Waffle, Gunsight info for A20G-1-DO to 15-DO and 20-DO to End of Run.

[bustr]

The pilots manual T.O. No. OI-40AL-1, in the armament sections states A20G from 1-DO were mounted with an N-3A gunsight to aim the forward firing guns. Iron ring gunsights are incredibly inaccurate as the pilot's aiming device for his fixed guns or dropping ordinance. I've seen official cockpit photos of Bostons and their AAF equivalent and they only have the fold down iron ring. Other photos from the outside of the cockpit show some Bostons were getting an optical sight. But, then almost all AAF fighters that reached English aircraft depots were retrofitted with MKII gunsights until the MK8, N9 and K14 became standard. 

Pages from the A20G pilot's hand book.





So how was the N-3A mounted? First a cockpit of a P70 with a Douglas custom sight head mounted to an N-3 gunsight. Notice the body of the gunsight is set through the instrument deck down behind the instrument panel. This was pre armored glass of the A20G serise.



A20G cockpit with armored glass. Note the left hand cut out in the glass to clear the gunsight so that the reflector plate will angle up in between the back of the wind screen and the armored glass panel. The gunsight was to the left to clear the fold down iron sight and it's post mounted on the nose.



You can see the armored glass from the side with the rectangular reflector plate of the N-3A between the windscreen and armored glass.





This photo shows the reflector plate to the left of the iron sight front post.



N-3A gunsight in A20G.

[Ack-Ack]

Was the reflector sight on all G production blocks or on later ones?

ack-ack

[bustr]

A-20G-1-DO

By 1945 the post and iron ring were being eliminated and the gunsight was mounted center. You see the post gone from 1945 photos. There are several modern museum photos of cockpits where the hole in the instrument panel deck is centered.

The A20G series were dedicated strafers. Why wouldn't an optical sight be mounted to make aiming more accurate for the pilot? You see it in the P70 because at night they needed the illuminated reticle to aim with. All the G series photos I find have the N-3, B3 sight head, fixed reflector plate in between the windscreen and the armored glass. The pilots manual in the armaments sections specifies an N-3A optical sight for aiming.

So do you want Waffle to only model an iron sight for some reason?

Didn't you ever wonder why the armored glass plate in that museum photo had a cutout at the bottom just left of center? 

[Ack-Ack]

So do you want Waffle to only model an iron sight for some reason?

 

What I want modeled is what was realistically on the plane.  No need to get defensive.

ack-ack

[bustr]

What we have right now is not realistic, the A20G was delivered with armored glass and an optical gunsight. The armored glass was to protect the pilot from ack fire and the optical sight was to remove him from the strict requirements of trying to fix his head in one place to aim with a post and ring sight. The iron fold down ring was kept as a backup. I salute the first HTC graphics designer who worked within the constraints he was given at the time with two A20 models and keeping to a single unified cockpit.

At least our C.202 and C.205 came with optical gunsights in both AH era versions. But, in both AH era versions a unified gunsight was placed in both Macchi that was never mounted in either during WW2. Waffle would have been accurate if he had put a ReviC12\D in the C.205 let alone the San Giorgio Tipo C. Those Macchi only had the San Giorgio Tipo B mounted in them during WW2.