Steven Norton,
Are you familiar with, or have a picture of the A5 scope cases used by the Marines? I by chance just last month saw an A5 in a gray metal tube that was supposedly a Marine sniper rifle case. A friend at our local collector show had picked it up somewhere and was asking me if it was a true US Marine case and scope or not?
Since I hadn't seen one before, I couldn't answer his question.
There were at least two different styles in WWI. But both were leather. One is a pre war that was a fitted leather case with 8 loops and a web sling. The ones produced during the war were an easier to manufacture leather case that is not as fitted. The war made ones are about an inch shorter than the pre war cases, and it has 6 loops with a web sling.
I write on the 1903A1 USMC Unertls too, and there is at least one aluminum metal tube case that I have seen for a 24'' long Unertl scope, that has a connection to the USMC. But I haven't seen a metal one for the A5.
At least not in sniper production. I have a lot of Marine team docs for National Match teams and those guys used so much stuff.
The Marines used the A5 on and off again till the last mention I see is in 1944 when the disbanding Raiders gave 20 of them to the 5th Marine division.
Sometime if you ever think about it, send me a pic of it, I can see if it reminds me of anything. cplnorton2@yahoo.com is my email.
