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Title:	RIFLE, MILITARY -  U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1903 .30 SN# 558521
Maker/Manufacturer:	SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
Date of Manufacture:	1914
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1139
Measurements:	OL:111.7CM 44" BL: 60.9CM 24"

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1903 .30 SN# 558521
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. - Standard Model 1903 bolt-action rifle modified with attachment of sideplate for trench sniperscope. Cameron-Yaggi '03 rifle.

Markings:
Receiver: U.S./SPRINGFIELD/ARMORY/MODEL 1903/558521.
Barrel: SA/proof/9-13.
Stock: J.F.C. 4/P. JFC = J.F. Coyle.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 22 January 1940 from Frankford Arsenal Museum.

Notes: "Fitted with the bizarre Cameron/Yaggi device, the World War I Model 1903 Springfield Rifle could be fired from the safety of a trench. Now exhibited in the Springfield Armory Museum, this rare contraption includes a framework with bolt handle extension, trigger mechanism, periscope sight, and shoulder rest....
If necessity is the mother of invention, then wartime necessity breeds some truly unusual inventions. When the battlefields of World War I evolved into convoluted row of trenches filled with muddy soldiers shooting at each other, a problem arose. For a soldier in Trench A to shoot his opposite number who had ventured out of Trench B, it was necessary for the soldier in Trench A to stick his head out of the trench and risk getting shot. This was an unwise and unpopular choice. Fortunately, America's inventive genius prevailed to solve the problem.
Deadly Peekaboo - In 1915, two Cleveland, Ohio inventors - J.L. Cameron and L.E. Yaggi - developed a Rube Goldberg-type device that would hold a Model 1903 rifle and allow it to be aimed and fired from within a trench, without exposing the rifleman to enemy fire.
The Cameron/Yaggi periscope rifle device consisted of a tubular steel framework - much like a bicycle frame - that held the rifle horizontally about the sandbagged top of the trench. The framework accommodated an extension bolt-operating rod and a remote trigger-device, along with a periscope sight that offered no magnification, and thus could be issued with M1903 sights.
A 25-round extension magazine that was later planned for use with the Air Service Rifle was also developed for use with the trench rifle device. All this equipment did work, after a fashion. Unfortunately, the trench device and its attachments were still in development when the war ended and the survivors went home. Because trench fighting has not been a tactic in more modern wars, no further development has occurred." - Atlas Editions, Inc.

