During the US civil war between 1861-65, the Union forces were largely armed with the Springfield Model 1861 rifle-musket while the Confederate forces were largely armed with the Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle-musket imported from Great Britain. After the war, there was a rush to convert the existing Springfield rifle-muskets to fire metallic cartridges. The result was a succession of Springfield ‘Trapdoor’ rifle designs originally developed by Eskine Allin at the Springfield Arsenal ending with the successful Model 1888 firing the black powder .45-70 cartridge.
However, in 1892, the Model 1888 was replaced by the Norwegian designed Model 1892-99 Krag–Jørgensen rifle firing the .30-40 smokeless cartridge with a 30 inch barrel. This was bolt operated and used a 5-round box magazine on the right-hand side of the receiver that was loaded via single rounds. Both the Model 1888 and the Model 1892-99 were used during the Spanish-American War in 1898 but were both outclassed by the Model 1893 Mausers used by the Spanish. In particular, the rate of fire achieved by the latter using 5-round stripper clips put the single round loading US rifles at a distinct disadvantage.
As a result of the lessons learned in the war, the US took the decision to replace the Krag–Jørgensen rifles by a new rifle developed by licencing many of the features from Mauser of the Gew 98 rifle adopted by the German Army in 1898. The resulting rifle eventually became the Springfield Model 1903 although it went through an earlier experimental form in the Springfield Model 1901.
Springfield Model 1901
The Springfield Model 1901 had a 30 inch barrel like the Krag–Jørgensen and was therefore a long arm. It was very close in design to the Mauser Gew 98. It was fitted with the Krag’s tangent rear sight but was fitted with a rod bayonet instead of teh Krag’s sword type bayonet. The rod bayonet was a peculiar US concept originally used in the Model 1819 Hall rifle and used again in the Model 1888 Springfield ‘Trapdoor’ rifle. Essentially, the pointed cleaning rod was used as the bayonet after it was extended by 10 inches in front of the muzzle and then locked into position.
The Model 1901 rifle fired the round nosed, rimless .30-45 that used 45 gr of smokeless propellant to achieve a muzzle velocity of 2,300 fps with the same 220 gr bullet as the Krag. The latter used the .30-40 round that only achieved 2,000 fps. Although attempts were made to fire the .30-45 from the Krag, its use of a single locking lug made this difficult.
Springfield Model 1903
However, following extensive trials and probably also taking into account the British conclusions from the 2nd Boer War (1899-1902) regarding the advantages of a universal shorter rifle for both infantry and cavalry that resulted in the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle, the decision was made to shorten the barrel of the new US rifle from 30 to 24 inches. The result was the Springfield Model 1903.
This was similar to the Model 1901 but 6 inches shorter although still retaining the rod bayonet. The other change compared with the Model 1901 was the move of the rear sight to the front of the receiver in order to maximise the sight radius for the shorter rifle. The early Model 1903 still fired the rimless .30-45 cartridge but the nomenclature was changed at this time to the .30-03 cartridge; in other words, to .30 inch calibre and 1903 adoption date.
The Model 1903 went through one of its biggest changes in 1905 following criticism by President Teddy Roosevelt of the effectiveness of the rod bayonet. As a result, the M1905 sword bayonet was adopted that was basically a 10 inch Krag bayonet lengthened to 16 inches to give both rifles the same reach with a bayonet fitted. To mount the bayonet, the stock was cut back a few inches and the Krag front barrel band and bayonet lug was fitted. At the same time, a new improved Model 1905 rear sight was fitted as described below. Unlike the previous tangent sight, the new sight was a flip up ladder sight graduated from 100 yds to 2850 yds but somewhat complex in design.
Another big change occurred in 1906 with the adoption of the 30-06 cartridge. It had been found that the high chamber pressures generated in firing the heavy 220 gr .30-03 bullet caused significant barrel wear and also produced considerable bullet drop at longer ranges. To remedy these disadvantages, a lighter 150 gr pointed (Spitzer) bullet was adopted in the .30-06 cartridge giving a much higher muzzle velocity of 2,800 fps. Since the cartridge was shorter than the .30-03, the barrel and sights of existing rifles had to be altered.
Springfield Model 1903 Design Features
The production Model 1903 rifle used a full length stock with a 24 inch barrel. The stock was held in place at the front via a wide barrel band that incorporated the lug for the Model 1905 bayonet as well as a piling swivel. The hand guard slotted under the barrel band at the front and slotted into a groove in the barrel knox at the back. It was then held in place by the mid barrel band that clamped to the stock and also incorporated the upper sling swivel. A spring catch was also used in front of the mid band to keep it in place. The rear sling swivel was attached to the but via a recessed bracket.
