I am building a British artillery gun limber towing an 18pdr in 28mm produced by Wargames Foundry.
Given the rough treatment towed guns seemed to undergo, from footage I have seen, I just wondered if the gun sight would have been removed during transit?
I guess you are correct. Artillery sights were delicate optical instruments and most probably were stored in purpose-built cases as soon as the gun was moved from the battery. I researched a bit on images of the French guns and while they were transported the sights were removed and the brass fixture to mount them on the gun itself was usually covered by a stout canvas or leather cover. I suppose that British gunners had a similar protocol.
Correct - the aiming instruments were removed and placed in padded boxes (leather or steel) usually attached to the back of the gun shield.
On an 18 Pounder there were separate containers for the clinometers (3 of them), the direct fire telescope and the dial sight. I've got a drawing
(somewhere) of the stowage arrangements on an 18 Pounder.
It wasn't only transporting the guns that was problematic for the gun sights - many of the heavier guns had quite severe recoil forces and shock when fired
so the sight was removed before firing. There is a video clip on YouTube of a 6 inch Mark VII gun being fired - the last action before firing is that the gunner removes the sight.
