The M1903 Springfield was a bolt-action rifle used by the United States during World War II.
Description[]
It had a 5 round stripper clip and a muzzle velocity of about 700 meters per second. The Springfield weighed in at around 3.9 kg and the length of the rifle was about 110 cm. The barrel length is 60 centimeters. Attachments such as a bayonet or a scope could also be added to augment the usage of the rifle, although the location of the scope meant only one round could be loaded at a time. The Springfield's iron sights were redesigned in 1906. [1] Along with the redesigned iron sights, the Springfield was refitted to fire the new .30-06 Cartridge. After this came, a number of redesigns lead to all kinds of variants of the Springfield.
Variants[]
One of the first major variants of the M1903 Springfield was the Air Service variant, which had a 25 round magazine. Another was the M1903 Springfield Mark I, which could be equipped with a special device allowing semi-automatic fire. The next major variant was the M1903A1 and it was mainly sold as competition rifles. It had a semi-pistol grip style stock and was adopted in 1928. The M1903A2 was not issued to troops as it was a training rifle. The M1903A3, however, was extensively used in combat and it was made to be a cheaper version of the M1903A1 Springfield. It was largely made via stamping and it was fitted with a rear adjustable aperture sight.[2]
The M1903A4 Springfield was designed specially for the purpose of sniping. It had its iron sights removed so a scope could be attached and it was used for far longer than World War II, while all of the other variants were used little after World War II. Other than the removed iron sights, it was fairly similar to the M1903A3. The M1903A4 was the most widely used variant during the Second World War.
History[]
The M1903 Springfield prototype was created in 1900 out of the need for a bolt-action rifle that could rival the Mauser and it was put into production in 1903. Its design was derived from the Mauser Model 93 rifle, however, so even though the Springfield had some small alterations, the M1903 was fundamentally a Mauser design and this forced the United States government to pay royalties to Mauser. M1903A3/A4 Springfields were used both in Pacific Theater and the European Theater by the United States. Many were used in battles like Normandy and other operations in the Eastern and Western Fronts.
References[]
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