"The First World War (1914-1918) saw the utilization of antiquated infantry tactics pitted against modern technology of machine guns and repeating rifles. The results were predictable and horrible; the lives of many brave men were squandered in scores of useless and futile frontal assaults. After both sides wearied of such wholesale butchery, the war settled into the slightly less bloody stalemate of trench warfare. Sniping developed into something of a fine art with many casualties being inflicted. Both sides sniped at each other ceaselessly during the often long periods between large scale assaults or trench raids.
When the United States entered the war in 1917, both the American military and the public were very familiar with the tales of horrendous casualties occuring in the trenches of France. There was much concern over needlessly spilling American blood by such seemingly wasteful tactics of warfare. It was recognized that a solider firing form a trench position would be required to expose his head and this could obviously be fatal if an enemy sniper happened to be shooting back. Many devices were considered to reduce such casualties in the trenches. These included various types of body armor, special helmets with protective visors, metal sniper shields and a variety of periscopes to view over the top of the trenches.
One of the more interesting and practical of these experimental devices was the Cameron-Yaggi Periscope Rifle. The weapon was developed by two Cleveland rifle enthusiasts, James L. Cameron and Lawrence E. Yaggi. Basically, the Cameron-Yaggi concept was the incorporation of a rifle into a metal framework that rested on the shoulder andCameron and Yaggi began the preliminary work on their invention even before the United States entered World War One. A working model was fabricated, which Yaggi took to the battlefields of Europe and informally demonstrated to British and French troops. Both allies were using ordinary box periscopes to observe the German trenches, but still had to expose themselves to fire their rifles. Yaggi heard many complaints of the German's seeing the glint of the periscope lenses and then holding their fire until the Allied soldiers raised their heads to shoot. Reportedly, both the 'Tommies' and 'Poilus' were enthusiastic about Cameron and Yaggi's invention.
After Yaggi returned from Europe, he and Cameron worked to perfect their weapons using some suggestions received by the battle-hardened British and French. Since the United States had just entered the war, Cameron and Yaggi were aware that their trench periscope rifle must be based on the standard U.S. service rifle, the M1903 Springfield. The Ordnance Department was deluged with many ideas by civilian inventors; a few of these had some practical value, while others could best be described as crackpot. Preliminary consultation with Ordnance Department representatives made it clear to Cameron and Yaggi that the United States government would not be interested in any type of special trench warfare rifle that would require any significant or permanent alteration to the standard M1903 Springfield service rifle.
With these parameters in place, the two inventors began to refine their apparatus and make it acceptable to the U.S. Ordnance Department. The refined prototype consisted of the metal framework that supported a standard M1903 rifle. The rifle was held in place by a leather strap that secured the butt into a metal boot at the rear of the framework and a metal clamp that gripped the small of the stock. A thin leather pad cushioned the portion of the framework that rested on the shoulder and the shooter's hand was placed on top of the wooden grip. The remote trigger was located in front of the wooden hand grip. This was attached to the rifle's trigger by means of a hinged extension lever. Thus, when the remote trigger was pulled, it released the rifle's trigger. The remote bolt handle was also located in close proximity to the wooden hand grip. This remote handle was attached to the rifle's bolt handle by means of an extension lever. The extension slid along a metal rod and could be raised and lowered to manipulate the rifle's action. The extension bolt lever held the rifle's bolt knob in a concave metal socket that was adjusted to the proper tension by means of a knurled metal thumb screw.
Since reloading the rifle would necessitate removing the entire apparatus from the shoulder, a 25-round extension magazine was utilized to increase the sustained firepower of the weapon. The '03 rifle's standard floorplate, follower and spring were removed and the extension magazine was inserted. The original floorplate assembly could easily be replaced if necessary. In addition to being used with the Cameron-Yaggi rifle, the 25-round extension magazine was utilized with the Air Service Rifle. This rare weapon was a stripped-down version '03 Springfield and intended for use on aircraft and in observation balloons. Relatively large numbers of the 25-round extension magazines were manufactured and it is probable that some were intended to be used with standard '03 service rifles for trench warfare, but this has not been absolutely confirmed. In any event, the Cameron-Yaggi rifle was likely the impetus behind the development of the 25-round '03 extension magazine.
The heart of the Cameron-Yaggi rifle was its periscope sight. The optical instrument was called a sightascope by the inventors. The periscope sight allowed the Cameron-Yaggi rifle to beCameron and Yaggi apparently experimented with periscope sights having varying degrees of magnification. One sight with 4x power has been recorded and at least one has been observed that does not have any magnification power (1x). All known Cameron-Yaggi periscope sights have cross-hair reticles. The lenses of the periscopes were recessed so as to reduce chances of glint or reflection, a suggestion previously offered by the Allied troops in France.
The entire Cameron-Yaggi apparatus gave the appearance of being heavy, bulky and unwieldy, although it only added about six pounds to the standard '03 rifle's weight. Obviously, the weapon was not designed to be carried for great distances, although it could be slung over the shoulder when necessary. Holding the apparatus on the shoulder without support could be a bit ungainly, but for its intended purposes (firing from fixed trench positions) it was entirely practical.
The refined Cameron-Yaggi '03 rifle was initially demonstrated in the United States by Lawrence Yaggi at a range in Winthrop, Maryland in the summer of 1917. One of the spectators present was the noted marksmanship proponent Colonel C.B. Winder. After observing Yaggi firing the rifle for some time, Winder requested permission to fire it for himself. As stated in a 1917 Arms and Man article: "...About the first thing the peculiar framework suggested to the Colonel was KICK. But when Yaggi fired the rifle he seemed to experience no inconvenience....Afterwards, describing the effect of the heavy service charge on the weapon held in the light framework, (Winder said): 'There was a lot less kick to it than the rifle ordinarily gives. The whole framework, rifle and all, just seemed to rock back a little.'
The added weight of the metal framework helped to dampen the rifle's recoil. Even though the eyepiece of the periscope was very close to the shooter's eye, the effects of the recoil rocked the periscope away from the eye. With the barrel resting on a trench parapet or a similar brace, the Cameron-Yaggi could be comfortably fired for extended periods without the shooter experiencing fatigue or other undue hardship.
Cameron and Yaggi completed the refinements to their weapon and formally submitted it to the Ordnance Department for testing and evaluation in late 1917. Only a few prototype rifles were fabricated. No two of the Cameron-Yaggi rifles observed are exactly alike. The handful of specimens extant all vary in some respects, including the slightly different configurations of the metal framework and placement of the trigger assemblies and slightly varying bolt and trigger extension lever designs.
The precise number of Cameron-Yaggi rifles produced is not known but likely numbered only a dozen or so. The Springfield Armory Museum reportedly has several and four or five (in varying degrees of completeness) are known to be in private hands.
There is no record of the Cameron-Yaggi rifle being formally rejected by the Ordnance Department, and the weapon was apparently still being evaluated at the time of the Armistice on November 11, 1918. This would seem to indicate that the government felt the invention had some merit. On the other hand, the fact that it was not adopted and ordered into production soon after its preliminary testing in late 1917 would suggest that the Ordnance Department had some reservations about the weapon, as well.
There were other invenCameron and Yaggi announced plans for similar contrivances to be used with the M1917 Enfield rifle and the Lewis light machine gun, although none are known to have been produced for either weapon.
Further refinements and development of the Cameron-Yaggi was dropped after the end of World War One. The doctrine of extensive trench warfare understandably fell out of vogue very quickly and no need was seen for such weapons as the Cameron-Yaggi trench periscope rifle.
Today, the Cameron-Yaggi may be viewed as a thoroughly anachronistic, even slightly bizarre, weapon. However, to a Doughboy three quarters of a century ago, the Cameron-Yaggi would likely have been viewed in an entirely different light. With skilled German marksmen only a few hundred yards away, shooting a Springfield '03 at them while safely ensconced in the trench position would not have seemed like a bad idea at all. In a combat environment where raising one's head to shoot at the enemy was often one's last act on earth, the strange looking contraption with the goose-necked periscope sight would undoubtedly have been much appreciated. It is unfortunate that the Cameron-Yaggi rifle did not have an opportunity to prove itself in the crucible of battle. Instead, the Cameron-Yaggi remains a rare and little-known, though thoroughly fascinating, footnote to the history of American military weaponry." - Bruce Canfield, Man At Arms, September/October 1993.

