The Trench Periscope Rifle “What the *ell is that!”
The mere act of raising your head above the parapet of a World War One trench could often be your last act on earth. The various militaries were well aware of this threat and sought various means to reduce this threat. On of the most promising was a device that allowed the standard service to be fired above a parapet while the rifleman was concealed below.
When the US entered the war, two Ohio rifle enthusiasts; James Cameron and Lawrence Yaggi, developed an experimental concept that consisted of a M1903 rifle (fitted with a 25-round extension magazine), clamped to a metal framework that would rest on the shoulder and hold the weapon above the shooter’s head. Extension levers allowed the shooter to manipulate the bolt and trigger and the rifle was sighted via a periscope attached to the framework. Now this idea was not unique, several service rifles were modified to allow the user to fire over the parapet, but the Cameron-Yaggi device allowed the firer to use a periscope and fire at what he saw. The entire mount was surprisingly accurate, during one test, ten rounds were fired at a 200 yard target, with a total spread of 1.3-inches. The users also reported that the recoil “gave less kick than a normal service rifle. The whole framework, rifle and all, just seemed to rock back a little.” Another advantage of the Cameron-Yaggi was that the periscope would rock away from the shooter’s eye upon firing, rather than back with a rifle-mounted periscope.
When put together, the Cameron-Yaggi added 6 pounds to the weight of a
‘03, and it was certainly more cumbersome than a standard service rifle, but it was never intended to be carried a great distance and was intended for the defense of a trench. This, perhaps, was its greatest drawback. You see, the Cameron-Yaggi was never purchased, nor was it formally rejected by the Ordnance Department (this hints that the military saw its potential but also had unreported qualms about the device as well). Total production was perhaps a dozen or so, all hand made and thus varying to some degree.
Still, it was a fascinating idea.
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The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
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