Optical sight of some kind help!

[McLean W]

Good evening everyone, well I guess its been so long since I was last online that my old account isnt around haha! Used to be on here quite a bit and there was always alot of good info. So i figured Id post this, a few days ago a friend of my dads came over and dropped off a bunch of " old gun junk" as he described it for me. Said he has lots more he will sort through this winter. 

In the bottom of the box a came across this and have been trying to research it to no avail. 

The case is all very stiff and well done black leather with a metal dovetail slot inside to hold the sight firm.

So far ive determined that it was made at "Emil Busch AG, Optische Industrie, Rathenow" (stamped CXN) 

It is a greenish "feldgrau" i think colour and has a red layer underneath like other german ww2 optics Ive seen. the K.F. I have been told could stand for "cold weather use" 

The reticle it a triangle and inverted triangle with a top and bottom post. I have seen the same reticle on the large lafette gun sights for the mg42/ mg34 except they have one triangle. 

Also was thinking it may be for a anti tank gun like a pak 36. 


I would really like to get some hard facts on what it is and what its worth

Thanks in advance! 

Cheers, McLean 

[fredleander]

You may be right about the PAK 37. I have attached a photo where you can see the (sliding) mounting block for the scope right behind the sighting opening. Similar blocks can be seen on other PAK's, too, but the low magnification (3X) indicates a shorter-range weapon.

Fred

[McLean W]

That dovetail looks like it would work for this. Im really amazed that I cant fin anything similar to this online at all. Ive looked everywhere and im coming up empty. Although the sight for the pak so far has been what most people guessed it was.

Cheers, McLean

[ChristopherPerrien]

I've looked too. Twice. spent a couple hours on image search , no luck. Just about have looked at every cannon and MG, bow mg mount , rocket launcher, rangefinder, boresight, it could be. None are an exact match.

Worst comes to first, and if you speak German , the Company still is there in Rathenow, name has changed though, I don't remember enough German to track it to its new name though.

[McLean W]

Wish I spoke german! This is driving me nuts! Ive sent emails to alot of german militaria websites as well and half have said they thin its a gun sight of some kind and im waiting on the other half to reply.

Perhaps its an ultra rare prototype sight must be worth untold thousands haha!

Cheers, McLean

[fredleander]

Suggestion: Buy or go to a hobby story where they have a large-scale kit of the PAK 37. You might see it portrayed in the building instructions. Even better - get a manual on the PAK 37. That should be easy..... :roll: ...

Fred

[McLean W]

Well I discovered that the little slot on top with the glass is probably for a block with a tritium capsule in it.

If you shine a bright light in there the reticle turns stark white!

So another clue but still miles away.

Cheers, McLean

[ChristopherPerrien]

Giving this some thought , we may be looking in the wrong direction. The company continued after the war, so this could well be a sight for a piece of East German Army Equipment or Warsaw Pact.

[peeved]

DDR was said to mean Das Dritte Reich but it seems sort of odd if they continued to use Third Reich manufacturer's codes, cxn in this case.

Could it be a Flak sight for use against ground targets?

Markus

[StefanSiverud]

Got any photos of it showing the whole thing?

[McLean W]

Well sorry about the year long delay guys. Long story but been a rough year. Lots of deaths and ups and downs. Things are looking up as of late and I'm starting to get back into the swing of things.

Here is a few more pictures of the whole thing.



PS sorry to resurrect this thread thought it better than starting a whole new one.

[McLean W]

Also a couple months back I met a gent up here who I have sold a few things to in the past. He was in the 2nd SS fought the war from the commanders hatch of a tiger tank. He said he remembers seeing these inside the tanks and that they used them for the machine gun. His memory was a little foggy.

I'm heading to a gunshow tommorow and he is usually at this one so hopefully I'll get a bit more info if he is still around.

[ChristopherPerrien]

Yes, the low resolution /magnification 3x, and the lack of a graduated aiming reticle only a convergence, and the dove-tail slot to lock it in, point toward an "area sight" for some kind of mounted machine gun/weapon. Not big, or long range

On old M60 Tanks we had a similar "area sight" for the coax MG, though it was part of the main sight assembly. I forget if it was 3x or 5x.
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If you want to run with this football/idea, perhaps, The Bovington Museum or the Panzer Museum in Munster might be able to help. E-mail them a "who can you talk to request" with a photo.

[McLean W]

I sent them an email. Fingers crossed on that! Thanks for the tip!