The bolt action was basically that from a Gew 98 including the two front locking lugs, a very prominent rear safety lug, the non-rotating claw extractor and the 3-way safety catch on the bolt sleeve. It also included a lug on the left-hand front of the bolt that ran in a slot along the left-hand of the receiver to stabilise the bolt as it was withdrawn backwards. Like the Gew 98, the Model 1903 rifle cocked-on-opening but, unlike the Gew 98, it used a turned down bolt handle. One difference with the Gew 98 was the method used for preventing a cartridge from being fired without the bolt handle being in the fully locked position. In the Gew 98, this was achieved by the design of the firing pin that was prevented from moving forward unless the bolt was fully closed. In the Model 1905 rifle, it was the cocking piece that was prevented from moving fully forward when the trigger was pressed because of the shape of the slot machined in the underneath end of the bolt that the front end of the cocking piece had to travel along (similar to that in an SMLE). The other difference was that the Gew 98 incorporated a gas vent system in case of primer or cartridge case rupture that routed any escaping gas through two large holes underneath the bolt into the magazine. In contrast, the Model 1903 rifle vented through a small hole on the right-hand side of the locking ring at the front of the receiver.
Another difference with the Gew 98 was that the Model 1903 rifle was equipped with a knurled knob on the end of the cocking piece. Its main purpose was to allow the action to be re-cocked safely following a misfire which not a rare occurrence with early ammunition. In principle, the same could have been achieved by simply raising the bolt handle but this would unlock the bolt and could be dangerous in the case of a hang fire. A similar cocking piece knob was fitted to the Krag for the same purpose.
The Model 1903 rifle was fitted with a Mauser type 3-position safety catch. The left-hand position made the weapon ready to fire; the middle position locked the firing pin but still allowed the bolt to be cycled and to be removed for maintenance; the right-hand position then locked both the firing pin and the bolt.
In the Mauser series of rifles, a spring catch was provided on the left side of the action to allow the bolt to be withdrawn from the rifle – essentially a bolt release catch. On the Model 1903 rifle, this catch was replaced by a 3-way catch. The middle (horizontal) position functioned as the bolt release catch as on the Mauser rifles. The other two positions functioned as a magazine cut-off. In the lower position marked ‘OFF’, the function of the magazine was turned off allowing single rounds to be loaded and fired. In the upper position marked ‘ON’, rounds could then be loaded from the magazine as the bolt was cycled. The magazine cut-off functioned with the catch in the ‘OFF’ position by preventing the bolt from being moved backwards enough to place the bolt head behind the next magazine cartridge. Therefore, when it is pushed forward, the bolt would not strip a cartridge from the magazine although a manually inserted cartridge could be loaded into the chamber.
Although the magazine cut-off was provided in the Model 1903 rifle, its function was not really required. The British provided a similar function on the contemporary SMLE rifle at least up to Mark III. However, in the British Army, this function was a left over from the Lee-Metford rifle introduced in 1888 which used the magazine cut-off when volley fire was the norm carried out by loading single rounds between volleys. It was retained in the SMLE introduced in 1902 purely as an additional safety feature allowing the weapon to be MADE SAFE (a modern term) using the magazine cut-off to avoid having to empty the magazine. However, the M1903 did not have a similar heritage and the reason seems to be a left over from the days of the single shot ‘Trapdoor’ Springfields and a fear that US troops would otherwise waste ammunition.
Springfield Model 1903 Rear Sights
The Model 1903 rifle was fitted with a dovetailed front blade that could be adjusted for lateral position and height to allow the rifle to be zeroed. Post-1905, the Model 1903 rifle was fitted with the Model 1905 rear sight that replaced the earlier Krag-like tangent sight. This was a very complicated sight and incorporated no less than 5 separate aiming features. With the ladder down, it was provided with a non-adjustable battle sight notch on the slide effective out to 547 yd. With the ladder raised, there was a fixed volley notch at the top of the ladder sighted for 2850 yd. At the top of the slide, there was a U-notch that could be used between 1400 to 2750 yd using graduations on the ladder. Hanging below the slide, there was a aperture sight that could be used between 100 to 2375 yd. Just above the aperture sight was another U-notch that could be used between 100 to 2475 yd. The position of the slide was set by using the bind screw.
Finally, at the front of the sight bed was a windage adjustment that rotated the front of the complete sight to the left or right. A scale was provided at the rear allowing the windage to be precisely set. Another feature of the sight was that the slide moved to the left as it was raised because of the design of the runners on which it slid. This was used to compensate for the spin drift of the bullet to the right at longer ranges due to its right-hand spin direction of the bullet.
As with the British Army, by the time the Model 1903 rifle came into service, the need for rifle fire beyond 1000 yd was no longer really required with this function taken over by machine guns. This meant the upper two sight features on the Model 1903 rifle were more or less obsolete. Therefore in practice, soldiers would either have used the bottom U-notch on the slide or the aperture just below it. Either could be used to engage targets from 100 to well over 1000 yd.
