What does this sight go to???

**kaydee** · 12-29-2019, 11:48 PM

Can anyone tell me what this sight goes to?? I was told it goes to a Japanese WWII mortar. It's 4 X10 power

.
Thanks,
kaydee
Dwight Brown

**08SMLE48** · 12-30-2019, 12:02 AM

Did you just buy this on eBay? It’s an aiming circle. It’s used to “lay” Artillery and mortars. It can also be used as a hasty survey instrument for Artillery. It would be mounted on a tripod

**kaydee** · 12-30-2019, 02:16 AM

08SMLE48,
Yes, I did just buy this on Ebay. I figured that it was to be mounted on a Tripod. I was hoping for an image showing it mounted.
I didn't have one and thought it was in pretty good shape.
What do you think?
kaydee

**stegel** · 12-30-2019, 02:37 AM

If no one can help here, (probably unlikely) try asking over at Gunboards Forum. (Firearms of the Rising Sun Forum)
It mainly is a board for all things that go bang and boom, but some other items also get discussed on occasion.
There's a fellow there called Bouganville from Australia, he collects this sort of equipment among other things.

**08SMLE48** · 12-30-2019, 03:19 AM

Kaydee,

Congratulations on your buy. I was watching this myself but didn’t make a bid. I think it’s a great buy. Here is a photo I found on lone sentry online. It’s from an army manual dated 1944 covering Japanese Artillery equipment. I doubt you will find a period photo if one being used in the field. Survey is not a very sexy job so it’s unlikely that many folks would care to look at guys laying a battery at the time haha!

**ghp95134** · 12-30-2019, 06:10 AM

I was not an 11Charlie [mortar] ... so I don't know much. I do know that you need aiming stakes for artillery and mortars. Using the aiming circle today is probably not much different than then. I tried to find a video about setting up the aiming stakes, but I guess that's not sexy enough to rate a video!

Another video

Image of a Japanese officer using a transit; I think this is for indirect fire -- note the aiming stake next to him (why there and not forward??) -- this image was listed as "Japanese officer conducting land survey" which I think is incorrect *because* of the aiming stake. A couple of images of Germans using the aiming circle; the Japanese probably used the same protocols. And the last image is of the two aiming stakes.

Hopefully someone with indirect fire experience can school us!

-- Guy

P.S. Dunno why the German image is first when I loaded the Japanese image as first!

**kaydee** · 12-30-2019, 01:15 PM

Thank everyone who posted comments. That is exactly what I was looking for.
Great information.
kaydee
Dwight

**08SMLE48** · 12-31-2019, 02:17 AM

Kaydee if your still around,

Surveyors would use “aiming stakes” as “marking posts” as a reference when performing certain survey methods such as traverse. Now I’m not going to get into the details of survey methods cause I’m not a surveyor by trade but marking posts would mark the “rear” and “forward” posts and the instrument and instrument operator would be in the occupying station. So the picture that Guy posted of the Japanese soldier is accurate as performing survey.

**08SMLE48** · 12-31-2019, 02:26 AM

Artillery and mortar sections would use aiming stakes as a re-orientation reference point for azimuth of fire. After the price was laid with the rear circle the price pliers plus lay on the azimuth of fire and have a runner drop the aiming stake out there. This is how I understand it. Mind you I am not an 0811 or an 0341 by trade or their Army or non-US equivalents. So if anyone has any corrections please fire for effect!