1980s American Cars, Guns, Gadgets and Consumer Goods [Atmosphere, look, minutiae]

[acrosome]

4

Originally Posted by Icelander

Does anyone know what real world brands or models exist in 1988 that represent, respectively:

a) The 5 lbs. 'Night Sight' (TL7) on p. HT156.

b) The 3.5 lbs. 'Improved Night Sight' (TL7) on p. HT156.

c) The 2 lbs. 'Improved Night Sight, Add-On' (TL7) on p. HT156.

d) The 5 lbs. 'Thermal-Imaging Sight' (TL8) on p. HT157 (this is the earliest sight mentioned in HT, where it is noted in the text that thermal-imaging sights have been available 'since the 1980s').

And does anyone know which of them, if any, were commercially available to civilians?

It's important to recognize that very few of these are in civilian hands in 1988.

The dual-tube AN/PVS-5 is the night vision goggle that I had in the US Army in 1989. The single-tube AN/PVS-7 was available since 1985 but wasn't common. My unit uses the AN/PVS-7 now.

The AN/PVS-4 was the standard "starlight scope" for mounting on weapons at the time. Wikipedia says it weighs 4 lbs, so I suspect it is the "improved night sight." The earlier, heavier one is probably the Vietnam-era AN/PVS-2, but the weight I find for it is more like 7 lbs. That might be with all accessories or something, though.

For the add-on sight I think of the AN/PVS-22, but that's post-1988 by a long shot. I'm not sure if there were such things in 1988. Maybe?

IIRC the TL7 thermal sights that date back to the 1980s were not really meant for mounting on personal weapons- they were huge, and meant for reconnaissance teams.