Hi The attached image is from the UK TNA file AVIA15/938. It is an message from the British Air Commission in Washington to the UK Ministry of Aircraft Production in London in December 1942. Regrettably the file does not include the previous correspondence and it only has the first page of the actual message so a lot of context and detail is missing. It describes a US low level bombsight. Is anyone able to tell me more about the described bombsight and/or point me to other sources please? Was it deployed in service? The nature of the target is not mentioned but paragraph 1 mentions retro-bombs which are normally related to anti-submarine attacks by MAD-equipped aircraft. Also the speed is at the lower end at 100-120kts consistent with some A/S attacks. Thanks, Paul
US Low Level Bombsight partial description
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MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
A "low altitude bombsight" was created for the Doolittle Raid, consisting of a protractor with a "carpenters level" kind of sight attached. My HS match and Mech Drawing teacher recreated one after the war and last time I heard it was displayed in the Lobby of the Doolittle Building in El Segundo, CA.
link to some pictures of the Doolittle bomb site.
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Doolittle Raider "Mark Twain" Bombsight
As many of you know, the Doolittle Raiders used a special bombsight nicknamed the "Mark Twain" rather than the Norden one. The one used by the Raiders only cost 20 cents to make. I have seen pictures of this special bombsight but cannot find anything about the dimensions. I am planning on making ...
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I'm no expert on bomb sights and have trouble visualizing the description above, but I've seen the Estoppey D-8 sight be called a low-altitude bomb sight. I know nothing about the Sperry S-1, but that is another WW2 US bomb sight. The description above does not sound like the Mark Twain sight from the Doolittle Raid to me, there's mention of perspex and mirrors.
Also, the first paragraph says (at least to me) that this sight is not for retro-bombing, but currently used for practice bombing only. It could be some sort of training device instead.
Also, the first paragraph says (at least to me) that this sight is not for retro-bombing, but currently used for practice bombing only. It could be some sort of training device instead.
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Yeah, all rather unclear with just hints about what it is and its purpose. It is not any of the Sperrys that were used in the UK, they were all complex medium/high level jobs.
