In 1940 a hand held low level bombsight was being issued to the RAF. It became known as the Low Level Bombsight Mk I. In August 1940 Portal, then CinC of Bomber Command, issued a review of bombsights currently in use and under development. This lists a hand held sight which is labelled as a Low Level Bombsight and it seems extremely likely that this was the Mark I. However Portal badges it as the "Lamplugh" bombsight.
I am curious about who Lamplugh was, where he worked and what his role was with the sight. Google has thrown up nothing of obvious value. There was a chap called Captain Alfred Gilmer Lamplugh who was an RFC pilot in WW1 and active in aviation circles for many years thereafter. He also had a family connection with a radio business so might have had some manufacturing/engineering background. But I have not found any actual link and he might be a red herring. Anyone able to shed light on Lamplugh and why the sight bears his name, at least briefly before it gets corporate as the Mk I? Edit - it does seem to have been developed at the RAE which seems likely given its moderate complexity.
I am curious about who Lamplugh was, where he worked and what his role was with the sight. Google has thrown up nothing of obvious value. There was a chap called Captain Alfred Gilmer Lamplugh who was an RFC pilot in WW1 and active in aviation circles for many years thereafter. He also had a family connection with a radio business so might have had some manufacturing/engineering background. But I have not found any actual link and he might be a red herring. Anyone able to shed light on Lamplugh and why the sight bears his name, at least briefly before it gets corporate as the Mk I? Edit - it does seem to have been developed at the RAE which seems likely given its moderate complexity.