"J.L. Cameron and L.E. Yaggi of Cleveland, Ohio, developed a device that would hold the '03 rifle and allow it to be fired form a trench or behind cover.
The rifle is held in the framework of the attachment by slipping on the heel of the stock into a socket and then attaching the frame to the rifle by a band around the small of the stock. A periscope rifle (British Patent No. 102,729,-1915) is locked into a bracket mounted to the left side of the stock, adjacent to the receiver.
In addition to the framework - with attached bolt-operating device, trigger mechanism, shoulder rest, and periscope sight - the Cameron/Yaggi trench rifle had a twenty-five shot magazine.
The extra capacity magazine confuses collectors, who assume it to be a regular addition to the '03 rifle for use in trench warfare. But that is not so. The extension magazine was developed along with the Periscope Trench Rifle, and the only other planned use for it was with the Air Service Rifle.
Ordnance Form 1861, Handbook of Ordnance Data, dated November 15, 1918, illustrates the Elder periscope attachment for use with the Cameron/Yaggi trench outfit. The Elder periscope was not telescopic and permitted use of the regular Model 1905 sights of the '03.
Experimental work on these trench items was still in progress when the war ended. The only part to reach limited production was the magazine extension.
Note that in the photographs included with this chapter, the framework of each the three types pictured is slightly different....
The Armory Museum has five of the Cameron/Yaggi '03 rifles that have a dovetail mounting plate for the periscope sight installed on the stock. The serial numbers and accession numbers of these rifles are:
156552-R.I.A.-2-11-5459
189584-R.I.A.-12-12-5460
223851-R.I.A.-9-17-5152
258129-R.I.A.-7-17-5457
558251-S.A.-9-13-5458 - Brophy

"FRANKFORD ARSENAL
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
November 30, 1939
Subject: Ordnance Property-Frankford Arsenal Museum
Recommended for Disposition
To: The Commanding Officer
Springfield Armory
Springfield, Mass.
1. In the rearrangement of the Frankford Arsenal Museum the following Ordnance property has been set aside by the Chief of Ordnance for possible transfer to Springfield Armory:
1 - Pistol, percussion, U.S. pistol5 - Rifles Magazines, U.S. Cal. .30, M1903, attached to Sniperscopes, #189584, #190036, #223851, #258129, #558521
1 - Rifle, U.S. M1917, Eddystone, w/telescopic musket sight, #68336.
2. If this material is desired procurement authority in the amount of $8.00 should be furnished this arsenal to cover the cost of packing and shipping.
3. As the space that this material occupies is urgently needed for current activities it is requested that an early reply be forwarded.
For the Commanding Officer:
(Signed) J.S. Walker
J.S. WALKER
Captain, Ord. Dept.,
Assistant."


See, Arms and the Man, October 6, 1917.

References:
Brophy, William S. THE SPRINGFIELD 1903 RIFLES. Stackpole Books. Harrisburg, Pa. 1985.
Harrison, Jesse C. COLLECTING THE '03 SPRINGFIELD. The Arms Chest. Oklahoma City, Ok. 1993.