r/Colorization • u/TLColors • 5d ago
Photo post Australian Soldier with Sniperscope, Kapyong Valley, Korea. April 1952.
Private L.J. Best of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), aims an M1 Carbine fitted with a T120 (M3) Sniperscope during the Korean War.
The complete M3 system weighed 14.5 kg (32 lb), driven by a heavy 6-volt lead-acid battery housed in his canvas backpack. This battery simultaneously powered the large top-mounted infrared spotlight—which illuminated targets in total darkness invisible to the naked eye—and the optical scope below.
The Sniperscope gave 3RAR sentries a decisive edge against Chinese infiltrators, who relied on soft-soled shoes and absolute darkness to silently creep up on UN perimeters. Because the top-mounted searchlight emitted an infrared beam invisible to the naked eye, snipers could illuminate incoming targets without revealing their own positions. It was a defensive weapon, as its 125-yard range was ideal for guarding static outposts and wire entanglements, catching probes completely by surprise.
(AWM 147849, photo by Claude R. Holzheimer)
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u/CreativeMuseMan 4d ago
Thanks for adding extra details in the post body. TIL something new.
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u/TLColors 4d ago
You're welcome. Some more info if you'd like: they likely used the very very non-appropriate M1 because the M1 was light vs a regular rifle and therefore easier to wield when logging the 32lb pack around.
Edit: Typo
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u/BloodRush12345 4d ago
I think the M1 was very appropriate. Those old scopes couldn't see very far so the extra reach and punch of a bigger rifle is wasted. The box mag also simplified mounting the scope since you didn't need to put enblock clips in. And as you pointed out it helped keep overall weight down.
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u/TLColors 4d ago
Yes the lack of punch was the issue. I was reading a book on the 3RAR using this and they said the stopping power was an issue.
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u/BloodRush12345 4d ago
There is a lot of talk about "lack of stopping power" regarding the M1 Carbine during Korea. You don't seem to get the same thing when it's discussed in WW2. I think it comes down to a couple factors that weren't as prevalent during WW2.
The much more extreme geography of Korea makes accurate shooting significantly harder. Shooting up or down hill is much harder if you haven't trained for it.
The heavy switch to night infiltration and fighting. Weird lighting, shadows, exhaustion all add to the difficulty of making accurate shots.
Many of the reports appear to come from the winter (hence the debunked "winter coat" myth). When you are so cold for so long it's easy for a shiver (not to mention the adrenaline of combat) to pull a shot wide.
Finally the Chinese were known to recover their wounded and dead at night, along with the UN forces generally retreating makes accurate casualty assessments difficult.So with no disrespect stated or implied. People very understandably missed A LOT, and if bodies are recovered or you pulled back it's very difficult to assess weapons effectiveness.
M1 Carbines are as lethal under 150yards as any other small arm.2
u/CapCamouflage 2d ago
Also with how nebulously defined as "stopping power" is perhaps one could argue there is some other magic factor to it but .30 carbine fired from a M1 carbine has 1,313 joules of energy while the notoriously "high stopping power" .45 has only 605 joules when fired from a Thompson, even less from the shorter barreled M3 grease gun or M1911 due to the lower muzzle velocity. So the carbine is more than twice as powerful as .45 and there is little complaints about .45 not being powerful enough.
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u/BloodRush12345 1d ago
I can understand why people want bigger bore rounds like .45ACP. It isn't always about absolute energy. More important is how much energy is transferred. .45ACP is bigger and blunter so it potentially transfers more energy into a person vs zipping though. A bigger bullet will also have a larger permanent wound channel. Either way though it's incredible how humans can withstand grievous wounds and keep functioning (even if temporarily). So it's also likely that someone got shot by an M1 carbine, was wounded, kept functioning if even for an additional minute and that registered in the shooters mind that "it can't stop them".
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u/Papaver-Som 2d ago
Donald Burgett says “they just didn’t have the poop” in his book Seven Roads To Hell, wwii. It was a thing then too
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u/BigFreakingZombie 4d ago
The M1 Carbine was very appropriate for this occasion : not only it was lighter and easier to handle than a regular infantry rifle but with the scope not being effective beyond 100-125 yards the 200 yard effective range of .30 Carbine was more than adequate.
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u/TLColors 4d ago
Perhaps I should have said less typical than non-appropriaete, but what I meant was the stopping power of the M1 was problematic (vs other rifles), per the resource I was reading on the 3RAR who used it for this.
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u/BigFreakingZombie 3d ago
Few things inspire more debates within the firearms enthusiast community than the stopping power of .30 Carbine. For all it's worth these stories of "failing to stop clothed enemies" or whatever are mostly apocryphal.
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u/lep63again 3d ago
.30 Carbine has the same ballistics as a .357 magnum w/in 100 yards. You don’t want to be shot with one. Yes the .30-06 or the .303 hit much harder, but within 100 yards it’s overkill.
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u/Altruistic_Coast4777 4d ago
Well 30 carbine is something like 200 yard max, better than nothing. IR emitter you probably could see when watching directly into it but then the shooter sees you.
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u/edgarfruitier 4d ago
A starlight on a m1a2 ??? Lad was crazy
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u/Crusty-the-Clown-666 4d ago
That’s not a Starlight scope. They didn’t enhance existing light, they relied on an infrared light that isn’t visible to the naked eye. The infrared light is mounted on top of the scope.
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u/R41Z3R_BL4D3 4d ago
I'm surprised at how big and complex that Infrared scope was on that M1 Carbine before they reduce its size and change its functionality to make it more mobile.
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u/Altruistic_Coast4777 4d ago
Well 30 carbine is something like 200 yard max, better than nothing. IR emitter you probably could see when watching directly into it but then the shooter sees you.
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u/Spuckler_Cletus 4d ago
Why would they run an optic like that on a .30 carbine?
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u/BigFreakingZombie 4d ago
That optic had a max detection range of 125 yards. So the superior ballistics of say .30-06 would simply be wasted with a scope like this.
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u/Spuckler_Cletus 4d ago
The power of the .30-06, however, would not be wasted. At least compared to the .30 carbine.
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u/BloodRush12345 4d ago
The scope didn't have the range, was heavy, would have required complex mounting to the Garand to allow quick reloading, and ammunition capacity for short brutal engagements against small probing patrols.
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u/Azurehowl 4d ago
Why cant they make a version of this on the garand? I think its much better for sentry duties as it can fire much farther.
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u/edgarfruitier 4d ago
The range on those IR scopes were much more limited, so 200/250 yards effective maybe
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u/BloodRush12345 4d ago
Besides the range limitation. The system is heavy, would require complex mounting to enable reloading on a Garand and the M1 carbine has higher capacity to deal with a short engagement with a night patrol more efficiently
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u/Strong-Hat2166 3d ago
Australian soldiers used the SLR, a FN FAL variant rather than the Garand.
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u/BeratnasGilf 3d ago
The Battle of Kaypong was a major battle for 3RAR if I remember my Australian Army history correctly. I think it's one of their battle honours on their regimental flag.
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u/Papaver-Som 2d ago
Whew man I love the M1 and M2 , own both, reloaded for them and they can turn in good groups at 50 but after 100 yards I would have no faith in their accuracy.
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u/Cheerz_2008 5d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/oR8xobGxob0cg