Mystery Mark 8 Navy gunsights

[airmanual]

Good day all,

I'm new to this site which i "unfortunately" only discovered very recently. I must say its really a treasure trove of useful information.

I've been collecting gunsights for quite a few years and had to come to the conclusion that detailed info on gunsights (especially US and GB) is even more difficult to find than the gunsights. Hope i will find here other enthusiasts/collectors with whom to exchange info, photos, technical docs, ...

Here are 2 examples of gunsights for which i have absolutely no info as to type of aircraft fitted or even if WWII or later dated.

First one is a Mark 8 Mod. 1 sighting head mounted on a standard Mark 8 Mod. 6 sight. As you can see, contrary to the classic Mk. 8 Mod. 8 gunsight mounted in most WWII Navy and USAAF fighters, this one has an adjustable sighting glass.







Second one is also based on a Mark 8 Mod. 6 sight but with no markings on the sighting head. I've been told this may be a Mark 10 Mod. 0 gunsight but without any further details. To make it even more puzzling, i also have a sighting head identical to the one mounted on the second sight and this one is marked Mark 7 Mod. 0.







The Mark 7 sighting head :





Can anyone help ?

Also, if anyone want photos of any sight i have, i would gladly share them.

Have a nice day,

Laurent
(Belgium)

[mudpuppy]

Those gun sights are in excellent condition; I wish I could help with some info, but i'm glad you posted the pics. Excellent detail of the sights.

Oh; and welcome to the forum, there are some very knowledgeable folks here that may have some answers for you.
Derek

[Kingscoy]

Hi Laurent,
I saw the first sight once passing on ebay....couldn't find much about it and let it go. But the rocket firing Hawker Typhoon and such a/c have also a similar feature to adjust the sight. So perhaps you should look in the direction of the USN dive bombers and rocket firing a/c. Did some quick search on the net and found a pic which looks like your second sight. Just google Mk-5 gunsight and it should pop up. Its one in the Smithsonian and dates from 1942.

I too collect gun sights (Revi16B, MkII, MK-8, N3B, K-14 and a few more) and if I come across any info on yours I'll let you know ASAP. There is quiet some info regarding gunsights on this forum.

Cheers,
Sander

[airmanual]

Good day,

Mysteries solved thanks to a US collector :

The Mark 8 Mod. 1 was, as also suggested by Sander, used in late WWII by Navy rocket firing planes like the Corsair, TBM and F6F

The Mark 7 Mod. 0 was used in the P2V Neptune. Was positioned inverted in the cockpit (reason why the figures are inverted in the adjusting knob).

Have a nice day,

Laurent

[ginasp]

Greetings -

My parents recently died and we are going through their belongings. I found this US Army Air Forces N-3B Gunsight and would like to find it a good home. Can you please advise of a museum or collector who might be interested in purchasing this piece? I hope this is the proper forum for this! I'm new here and look forward to being gently guided in the right direction.

Thanks!

[airmanual]

Greetings -

My parents recently died and we are going through their belongings. I found this US Army Air Forces N-3B Gunsight and would like to find it a good home. Can you please advise of a museum or collector who might be interested in purchasing this piece? I hope this is the proper forum for this! I'm new here and look forward to being gently guided in the right direction.

Thanks!

Good day,

N-3B sights are pretty common and are worth 50 to 100 USD. If you want to dispose of it, suggest best would be to decribe it properly and put it on Ebay.

If the gunsight is fitted with a sight head with reflector glass (like in the photos attached), it may have a totally different value.

Laurent

[ausflyboy]

I'm interested for my collection as I haven't got a N3b yet please contact me