Америкалық M1903 Springfield мылтығы

American bolt action main battle rifle

The M1903 Springfield, officially the U. S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1903, is an American five round magazine fed, bolt action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first used in combat during the Philippine–American War, and it was officially adopted by the United States as the standard infantry rifle on June 19, 1903, where it saw service in World War I, and was replaced by the faster firing semi automatic eight round M1 Garand starting in 1936. However, the M1903 remained in service as a standard issue infantry rifle during World War II, since the U. S. entered the war without sufficient M1 rifles to arm all troops. It also remained in service as a sniper rifle during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. It remains popular as a civilian firearm, historical collector's piece, a competitive shooting rifle, and as a military drill rifle.

During the 1898 war with Spain, the Mauser M1893 used by the Spanish Army gained a deadly reputation, particularly from the Battle of San Juan Hill, where 750 Spanish regulars significantly delayed the advance of 15,000 US troops armed with outclassed Springfield Krag–Jørgensen bolt action rifles and older single shot Springfield model 1873 trapdoor rifles. The Spanish soldiers inflicted 1,400 casualties on the US in a matter of minutes. Likewise, earlier in the day, a Spanish force of 540 regulars armed with the same Mauser rifles, under Spanish general Vara Del Rey, held off General Henry Ware Lawton's Second Division of 6,653 American soldiers and an independent brigade of 1,800 men for ten hours in the nearby town of El Caney, keeping that division from assisting in the attack on the San Juan Heights. A US Army board of investigation was commissioned as a direct result of both battles. They recommended replacement of the Krag. The 1903 adoption of the M1903 was preceded by nearly 30 years of struggle and politics, using lessons learned from the recently adopted Krag–Jørgensen and contemporary German Mauser Gewehr 98 bolt action rifles. The design itself is largely based on the Mauser M1893 and its successive models up to the Gewehr 98 rifle. The M1903's forward receiver ring diameter is , slightly over the ring diameter of the older "small ring" Mauser models and less than the "large ring" Gewehr 98s. The US military licensed many of the Mauser Company's and other German patents, including the spitzer bullet, later modified into the .30 06 Springfield. The M1903 not only replaced the various versions of the U. S. Army's Krag, but also the Lee M1895 and M1885 Remington–Lee used by the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, as well as all remaining single shot trapdoor rifles. While the Krag had been issued with barrel lengths of both 30 inch rifle and 22 inch carbine models, the Springfield was issued only as a short 24 inch barrel rifle in keeping with current trends in Switzerland and Great Britain to eliminate the need for both long rifles and carbines. The two main problems usually cited with the Krag were its slow to load magazine and its inability to handle higher chamber pressures for high velocity rounds. The United States Army attempted to introduce a higher velocity cartridge in 1899 for the existing Krags, but its single locking lug on the bolt could not withstand the extra chamber pressure. Though a stripper clip or charger loading modification to the Krag was designed, it was clear to Army authorities that a new rifle was required. After the U. S. military's experience with the Mauser rifle in the 1898 Spanish–American War, authorities decided to adopt a stronger Mauser derived bolt action design equipped with a charger or stripper clip loaded box magazine.

In 1882, the bolt action Remington Lee rifle design of 1879, with its newly invented detachable box magazine, was purchased in limited numbers by the U. S. Navy. Several hundred M1882 Lee Navy models (M1882 Remington Lee) were also subjected to trials by the U. S. Army during the 1880s, though the rifle was not formally adopted. The Navy adopted the M1885, and later different style Lee M1895 (a 6 mm straight pull bolt), which saw service in the Boxer Rebellion. In Army service, both the M1885 and M1895 6 mm Lee were used in the Spanish–American War, along with the .30 40 Krag and the .45 70. The Lee rifle's detachable box magazine was invented by James Paris Lee, and was very influential on later rifle designs. Other advancements had made it clear that the Army needed a replacement. In 1892, the U. S. military held a series of rifle trials, resulting in the adoption of the .30 40 Krag–Jørgensen rifle. The Krag officially entered U. S. service in 1894, only to be replaced nine years later by the M1903.

Thousands of Spanish Mauser M1893 rifles, surrendered by Spanish troops in Cuba, were returned to the US and extensively studied at Springfield Armory, where it was decided that the Mauser was the superior design.

A prototype rifle was produced in 1900; it was very similar to rifle No. 5, the final Mauser M92 prototype in the U. S. Army rifle trials of 1892. This design was rejected, and a new design combining features of the M1898 Krag rifle and the Spanish Mauser M1893 was developed.

Springfield began work on creating a rifle that could handle higher loads around the turn of the 20th century. The Springfield Model 1901 prototype combined the Krag–Jørgensen's cock on opening bolt, 30 inch barrel, magazine cutoff, stock and sights with the Mauser M1893's dual locking lugs, external claw extractor, and staggered column magazine. Taking a cue from the Mauser Gewehr 98, a large safety lug was added to the side of the bolt behind the extractor, which engaged the receiver bridge and prevented the bolt from moving rearwards. The bolt handle was also bent downwards, to make it faster to operate. The Model 1901 almost entered production. Springfield was sure enough that the Model 1901 prototype would be accepted that they began making some of the parts for it, but it was not accepted; further changes were asked for.

