Notched Flip Rear Sights

Need help with the link above

gene of oregon wrote: Need help with the link above

gene of oregon wrote: Go to the below link and pick an eye exam. If you have a laptop place it 6-7 feet in front of you. An open sight will not change your sight clarity. The peep sight will make the numbers and letters clear. Why?? I can't remember how the eye doctor explained it (over my head) but it works that way. Try It If I would have known this 47 years ago, I would have opened one of my peep sights. Hope I explained this ok, Gene

Thanks for the update and reference.  Sounds like some of our speculation may be on track.  

Great info Jim.  I saw a discussion or two about these sights when I was Googlein' about my notched rear sights but none of them had the details you provided.  Just wondering, how is the rear sight attached?

I guess it's best to leave them on then.  So another general question, how do they fill the dovetail?

Century Arms imported several thousand carbines from Germany in 1974/75. This group has had the largest number with the rear sight still intact.

These were offered to law enforcement only, because of the 1968 Gun Control Act ban on imports for civilian use. They were also being sold by Interarms, who appears to have bought an unk quantity from Century Arms. Individual officers also bought these direct. All have the Century Arms import mark with St. Albans, VT.

Many agencies eventually sold these to their officers, companies and/or the public for civilian sales.

Some law enforcement agencies or officers who bought them left the v notch in place, some removed them. Ditto the people who bought them from law enforcement. Most people wanted an original GI carbine, not an altered one.

Most with the v notch sights have had the Bavaria markings removed. This was done by Bavaria on all of their carbines being sold. At some point they stopped removing them, probably because of the time and manpower involved along with the quantities being sold by Bavaria.



It was fairly well known these were used by the Bavaria Police from the many carbines with the markings still intact. V notched and no v notch.

What wasn't known was the history of the carbines used by the Germans and Austrians. All were associated with Bavaria by owners and collectors in the USA. I began doing the research in 2005. By 2007 I had the BavarianM1Carbines.com website under constant construction as I learned more.

The Austria Gendarmerie bought over 4000 carbines from Bavaria 1955/56. Some of these had the v notch rear sight. The Austrian Gendarmerie removed them and replaced them with the GI adjustable rear sights. Some of these were amongst the carbines obtained from Austria by INTRAC in 1994 and CMP via the army in 2007 and again in 2014. They have the modifications to the receiver ring along with the silver solder.



The rear sight dovetail was filled with a small piece of metal cut to the correct dimensions. With many it's hard to see the outline of the insert.





Jim

Yes, a lot to read there.

The American Occupation Zone in Germany was divided into five sectors. Each of the five had it's own U.S. Office of Military Government (OMGUS). Within each of those offices was one or more public safety officers. Amongst the tasks assigned these PSO's was determining how many carbines each of the police agencies within his jurisdiction.

While a few carbines made their way into German Police hands prior the majority began being issued in March 1946. "On Loan", but owned and closely monitored by the OMGUS PSO's. Starting in 1949 3 of the 5 German Land/States began purchasing the carbines used within their particular land/state. Bavaria was a hold out. The West German government paid for Bavaria in 1955 at the end of the occupation then took the issue up with Bavaria for reimbursement.

Bavaria began bartering their carbines with other German land/states as early as 1952. Trading them for carbine ammunition, magazines, etc.

When the occupation ended in 1955 they could officially sell them. But thousands remained in service into the 1960's and were then held in reserve. An American Air Force member stationed in Bavaria in the mid 1970's saw them in police armories with others being processed for civilian sales at a Swiss wholesaler/exporter.

The carbines used in Berlin were issued about 1960 in response to the Soviet/East German threatened invasion. These were on loan. I have the month and year they were turned back in but can't recall it off hand. In the mid 60's. Haven't seen even one of these. Have no idea where the U.S. Army sent them afterwards. They have the Berlin "star" stamped on top of the rear sight platform forward of the rear sight.

Carbines issued to the West German Bundeswehr in 1955 were provided by the U.S. Military Assistance Program. West Germany ended up paying for them.

Unofficially, Austria's gendarmerie began receiving carbines from OMGUS Austria by 1952. Quantities are unknown. Officially the Austrians received their carbines in 1955 at the end of the occupation. Many of those carbines, along with all kinds of other U.S. military equipment, where left behind in Austria for the Austrians. Additional carbines were provided by the U.S. Military Assistance program. When they were issued to the various agencies the Austrian Gendarmerie was left far short of what they needed. So they bought additional carbines from Bavaria in two separate shipments 1955 and 1956. Austria paid the U.S. government for all of their carbines.

I have a fairly accurate breakdown of when and were the U.S. carbines used by the various agencies in Austria went. Interestingly, those returned to the U.S. Army by Austria that went to CMP were owned by Austria and not purchased back by the U.S. Army. All that went to CMP had been sold to the American importer INTRAC in 1994. INTRAC got the first shipment in, about half, but the second shipment was blocked by Clinton's assault weapon ban. The carbines blocked from import were retained by Austria. 3800 were sold to Euroarms in Italy where they are still being sold. The rest were given to the U.S. Army, who provided them to CMP.

Jim

I can't think of the exact location where I read it, but I always was under the impression that the front sight ears were bent to keep the shooter from mistaking them for the front sight post. Then the reason you see the ears removed is that even with the ears bent it was still too easy to mix them up in the heat of a fire fight or in low vis situations. The low visibility part then lends to opening up the rear sight aperture into a V-notch.