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Title:	RIFLE, MILITARY -  U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1903 .30 SN# 689442
Maker/Manufacturer:	SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
Date of Manufacture:	1918
Eminent Figure:	ANEY, CAPTAIN J.L.
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1705
Measurements:	OL:109.8CM 43 1/4" BL: 59.6CM 23 1/2"

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1903 .30 SN# 689442
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. - Standard Model 1903 that has been modified by addition of a rail mount on left side of receiver for the attachment of Warner-Swasey telescopic sight (SPAR-1706). Front sight blade has been removed, and the receiver still has traces of OD paint which would be correct for this model. Original stock was also camouflaged. Stock was apparently damaged in museum fire and weapon has been restocked. Weapon was used in the Argonne by American sniper. Bayonet sn# 36632 once attached to this rifle.

Markings:
Receiver: U.S./SPRINGFIELD/ARMORY/ MODEL 1903/689442. Underside: J, M, P, N, N
Barrel: SA/bomb/7-17/A.
Stock: 73 near triggerguard plate.
Floorplate: 3.
Sear: S
Rear sight base: 5.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 24 March 1920.

This weapon was exhibited at The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926.

Army #924 - "This specimen used overseas in the World War. Original stock was camouflaged, but was later burnt during Museum fire and another stock was substituted. This Rifle was used in the Argonne Forest by American Snipers and camouflaged with green paint so as to render the gun invisible in the foliage."

THE SPRINGFIELD ARMY EXHIBIT OF FIREARMS AT THE SESQUI-CENTENNIAL INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION PHILADELPHIA 1926. "SNIPER RIFLE - U.S. Magazine Rifle. Cal. 30, Model 1903 equipped with Warner/Swasey Telescopic sight No.6054 and still carries the camouflage paint. Marked: on receiver, U.S. Springfield Armory/Model 1903/689442. Cat. No. 924."

ANNUAL REPORTS:
AR, 1904 - 1JAN-30JUN - "A telescopic sight of the new rifle has been submitted by The Warner & Swasey Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and is now in the hands of a Board for test. It promises well, but it is feared the cost will prevent its purchase in large numbers."
AR, 1905 - 1JAN-30JUN - "Report on Warner & Swasey Telescopic Sight. Reported forwarded to Ordnance Office: June 5, 1903 (25537-1076).
AR, 1906 - 1JAN-30JUN - "25 telescopic sights were purchased from The Warner & Swasey Co., and applied to Model 1903 Rifles, for sharpshooters."
AR1910 - 1JAN-30JUN - "An experimental rubber cap or eye-piece for the telescopic musket sight which was proposed by the Warner & Swasey Co. was tested, found satisfactory and has since been adopted for service, replacing the earlier form of rubber eye-piece."

Notes: "From 1914 to 1919 over 5,000 '03 rifles were fitted with the Model 1913 Warner-Swasey telescopic musket sights. These were similar to the Model 1908, but in lesser 5.2 Power. They also were fully marked.
When originally fitted to the '03 rifles, the scopes bore the serial number of the rifle (at the bottom of the dovetail of the mount on the scope) while the Warner-Swasey serial number in found on the left side of the scope body.
Many Model 1913 telescopic sights were sold separately as surplus equipment in the 1920s and '30s. A large portion of them were brand new and never bore '03 serial numbers. Others which were returned to armories for storage had the scopes detached and stored separately; hence, survival rate for matched serial numbers is extremely small....Almost all specimens encountered will have mismatched number of scope to rifle." - Flayderman

"Telescopic Sights: Mod 1908 & 1913 W&S - obsolete - OMC - L 473-85/911 12/4/1919 - S.A. 474.821139. Not to be separated from telescope - as each has been carefully adjusted and fitted to a specially selected rifle by expert firings and marked with the number of the rifle to which it belongs, it is not intended that such telescope should be permanently separated from its particular rifle - rifles and telescopes therefore must be transfered together. Circular #49-1910.
See also SNL I-3 7/22/1922. Issues of rifles and telescopes suspended pending adoption of new sight. Telescope W&S - method of adjusting Range 500 yds. - Muzzle nest
a. Using service sights - makes by firing the proper adjustment for 500 yards elevation and zero windage.
b. Place telescope on the c. Turn windage dial of scope until vertical cross hairs cut bull's eye to center.
d. Release binding nut on elevation screw and turn latter with a screwdriver until the horizontal line is in the center of the bull's eye.
e. Fire trial shots and made correction by turning the elevation and windage screw until shots are in the bull's eye.
f. Loosen the dial by unscrewing the 2 small screws.
g. Turn dial to zero and tighten screws.
h. In making the above adjustments due allowance should be made for wind and weather conditions....
Receiver Model '03 made between Jan. 1, 1917 - 632800 and 800,000 received single heat treatment must be scrapped - S.A. 474.8/1213 - 11/25/1919" - Brophy