Following then current trends in service rifles, the barrel was shortened to 24 inches after it was discovered that a longer barrel offered no appreciable ballistic advantage, and the shorter barrel was lighter and easier to handle. This "short rifle" also eliminated the need of a shorter carbine for mounted troops or cavalry. By January 1905, over 80,000 of these rifles had been produced at the federally owned Springfield Armory. However, President Theodore Roosevelt objected to the design of the sliding rod type bayonet used as being too flimsy for combat. In a letter to the secretary of war, he said:

I must say that I think that ramrod bayonet is about as poor an invention as I ever saw. As you observed, it broke short off as soon as hit with even moderate violence. It would have no moral effect and mighty little physical effect. All the rifles to that point consequently had to be re tooled for a blade type bayonet, called the "M1905". The sights were also an area of concern, so the new improved Model 1904 sight was also added. The retooling was almost complete when it was decided another change would be made. It was to incorporate improvements discovered during experimentation in the interim, most notably the use of pointed ammunition, first adopted by the French in the 1890s and later other countries. The round itself was based on the .30 03, but rather than a 220 grain (14 g) round tip bullet fired at , it had a 150 grain (9.7 g) pointed bullet fired at ; the case neck was a fraction of an inch shorter as well. The new American cartridge was designated Cartridge, Ball, Caliber .30, Model of 1906. The M1906 cartridge is better known as the .30 06 Springfield round, used in many rifles and machine guns, and is still a popular civilian cartridge to the present day. The rifle's sights were again re tooled to compensate for the speed and trajectory of the new cartridge. By the time of the 1916 Pancho Villa Expedition, the M1903 was the standard issue service rifle of US forces. Some rifles were fitted with both the Warner & Swasey Model 1913 and 1908 "musket sights" during the campaign, "musket sights" being the vernacular at the time for telescopic sights. The Warner & Swasey Model 1913 musket sight continued to see service after the Pancho Villa Expedition and during World War I but was eventually deemed inadequate and was removed from the US Army's inventory by the 1920s. The military tested several M1903 rifles with Maxim suppressors starting in 1909, and requisitioned 500 in 1910 to be used for recruit training. Anecdotal evidence indicates that some of the M1903 rifles during the Pancho Villa Expedition were fitted with Maxim suppressors, possibly making them the first suppressed rifles used in the field by the US military; however, during World War I American M1903s were not fitted with suppressors due to opposition from officers and the fact that suppressors would preclude the use of bayonets.

