Dar Posted November 22, 1999 Share Posted November 22, 1999 I'm curious if anyone can point me to a good reference about boresighting and how it was done. I assume that "true" boresighting involved looking straight down the bore from breech to muzzle, and I've read about occasions where this was practiced, as in one encounter where a US 155mm SP gun used boresighting to take out several German pillboxes. The gun commander actually let the infantry company CO he was supporting look down the barrel and sight the gun on several pillboxes (in the book <u>Roll Me Over</u> by Ganttner, IIRC). That sounds a little too easy, however, and I assume that there was more to it than that. Is it possible to boresight on more than one location and use the artillery equivalent of aiming stakes on those spots? Is all boresighting done by speculation/calculation, i.e., you can't fire test shots because you'd broadcast your location and tear up the target area to advertise it was zeroed in? I assume such factors as distance to target and muzzle velocity, at the least, were used to calculate the gun elevation? Thanks for any info! Dar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Deans Posted November 22, 1999 Share Posted November 22, 1999 Actually boresighting is the process of harmonizing the weapon and its sighting system. Registration is the process by which a weapon with a dial sight or Traversing and Elevating mechanism can, once laid on a target, engage that target again and again without seeing the target. There was some disscussion on this a while ago, I think. Like any weapon of this genre (Vickers, .50cal, .30cal, MG42) the target, to be effectivly engaged in the future, must be adjusted by firing the weapon at the target until the rounds land where they are supposed to. Once the weapon is "on", the sight is laid on the aiming post and the data recorded. The weapon can engage other targets and still go back to the registered target by applying the data to the sight (mech) and laying the weapon sight onto the aiming post. The weapon will now be pointing at the target that was recorded. 30 sec from fire order to rounds on target. Rob Deans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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