For the period, these were some pretty good scopes that saw action in WWII and Korea. Ten times better than the Weaver 330 series scope. Lyman was the primary manufacturer of the M81 and 82, but Wollensack was also a contractor that made the M82. Does anyone have any info as to when Wollensack made these, how many, and if they were better/worst than the Lymans? And who got them: Army/Marines? How can you tell them apart?
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M82 USGI sniper scope
- Thread starter Harleystoo
- Start date
Kollmorgen, I don't think, made scopes until after WW2 when the periscope business went belly up for several years.
But their postwar scopes likely could have found their way to Korea and were absolutely first rate!
Sirhr
I would have to go back as I don't think I ever tracked the M82's past the ones that came from Lyman.
The biggest thing is Lyman did not produce the M81/82 till very late in WWII. The first shipment of M81's (cross hairs), which were shipped because Lyman didn't have the post reticules to make a m82, arrived around December 1944. They were all reserved for the M1C.
All the M81/82's I see were initially bought for the M1C and the Army, even the ones bought in Korea. In 1950 the Marines decided to adopt the M1C and bought a small amount of the M1C's which likely came with the M82's. The Marines hated the M82 from the very start. So they tested and adopted the Kollmorgen by 1952. But they did not arrive in time for Korea.
Almost all the M81/82's were used by the Army on the M1C. Even though the scope was authorized for the 03A4 in Korea, that is a whole story in of itself on why that even happened. The 03A4 was an afterthought in Korea.
So the short answer is very few M82's were used by the Marines. There is never a detailed account of how many total, but I believe it's far less than a 100 and I think I would be surprised if it was even 50. The Marines just didn't get many and they just hated the scope.
The biggest thing is Lyman did not produce the M81/82 till very late in WWII. The first shipment of M81's (cross hairs), which were shipped because Lyman didn't have the post reticules to make a m82, arrived around December 1944. They were all reserved for the M1C.
All the M81/82's I see were initially bought for the M1C and the Army, even the ones bought in Korea. In 1950 the Marines decided to adopt the M1C and bought a small amount of the M1C's which likely came with the M82's. The Marines hated the M82 from the very start. So they tested and adopted the Kollmorgen by 1952. But they did not arrive in time for Korea.
Almost all the M81/82's were used by the Army on the M1C. Even though the scope was authorized for the 03A4 in Korea, that is a whole story in of itself on why that even happened. The 03A4 was an afterthought in Korea.
So the short answer is very few M82's were used by the Marines. There is never a detailed account of how many total, but I believe it's far less than a 100 and I think I would be surprised if it was even 50. The Marines just didn't get many and they just hated the scope.
I wrote an article on the Wollensak M82’s for the Summer 2013 edition of the GCA Journal. If you have a copy it has some history and pictures of the markings, etc.
Lyman was the first contractor and made about 14,000 scopes. Wollensak made over 2,000 scopes. Wollensak delivered their first scopes late in WWII but there were some issues during testing. Those issues were corrected and the rest of the scopes were delivered after the end of the war, probably in 1946.
The ones I have handled appear equal to the Lyman scopes in finish and optics.
The easiest way to tell the difference is the low serial numbers of the Wollensak scopes. Lyman started the serial range for their scopes in the low 30,000 range and continued up into the 45,000 range. Wollensak serial numbers have been observed from no. 20 to the low to mid 2,000 range.
Thanks ODCMP. Don't have access to GCA, but may find it on the net.
But your info gave me more than I knew.
But your info gave me more than I knew.
Hopefully it's okay to post this picture from the Garand Collector's Association (GCA), Summer 2013 edition (Page 11) - that ODCMP mentioned.
There were apparently two types of markings on the Wollensak M82 scopes, and the original shipping boxes were dated Oct 1946, suggesting they were delivered after WWII with a contract exception allowing "work in progress" to be completed. Pretty neat and unusual scope.
There were apparently two types of markings on the Wollensak M82 scopes, and the original shipping boxes were dated Oct 1946, suggesting they were delivered after WWII with a contract exception allowing "work in progress" to be completed. Pretty neat and unusual scope.
What I've noticed in all of my USGI collecting: as time goes by they find cheaper ways of making and marking parts. How many mods did the Garand SA trigger housing go thru? 19?
Just as SAI went from 5 lines to 4 on their receiver heels.
Just as SAI went from 5 lines to 4 on their receiver heels.
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