By the time of US entry into World War I, 843,239 M1903 rifles had been produced at Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal. Pre war production utilized questionable metallurgy. Some receivers constructed of single heat treated case hardened steel were improperly subjected to excessive temperatures during the forging process. The carbon could be "burnt" out of the steel, producing a brittle receiver. Despite documented evidence indicating some early rifles were improperly forged, actual cases of failure were very rare. Although several cases of serious injury from receiver failure were documented, the U. S. Army never reported any fatalities. Many failures were attributed to use of incorrect cartridges, such as the 7.92×57mm Mauser. Evidence also seems to suggest that improperly forged brass cartridge cases could have further exacerbated receiver failure. Pyrometers were installed in December 1917 to accurately measure temperatures during the forging process. The change was made at approximately serial number 800,000 for rifles made at Springfield Armory and at serial number 285,507 at Rock Island Arsenal. Lower serial numbers are known as "low number" M1903 rifles. Higher serial numbers are said to be "double heat treated". M1 ammunition, intended primarily for long range machine gun use, soon became known by Army rifle competition teams and expert riflemen for its considerably greater accuracy over that of the M1906 round; the new M1 ammunition was issued to infantrymen with the Springfield rifle as well as to machine gun teams. However, during the late 1930s, it became apparent that, with the development of mortars, high angle artillery, and the .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun, the need for extreme long range, rifle caliber machine gun fire was decreasing. In 1938, the US Army reverted to a .30 06 cartridge with a 152 grain flat base bullet, now termed "M2 ball", for all rifles and machine guns. The Federal Bureau of Investigation acquired some M1903 rifles configured like National Rifle Association sporter models in response to the 1933 Kansas City Massacre. In service, the Springfield was generally prized for its reliability and accuracy, though some problems remained. The precision rear aperture sight was located too far from the eye for efficient use, and the narrow, unprotected front sight was both difficult to see in poor light and easily damaged. The Marine Corps issued the Springfield with a sight hood to protect the front sight, along with a thicker front blade. The two piece firing pin striker also proved to be no improvement over the original one piece Mauser design, and was a cause of numerous ordnance repairs, along with occasional reports of jammed magazine followers. Production of the M1903 was discontinued in favor of the M1903A3. The most noticeable visual difference in the M1903A3 was the replacement of the barrel mounted rear sight with a smaller, simpler aperture rear sight mounted on the rear of the receiver which was designed by Remington; it was primarily adopted in order to speed familiarization by soldiers already trained on the M1 Garand, which had a similar sighting system. However, the leaf spring providing tension to the elevation adjustment on the new aperture sight tended to weaken with continued use over time, causing the rifle to lose its preset range elevation setting. Other modifications included a new stamped cartridge follower; the rounded edges of the new design largely alleviated the "fourth round jam" complaints of the earlier machined part. Smith Corona parts are mostly identified by the absence of markings, except for occasions when time permitting during manufacture, on early to mid production rifles, and also only on certain parts. To speed up production output, two groove rifled barrels were adopted, and steel alloy specifications were relaxed under "war emergency steel" criteria for both rifle actions and barrels. All M1903A3 rifles with two groove "war emergency" barrels were shipped with a printed notation stating that the reduction in rifling grooves did not affect accuracy. As the war progressed, various machining and finishing operations were eliminated on the M1903A3 in order to increase production levels. The M1903 and the M1903A3 rifles were used in combat alongside the M1 Garand by the US military during World War II and saw extensive use and action in the hands of US troops in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. The US Marines were initially armed with M1903 rifles in early battles in the Pacific, such as the Battle of Guadalcanal, but the jungle battle environment generally favored self loading rifles; later Army units arriving to the island were armed with M1 Garands. The U. S. Army Rangers were also a major user of the M1903 and the M1903A3 during World War II with the Springfield being preferred over the M1 Garand for certain commando missions. According to Bruce Canfield's U. S. Infantry Weapons of WW II, final variants of the M1903 (the A3 and A4) were delivered in February 1944. By some accounts, the M1903A4 was inadequate as a sniper rifle. The M1903A4 was a relatively accurate rifle with an effective range of about These limitations on long range targeting were due to the limited field of view present in both the Weaver scopes. From its adoption in 1943 until the end of the war it was used extensively in every theater of operation by both the US Army and the USMC. The Weaver scopes (later standardized as the M73 and M73B1) were not only low powered in magnification, they were not waterproofed, and frequently fogged over or became waterlogged during humidity changes. In addition, the M81/82 optional scopes also had significant flaws. They most notably had less power (2.2x vs. 2.75x) and, like the other scopes on the M1903A4, had serious issues with the field of view. The USMC and the US Army would eventually switch to a large 8x scope that spanned the length of the rifle designed by John Unertl.

The US Army Military Police (MP) and the US Navy Shore Patrol also used M1903s and M1903A3s throughout the war. Various US allies and friendly irregular forces were also equipped with the weapon. The Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB), operating in the 5th Army in Italy was equipped with M1903 rifles. In August 1943, the Free French Forces of General Charles de Gaulle were re equipped by the United States, primarily with M1903 Springfield and M1917 Enfield rifles. The M1903 became one of the primary rifles used by French forces until the end of the war, and was afterwards used in Indochina and by local militia and security forces in French Algeria. Large numbers of M1903 rifles were sent to China. During the Korean War, South Korean Marines used the M1903A3. The M1903 rifles captured by the Germans were designated Gewehr 249(a).

After the Korean War, active service (as opposed to drill) use of the M1903 was rare. Still, some M1903A4s remained in sniper use as late as the Vietnam War; and technical manuals for them were printed as late as 1970. The external ballistic discrepancy at long ranges became evident during World War I. The M1905 rear sight can also be adjusted for windage. The M1903A3 introduced a ramp type rear aperture sight adjustable both for elevation and windage. It can be adjusted from This new sightline also lengthened the sight radius. A feature inherent to the M1903 and not found on the Mauser M98 is the cocking piece, a conspicuous knob at the rear of the bolt, allowing the rifle's striker to be released without dry firing, or to cock the rifle if necessary, for example to attempt a second strike on a round that failed to fire. This was implemented from the U. S. model of the Krag–Jørgensen rifle.

Ernest Hemingway used an M1903 to shoot big game, including lions, on his first African safari in 1933. His experiences during the safari is the subject of Green Hills of Africa, published in 1935. An M1903A4 is used by Private Daniel Jackson in the film Saving Private Ryan.

Ball, Robert W. D., Springfield Armory Shoulder Weapons 1795–1968. Norfolk, VA: Antique Trader Books, 1997. Engineer Field Manual, War Department, Document No. 355, 1909. Manual for Noncommissioned Officers and Privates of Infantry of the Army of the United States, War Department, Document No. 574, 1917. "Bushmaster '03 Carbine", American Rifle magazine, April 2005, p. 40. U. S. Infantry Weapons of World War II. Bruce N. Canfield, Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 1994. Operation Requirements for an Infantry Hand Weapon. Norman Hitchman, Operations Research Office, 1952