་ for Ordnance.
Year: 1888

page_text: ་
for Ordnance.
135
I, GEORGE ALBAN LEWES, of Farnborough in the County of Hants, Major of-the
Northamptonshire Regiment, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
My invention relates to sights for military and other fire arms and for ordnance,
and has for its chief object to provide means whereby a rifle may be much more readily
and accurately sighted than heretofore, and to this end it comprises the improvements
hereinafter described.
In carrying my invention into practice I provide a sight flap which is hinged or
jointed to a block on the barrel of the rifle or gun.
The bar sliding on the flap has its upper edge bevelled, and a square or approxi-
mately square notch is formed in the central portion of the said upper edge, from
the centre of the bottom of which preferably extends a fine white or platinum line;
if desired however the line may be dispensed with.
A notch of similar size and shape to that last described is formed in the head
portion of the flap, and adapted to be used as hereinafter described, and another
notch in the said head corresponds to the greatest range of the rifle.
The front sight consists of a black which has a straight top and a central slot, and
which is bevelled downwards towards the muzzle, the said block being of such height
that the accuracy of aim is not affected by fixing the bayonet. The slot itself also
widens towards the muzzle.
This slot is not intended to be looked through but merely to form a centre line on
the foresight in place of an ordinary line of platinum or enamel, it having been found
that such a line is very liable to be damaged in fixing and unfixing bayonets, whereas
the line formed by a slot is capable of a great amount of rough wear.
The front sight is of such size that it completely covers the notch in the sliding
bar or the notches in the head of the flap when sighting the fire-arm, the aim heing
correct when the tops of the sliding bar or of the head portion of the flap and of the

page_text: ront sight appear to form a continuous line and when the line formed by the slot in
the front sight coincides with the line in the sliding bar.
When used without a line on the back sight a fine line of daylight must be seen
on each side of the foresight when aim is being taken.
The sights when applied to a rifle are preferably so adjusted that when the sliding
bar is down and the flap lying flat the rifle would cover a man at any distance under
300 yards.
In this case the first mentioned slot in the head is used in conjunction with the
front sight.
Flanges are formed on the block hereinbefore referred to, which flanges serve to
protect the flap, the said flanges being of such height that when the sliding bar is
pushed up the flap as far as it will go and the flap is thrown down so that the said
bar bears against the said flanges, the elevation will be correct for 400 yards.
For 500 yards the sliding bar will be run down as far as it will go and the flap
raised, and for distances above 500 yards the bar is raised according to the graduations
on the flap as in a Martini-Henry rifle. The second slot in the head serves for
sighting the rifle at its extreme range.
The sliding bar may be provided with an adjustable wind gauge, if desired, but
this is not necessary as, owing to the use of the slot in the said bar, wind can be
allowed for without losing sight of the line of the front sight, the said line being
then niore or less at one side of the centre of the slot in the sliding bar.
The chief advantages of my invention are that the liability of taking in more of
the foresight than is actually intended and so firing too high is obviated; that it affords
the firer every facility for observing objects moving across the front, as they can be
seen moving above and along the line of the top of the sight; that in volley firing
it enables the whole volley to be delivered at the same elevation; that the elevation
is not affected by changes of light, and that the tendency to blur is reduced to a
minimum. It is obvious that my improvements in back sights may be applied to back
sights composed of a series of hinged plates.
In the application of my invention to ordnance the notch in the back sight is cut
in the head of the present tangent sight and the square foresight substituted for that
now in use.
Dated the First day of October 1888.

