovetail patent was dated 24 Feb 1915, so at most a year's worth of production before the improvements were incorporated. Going to pp.62-63, the first orders for PPC are 8 April 1915 with 1,120 ordered and an order for 4,000 on 28 Oct 1915. There is a 3 month gap in the records IDS found, so the figures become a bit rubbery. Is that 1220 + 4000 + 5220, or were some of the scopes from the October 1915 order incorporating some of the earlier order? Looks like it with total PPC scope deliveries being 4830.

Another point of rubbery-ness in the figures is that the date ordered does not reflect the date delivered, so many of the scopes may have been delivered after Feb 1916 for all I know, thereby incorporating the post Feb 1916 modifications. Then again, most of the scopes made in 1915 may have had the modifications and CISA did not note the mods until later. This would not be the first time that the configuration paperwork caught up with the fielded item well after the event (many LoC examples...)

Roger, were the other scopes in this configuration with out the dovetail / with the larger objective group?

ATB, D.

---------- Post added at 09:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 AM ----------

PS - p.63 has a list of the Enfield Pattern Room collection referring to PPCo solid drum and PPCo split drum scopes on single PPCo mounts.