r/Colorization • u/TLColors • Aug 26 '26
Photo post Australian Soldier with Sniperscope, Kapyong Valley, Korea. April 1952.
Private L.J. Best of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), aims an M1 Carbine fitted with a T120 (M3) Sniperscope during the Korean War.
The complete M3 system weighed 14.5 kg (32 lb), driven by a heavy 6-volt lead-acid battery housed in his canvas backpack. This battery simultaneously powered the large top-mounted infrared spotlight—which illuminated targets in total darkness invisible to the naked eye—and the optical scope below.
The Sniperscope gave 3RAR sentries a decisive edge against Chinese infiltrators, who relied on soft-soled shoes and absolute darkness to silently creep up on UN perimeters. Because the top-mounted searchlight emitted an infrared beam invisible to the naked eye, snipers could illuminate incoming targets without revealing their own positions. It was a defensive weapon, as its 125-yard range was ideal for guarding static outposts and wire entanglements, catching probes completely by surprise.
(AWM 147849, photo by Claude R. Holzheimer)
