A periscope rifle is a

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

that has been adapted to enable it to be sighted by the use of a

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

. This enables the shooter to remain concealed below cover. The device was independently invented by a number of individuals in response to the

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

conditions of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and while it is not clear which army was the first to use periscope rifles, the weapons were in use by the end of 1914. Similar devices were also built for use with

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

s. In 1916, another similar device was patented for use with

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

Youlten hyposcope

British machine gun & periscope Gallipoli IWM Q 013450

The first periscope sighting rifle attachment was the Youlten hyposcope invented by W. Youlten. An early version of the attachment was tested in 1903, receiving its first patent in 1914. Its maximum range was .

Beech's periscope rifle

A form of periscope rifle was invented in May 1915 during the Gallipoli campaign by an Australian soldier,

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

, later Sergeant, William Beech (1875-1929), a builder's foreman in civilian life. At the time Beech was serving in the 2nd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The device allowed a soldier to aim and fire a rifle from a

trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

, without being exposed to enemy

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

. Beech modified a standard

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...

.303 .303 may refer to: * .303 British, a rifle cartridge * .303 Savage, a rifle cartridge * Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the B ...

rifle by cutting the stock in half. The two halves were re-connected with a board and mirror

, horizontally aligned to the sights of the rifle, as well as a string to pull the trigger, which allowed the rifle to be fired from beneath the line of fire. According to the testimony of John Adams, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

who served with Beech, the idea came to Beech after the traumatic experience of seeing the bodies of fellow soldiers shot through the head. Beech's device was quickly copied by other members of the

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

(ANZAC). It saw extensive use in the intense

of Gallipoli, where some lines of trenches – such as at Quinn's Post – were within of one another. According to a Gallipoli campaign participant, Sir David G. Ferguson, the use of conventional rifles during daytime was abandoned in favour of periscope rifles. It was generally regarded as significantly less accurate than a conventional Lee–Enfield, although the ''Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918'' states it was accurate to . A test conducted on the TV documentary series ''

The Boffin, the Builder and the Bombardier ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' suggested that the effective range was approximately . However, during the Gallipoli campaign, a reduced effective range was not a significant problem as in many sectors, the Turkish and Allied trenches were close together. Some were only five yards apart. Periscope rifles were later manufactured in crude production lines on the beach at Anzac Cove. Field Marshal Sir

William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

described the invention as one of considerable importance during the Gallipoli campaign. In 1921, the

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War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

awarded Beech £100 for the invention (around £ in 2015, when adjusted for inflation).

Other World War I rifles

Two

periscope adaptations were patented in September 1915. The first by J.E. Chandler was able to fire a full magazine before being dismounted. The second by G. Gerard was of a similar design. This was followed by E.C. Robert Marks's design in 1916, and the patents of M.E. Reginald and S.J. Young in 1918. On the Western Front periscope rifles were used by the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

and French armies. A periscope version of the

Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...

rifle was used by the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

on the Eastern Front. A number of periscope rifles including the "Elder" and the "Cameron-Yaggi" were devised in the United States. The Cameron-Yaggi was invented in 1914, but development of the model came to an end after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

in November 1918. The Cameron-Yaggi mounting required no permanent alteration to the fitted rifle, and included a mechanism to operate the rifle's bolt. The aiming periscope also functioned as a 4-power

telescopic sight A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate po ...

. However, only around 12 were constructed. The

M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first u ...

rifle could be fitted with an enlarged magazine with 25 rounds, and both the Cameron-Yaggi and Elder systems made use of this, so as many shots as possible could be fired without needing to dismount the rifle below the trench parapet for reloading. A Dutch version, known as the M.95 ''Loopgraafgeweer'' (''Trench gun'') was based on the

Dutch Mannlicher The Geweer M. 95, also known to collectors as the Dutch Mannlicher, was the service rifle of the armed forces of the Netherlands between 1895 and 1940 which replaced the obsolete Beaumont-Vitali M1871/88. At first it was produced by Steyr for ...

service rifle. It saw service with the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

from 1916 until World War II. Another example was the Guiberson periscope rifle stock.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Archive footage
demonstrating the use of Beech's periscope rifle
Archive footage
of a periscope mount for a Lewis gun being demonstrated Rifles Trench warfare Military equipment of World War I

Youlten hyposcope

Beech's periscope rifle

Other World War I rifles

See also

Similar weapons

References

External links