"The telescopic sight has intrigued the United States military since the time of the Civil War, when Colonel Hiram Berdan's two regiments of sharpshooters wreaked havoc on distant Confederate targets with their telescopic-sighted rifles. Although a number of experimental attempts were made to equip the Krag rifles with scopes, it was the Model 1903 Springfield that became this nation's first scope-equipped, issue, bolt-action service rifle.
Expensive, But Necessary - In 1904, the Springfield Armory tested a variety of telescopic sights for use with the Model 1903 rifle. According to the Chief of Ordnance's report, 'The only promising design so far obtained is one made by the Warner and Swasey Company of Cleveland, Ohio, which is now being tested.' In 1905, despite the initial cost of $80 - more that the rifle itself - the government ordered 25 of these scopes for further testing. Four years later, the Ordnance Department received 1,000 of the new Warner-Swasey sights, now designated the Telescopic Musket Sight, Model of 1908. These were tested by expert Army riflemen, who made a number of recommendations for improvement. The primary suggestions were that the sight be moved forward on the rifle to prevent the eyepiece from striking the shooter's eye upon recoil, and that the rubber eyepiece be made of softer rubber.
These suggestions and several other improvements were implemented, resulting in the Telescopic Musket Sight, Model of 1913. Although this 5.2 power prismatic optical device looks bulky and strange today, and required the user to adopt an awkward aiming position, it was cutting-edge technology for its time.
Fascinating Fact - The Warner-Swasey sight, although accurate, was never liked by service marksmen. In 1918, the Marine Corps, taking their cue for civilian marksmen, provided their sharpshooters with the Winchester Model A5 telescopic sight, a long, slim unit looking very much like today's optical sights. It featured adjustable mounts for changing elevation and windage settings." - Atlas Editions, Inc.

"The British, Canadian and U.S. snipers used the Model 1913 Musket Sight during WWI. It required extensive training and was considered marginally effective. The Winchester Winchester telescopic sight A5 with special Marine Corps mounting was adopted as Marine Corps standard." - Major Edward J. Land, Jr., USMC

"I choose the .30-caliber U.S. Government Model 1906 cartridge as the 'All-around Cartridge for American Big Game.' It has the killing power, the accuracy, the flat trajectory, the small recoil and the long accuracy life." - Lt. Col. Townsend Whelen, Out Life, 1913.

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, (26 September - 11 November 1918), was the final offensive on the Western Front, and designed to force the Germans to retreat from the Hindenburg Line, as well as damage their lateral communications. Four major offensives were plan. The French and the Americans were to trap the Germans in the southern arm of a pincer movement. General Pershing's front ran for 17 miles, from Forges on the Meuse to the middle of the Argonne Forest. His three corps, which had just arrived from the St. Mihiel operation, had little time to prepare for this new offensive. The attack, which began on 26 September, moved rapidly at first. The Americans covered nine miles in the first five." The "Great War" was over.
In the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, there were 117,000 Americans casualties. Somewhere on that front, a soldier carried this rifle.

References:
Brophy, William S. THE SPRINGFIELD 1903 RIFLES. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pa. 1985.
Bruce, Anthony. AN ILLUSTRATED COMPANION TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR. Michael Joseph LTD. London, England. 1989.
Campbell, Clark S. THE '03 ERA: WHEN SMOKELESS POWDER REVOLUTIONIZED U.S. RIFLERY. Collector Grade Publications Inc. Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. 1994.
Canfield, Bruce N. A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO THE '03 SPRINGFIELD. Andrew Mowbray. Lincoln, R.I. 1989.
Flayderman, Norm. FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS...AND THEIR VALUES. 7th Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.
Harrison, Jesse C. COLLECTING THE '03 SPRINGFIELD. The Arms Chest. Oklahoma City, Ok. 1993.

Canfield, Bruce, "Dougboy Sniper Rifles," American Rifleman, September, 2000.