[REL]

The Heller was clearly an innovative weapon. The sight incorporates a split image range finder which even with a short base of about 12 inches(?) would have gone a long way to solving the range-finding problem that plagued all such weapons at more than point-blank ranges before the advent of lasers.

Pretty sure I saw one of those sights for sale recently. Going to have to rack my memory on that one!

An interesting feature of the original packboard is the incorporation of a "tumpline" strap to go across the head. This method of load-carrying was introduced by the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WWI, and was clearly not forgotten in the early 1950s. Hard to believe, but it was found to be a highly efficient way to carrying heavy loads and was copied from the aboriginal/voyageur method of carrying loads.