Model 1905 Bayonet
The original Model 1905 scabbard had a wooden body with a rawhide cover and employed a wire belt-hanger that went over and around the belt. This was replaced by the Model 1910 scabbard before WW1 that was covered in canvas with a leather tip to prevent the blade tip from tearing the material. My Model 1905 bayonet is shown below with its leather scabbard. It was made in 1905 by the Rock Island Arsenal (RIA). The bayonet was designed to fit the lug on the Springfield Model 1903 rifle and was also supported by the muzzle ring on the quillon. The small release catch for the bayonet was situated on the other side behind the quillon and also served to release the bayonet from the securing hooks at the top of the scabbard. The original bayonet had wooden grips fixed in place by a single screw through them.
Springfield WW1 M1903 Sniper Rifle
During WW1, two versions of Springfield M1903 sniper rifles were used. The US Army decided to use a prismatic telescopic sight made by Warner and Swasey with a 5 x magnification. The eye relief was relatively short with this scope and a rubber eye cup added to maintain a safe distance from the scope on recoil. The prismatic scope was equipped with both a range adjustment out to 3000 yd and a windage adjustment.
The US Marine Corp adopted a different version of eh sniper rifle using a Winchester style of telescopic sight with a magnification of 3 x , 4 x or 5 x. The rear mount was provided with both a range and windage drum.
Springfield M1903A1
In 1929, minor modifications were made to the M1903 that included a pistol grip, a checkered butt plate and a serrated trigger. The pistol grip was adopted for a all subsequent M1903’s and was considered to improve marksmanship.
Springfield M1903 Mk I
During WW1, Peter Pederson invented a device to turn the Model 1903 rifle into a semi-automatic rifle firing a .30 calibre pistol cartridge. The device was inserted into the receiver in place of the normal bolt and the front of the device was shaped to fit tightly into the .30-06 chamber shape. The standard rifle needed an ejection port opening to be cut into the left-hand side of the receiver and a modified trigger and sear was also needed. However, with the device removed and the normal bolt inserted, the rifle would then function as normal with .30-06 cartridges.
A 40-round magazine clipped into the right-hand side of the device at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical allowing the using to use the normal rifle sights. The device worked by simple blowback relying on the inertia of the devices breech block to limit its recoil velocity. It was hoped that the US troops in Europe would use the Mk I rifle during the Spring 1919 offensive but the war ended before this happened. After the war, further development work took place on the Pederson device but eventually this came to an end with the adoption of the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle in 1936.
Springfield M1903A2
This was a sub-calibre version of the rifle intended for insertion into artillery barrels of various calibres as a low cost means of training. It was not issued as a rifle as such.
Springfield M1903A3
This was a wartime variant introduced in 1942. The sights were changed to an aperture (peep) front sight mounted on the rear of the receiver, and the rifle was modified for easier production with stamped metal parts and a different grip and stock.
Springfield M1903A4
This version was basically an M1903A3 modified to be a sniper rifle in 1942. It used either andM73 or M73B1 2.5× Weaver telescopic sight and a slightly different stock. No iron sights were fitted.
My Springfield M1903 Rifle
My Springfield Model 1903 was deactivated to the Old Spec and is in very good condition for its age. Its serial number indicates that it was built in 1918 but may not have seen action during WW1.
It is interesting to compare the Springfield Model 1903 rifle with the Model 1917 Enfield rifle derived from the British Pattern 1914 Enfield rifle that was issued in greater number to US troops in WW1 than the Model 1903. The Model 1903 is a handsome looking weapon especially compared with the Model 1914 with its ugly backsight protection wings and dog-legged bolt handle. It is also about 3 inches shorter than the Model 1914 but of similar length to the British SMLE rifle adopted in 1902. However, where the Model 1914 is much better is in terms of the bolt action that can be cycled very fast with relatively little effort especially with cock-on-closing and with the knob on the bolt handle being well placed behind behind the trigger. In comparison, the Model 1903 bolt takes considerable effort to open because of the cock-on-opening mechanism and with the fact that the end of the bolt handle being in front of the trigger which is not ideal. Nevertheless, the Model 1903 was an excellent rifle and continued to service as a sniper rifle with US troops up to and including the Korean war.
Springfield Model 1903 Rifle Specifications
- Weight: 8 lb 10 oz
- Weight of Bayonet: 14.5 oz
- Length of Rifle: 3 ft 7.2 in
- Length of Bayonet: 16 in
- Length of Barrel: 24 in
- Calibre: .30 in
- Bullet: 150 gr .30-06 pointed or spitzer bullet
- Muzzle Velocity: 2,800 fps (.30-06 cartridge)
- Front Sight: Blade
- Rear Sight: Ladder
- Rear Ladder Sight: 100 to 2850 yds
- No. of Grooves: 4
- Rifling Twist: Right-handed with 1 turn in 10 in