page_text: Improvements in Sights for Military and other Fire Arms and
for Ordnance.
I, GEORGE ALBAN LEWES, of Farnborough, in the County of Hants, Major of
the Northamptonshire Regiment do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to sights for military and other rifles, machine guns and
ordnance, and has for its chief object to provide means whereby a rifle may be much
more readily and accurately sighted than heretofore and the sight adjusted and to this
end it comprises the improvements hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawing.
Figures 1 and 2 are a rear elevation and side elevation respectively of a sliding
back sight constructed according to my invention, and adapted for application to a
rifle, and,
Figures 3 and 4 are views similar to Figures 1 and 2 respectively of the fore sight.
Figure 5 is a plan of the fore sight.
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are views illustrating the operation of the sights.
a indicates the barrel of a rifle, the sight flap which is hinged or jointed to
the block c on the barrel, d the bar sliding on the flap and having its upper edge
bevelled, and e, e flanges upon the block which serve as a protection and support for
the flap.
is a square or approximately square notch which is formed in the central portion
of the upper edge of the sliding bar and from the centre of the bottom of which
extends a fine white or platinum line g.
h is a notch of similar size and shape to the notch formed in the head
portion of the flap, and adapted to be used as hereinafter described and h¹ is
another notch in the said head and corresponding to the greatest range for which the
rifle is sighted.
The fore sight consists of a block i which has a straight top and a central slot jas
shown in Figure 3 and which is bevelled downwards towards the muzzle as
shewn in Figure 4 the said block being of such height that the accuracy of aim is not
affected by fixing the bayonet. This slot itself also widens towards the muzzle as
shown in Figure 5 and in dotted lines in Figure 3. "This slot is not intended to be
looked through but merely to form a centre line on the foresight in place of an
ordinary line of platinum or enamel, it having been found that such a line is very

page_text: liable to be damaged in fixing and unfixing bayonets whereas the line formed by a slot
is capable of a great amount of rough wear.
The fore sight is of such size that it completely covers the notch f in the
slide d or the notches or h¹ when sighting the fire arm, the aim being correct
when the tops of the sliding bar d or of the head portion of the flap and of the fore
sight i appear to form a continuous horizontal line and when the line formed by the
slot coincides with the line g as shown in Figure 6, or the block is fairly in the
middle of the notch.
For short ranges, say ranges under 500 yards the sights are so adjusted that when
the sliding bar is down and the flap lying flat as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2
the rifle would cover a man at any distance under 300 yards. In this case the slot /
is used in conjunction with the sight. The height of the flanges e, e should be
such that when the bar d is pushed up the flap as far as it will go and the flap is
thrown down so that the bar & bears against the said flanges, the elevation will be
correct for 400 yards.
For 500 yards the sliding bar will be run down as far as it will go and the
flap raised.
i For distances above 500 yards the bar d is raised according to the graduations on
the flap as in a Martini-Henry rifle which graduations will obviously run according
to the arm to which the sight is applied. The slot ₁ serves for sighting the rifle at
the extreme range for which it is intended to be sighted.
The advantage of a sight constructed so as to allow of this kind of adjustment, is
that a man using the rifle is enabled to adjust the sights for short ranges by touch
in the dark or without looking at them.
The sliding bar d may be provided with an adjustable wind gauge, if desired, but
this is not necessary as, owing to the use of the slot f in the bar & wind can be allowed
for as indicated in Figures 7 and 8 without losing sight of the line of the fore sight,
the line on the block i being then more or less away from the centre of the slot fas
indicated in Figures 7 and 8.
I sometimes dispense with the line g in the back-sight, in which case in sighting
the arm a fine line of light must be seen at each side of the foresight.
In the application of my invention to ordnance the notch for the back-sight is cut
in the head of the present tangent sight and the square fore-sight substituted for that
now generally used.
The chief advantages of my invention are that the liability of taking in more of
the fore-sight than is actually intended and so firing too high is obviated; that it
affords the firer every facility for observing objects moving across the front, as they
can be soon moving above and along the line of the top of the sight; that in volley
firing it enables the whole volley to be delivered. at the same elevation; that the
elevation is not affected by changes of light and that the tendency to blur is
reduced to a minimum. It is obvious that my improvements in back-sights may be
applied to back sights composed of a series of hinged plates.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said. inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed. 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
(1) The combination with the back sight provided with a square or other suitable
slot, of a fore sight in the form of a block, the said block during the sighting of the
fire arm or piece of ordnance to which it is applied being adapted to cover or partially
cover the slot and to form a continuous line with the top of the back sight,
substantially as hereinbefore described.
(2) The combination with a hack sight having a square notch in its centre, of a
fore sight adapted to cover the said notch when in use, substantially as described.
(3) The improvement for adapting a sight to be adjusted for short ranges by touch
or without looking at it, the said improvement consisting in providing the block to
which the binged flap is connected with flanges the incline or curve of. which is so

page_text: regulated that when the sliding bar is pushed right down on the flap and lying at the
foot of the incline or curve, the adjustment shall be right for one range, and when
the sliding bar is pushed right up the flap and is lying upon the top of the
incline or curve the adjustment shall be correct for the next range, substantially as
described.
(4) The improved sights constructed substantially as described with reference to the
accompanying drawing.