[puderse]

Bought this wood box at an estate sale. It looks like it once held a long lens. The sale had lots of old and high priced photo stuff. Left a bid on a $75 nice plate camera kit with 120 adapter but never herd back.

Don't even know the language! Help me find what the box was actually for.

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Last edited by puderse; 06-23-2015 at 11:12 AM.

[Peter Zack]

you might want to send a PM to Mike Cash who lives in Japan.

[lithos]

It doesn't have to be Japanese...it looks like Chinese, which means it could be both.

Try sticking a more accurate title on this thread to get more help.

[RawheaD]

While characters may be the same/similar, language/grammar are totally different, so I can say pretty confidently that this is Japanese.

It says that it is a box for a gunsight, probably for a rifle.

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Last edited by RawheaD; 12-01-2009 at 10:59 PM.

[RawheaD]

Eh, did a bit of research. Apparently 一式照準眼鏡甲 is the name of a gunsight for a tank gun, specifically the Type 97 Improved Medium Tank's 47mm gun.

Type 97 Chi-Ha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Peter Zack]

I was only guessing Lithos. I figured Mike would either be able to translate or say if it was another language. It seems rawhead has an answer.

Also I updated the title.

[lithos]

I was only guessing Lithos.

Yeah, I know. But it's the same alphabet on the box, that much I recognise.

Anyway, puderse, you take that thing and have fun. Just don't complain when some Digger with Charlie the Bastard turns up and ruins all your fun.

Yeah, I know. But it's the same alphabet on the box, that much I recognise.

Anyway, puderse, you take that thing and have fun. Just don't complain when some Digger with Charlie the Bastard turns up and ruins all your fun.

You guys down under sure have a funny way of talking.

[lithos]

"Digger" is the standard-issue Anzac soldier; "Charlie the Bastard" is what they called the Boys .55 calibre anti-tank rifle, because of the recoil. The rifles were issued to British/Canadian, etc, forces in Europe, but were useless against German tanks. The Japanese stuck with thin armour (easier to ship across to all those islands, plus we all know the difference between German and Japanese engineering ideals...) like the Type 97, and so it was still a valid weapon for the Commonwealth in the Pacific.

I made a note of the Boys because a mate of my dad got hold of one. Used it for hunting pigs. It worked, much in the same way a bulldozer works on an anthill.

Also interesting to watch is the Canadian Army training film for the rifle, produced by Disney (and shot on Kodachrome! And check out that Recevied Pronunciation!)

"Digger" is the standard-issue Anzac soldier; "Charlie the Bastard" is what they called the Boys .55 calibre anti-tank rifle, because of the recoil. The rifles were issued to British/Canadian, etc, forces in Europe, but were useless against German tanks. The Japanese stuck with thin armour (easier to ship across to all those islands, plus we all know the difference between German and Japanese engineering ideals...) like the Type 97, and so it was still a valid weapon for the Commonwealth in the Pacific.

I made a note of the Boys because a mate of my dad got hold of one. Used it for hunting pigs. It worked, much in the same way a bulldozer works on an anthill.

Also interesting to watch is the Canadian Army training film for the rifle, produced by Disney (and shot on Kodachrome! And check out that Recevied Pronunciation!)

Bet it was a lot of fun though.

[Peter Zack]

Lithos, that is a riot. Only the Canadian forces would use an outhouse and a horses a$$ for camouflage. I wonder how many soldiers had dislocated shoulders from a few shots out of that thing?

[J.Scott]

Lithos, that is a riot. Only the Canadian forces would use an outhouse and a horses a$$ for camouflage. I wonder how many soldiers had dislocated shoulders from a few shots out of that thing?

Man, that gun has one helluva recoil!

The Disney cartoon/training movie was brilliant! Loved it!

[Mike Cash]

It doesn't have to be Japanese...it looks like Chinese, which means it could be both.

Except that it obviously reads left-to-right, which eliminates Chinese as a candidate.

Eh, did a bit of research. Apparently 一式照準眼鏡甲 is the name of a gunsight for a tank gun, specifically the Type 97 Improved Medium Tank's 47mm gun.

Type 97 Chi-Ha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It may or may not have been specific to that gun and/or tank, but there is nothing in 一式照準眼鏡甲 to indicate that. (It may be indicated somewhere else on the box). And I can't find 一式照準眼鏡甲 anywhere on the page you linked to. How did you get there?

[Ratmagiclady]

FWIW, I can't help but notice the poorly-machined screw heads, if those are original. Not enough to correlate (Almost looks Russian, to me) but if you're very curious, an expert might be able to make a good guess as to where and under what circumstances those screws were made.

[lithos]

Bet it was a lot of fun though.

For about the first three shots, yes.

I wonder how many soldiers had dislocated shoulders from a few shots out of that thing?

Apparently, it was a real possibility if you didn't shoulder it correctly. Could snap your collarbone, as well.

I do indeed love the speech in the film - about how the zeffty ketch should be in the forerred position. There's three parts to it. Should be links to 'em in the right hand menu on that YT page, in case you missed it all.

...an expert might be able to make a good guess as to where and under what circumstances those screws were made.

I'm not an expert, but I'd expect the circumstances under which they were made were about 30,000 feet under a gaggle of B-29s. That, and they're only box screws, designed to hold the box together, not be taken apart again.

Japan sunk (no pun intended) most of its steel and other resources into its navy, especially during the latter half of the war.