A periscope rifle was first invented by Sergeant William Beech, a builder's foreman in civilian life, of the 2nd Battalion NSW

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australian Imperial Force

Australian Imperial Force

The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...

, in May 1915. The weapon consisted of a standard rifle along with a board and mirror periscope, which looked along the sights of the rifle, fitted to it with a string based trigger pull allowing actuation of the trigger from beneath the line of sight of the firearm.

It found extensive use, mostly in the form of an impromptu construction, in the trench warfare

Trench warfare

Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...

 of the Gallipoli campaign where some lines of trenches, such as the parapets at Quinn's Post, were within 50 metres of one another. The purpose of the device was to allow a soldier to take aim from a trench and fire with accuracy without exposing himself to enemy fire.

The rifles were produced in crude factory production lines on the beach in Anzac Cove

Anzac Cove

Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...

. Although noted as less effective than conventional weapons, the periscope rifle proved to be a useful weapon to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...

 at the time and later saw use in other trench-based conflicts around the world.

See also

• Technology during World War I
  Technology during World War I
  Technology during World War I reflected a trend toward industrialism and the application of mass production methods to weapons and to the technology of warfare in general. This trend began fifty years prior to World War I during the U.S...
  
  

Similar weapons

• CornerShot
  CornerShot
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• Krummlauf
  Krummlauf
  The Krummlauf is a bent barrel attachment for the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle developed by Germany in World War II.The curved barrel included a periscope sighting device for shooting around corners from a safe position....
  
  
• M.95 (periscope variant)
  M.95 (periscope variant)
  The M.95 Loopgraafgeweer was a Dutch periscope rifle, designed in 1916 for the Royal Dutch Army, based on the M.95 , the standard issue rifle of the Dutch armed forces between 1895 and 1942. Though the Netherlands remained neutral during World War I, the Dutch military observed the Western Front...
  
  
• POF Eye
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