The Army and Marine Corps having adopted the M 1 (“Garand”) semiautomatic rifle, the Navy and Coast Guard remain the only branches of the United States armed forces to retain the bolt-action “Springfield.” This does not mean that the old rifle is obsolete. Although it is now almost forty years old it is still a very excellent weapon and superior to all other military rifles with the exception of the M 1. It is, in fact, inferior to the M 1 only in the number of aimed shots that it can fire in a given time, and in its sights. The Garand is admittedly inferior in the matter of reliability. No man need therefore feel that he is “second line” because he is issued a Springfield instead of the semiautomatic weapon.
The Springfield was adopted as a result of the Spanish-American War. In 1898 the .30-40 “Krag” rifle made for the Regular Army by the Springfield Armory and the 6-mm. “Lee Straight Pull” rifle of the Navy and Marines had not compared well with the Spanish Mauser. It was therefore determined to replace them with a new rifle based on the Mauser design. The forthcoming arm was at first called the “New Springfield,” to distinguish it from the old .45-70 single-shot Spring- fields used in large numbers by state troops and on board naval craft.
As first designed the “New Springfield” had a 30-inch barrel. Before production of this model could be started, the Boer War demonstrated the desirability of a shorter and handier weapon, and the Springfield’s barrel was cut down to its present 24 inches. It thereby became suitable for issue to all branches of the armed forces, foot, horse, or sea. Only Great Britain and to a more limited extent Switzerland followed the American example in providing a single pattern of rifle for all forces. The Germans are now replacing the old long infantry Mausers with a short rifle, but in all other nations a long rifle is issued to infantry and a short carbine to other arms.
The New Springfield, officially the U. S. Rifle, Model 1903, was at first considerably different from the present pattern. Its most unique feature was its ramrod bayonet. This was a pencil-slim affair which reposed in the fore-end of the stock when not in use and which was fixed merely by pulling it forward. It was not a new idea, as the Hall breech-loading rifle of the 1830’s had a ramrod bayonet and it was tried again 50 years later in two models of the .45 Springfield. It was never a success. Its inertia tended to pull it from its catch on firing, and it whipped annoyingly when in the fixed position (at least these defects were very noticeable in a Model 1888 rod-bayonet Springfield once owned by the writer). The Russo-Japanese War brought about the demise of the 1903 model rod-bayonet, the slim Russian bayonet having proved inferior to the knife- style favored by the Nipponese. The story is that President Theodore Roosevelt personally ordered that the Springfield bayonet be changed. The present pattern, based on the bayonet of the Norwegian Krag, was substituted for the ramrod style in 1906. At the same time a number of other changes were made in the rifle.
The original 1903 rifle had a backsight of the general type used on the British Lee-Enfield and the new German rifle. This sight had a leaf which lay between two cam-shaped side pieces. The slide, whereby the correct elevation was obtained, worked against the side pieces, and the principle involved was much superior to that of the ordinary vertical leaf sight. The graduations could be bolder and more widely spaced, and slight errors in setting the sight were not so important. The sighting U was cut in a crossbar at the end of the leaf, arranged to shift laterally for “windage.” This sight was far better than the type which was substituted for it in 1906, being stronger, simpler, and far easier for a recruit to master.
The 1906 model sight was only a very slight modification of the Buffington sight adopted for use on the .45 Springfields during the eighties. The modern sight follows the older one so closely in detail that even its defects are faithfully perpetuated. From the military point of view it is extremely bad, and goes to show what happens when target range considerations are allowed to outweigh those of combat in the design of a military arm.
A new front sight was provided in 1906, and—most important of all—the ballistics were greatly improved. The result of the various changes was the familiar pattern that has served the United States so well up to the present day. The foregoing will explain confusion of dates used in referring to the rifle and its ammunition.
Several thousand rifles of the original 1903 pattern were issued to the regular Army and to the cadets at the United States Military Academy. They were all called in and converted to the 1906 style, except for a dozen or so that were spared for the benefit of the military museums.
The 1906 rifle—still officially the Model of 1903—is a modified Mauser and for a number of years was made under Mauser’s license. The changes in detail from the basic Mauser were by no means all improvements, and a point-for-point comparison of the Mauser and Springfield actions is bound to be in favor of the former, at least as regards design. As for workmanship, the American version of the action has always been outstanding.
The Springfield stock and fittings were adopted directly from the Krag. The Springfield and Krag bayonets are interchangeable, and the latter is used at the U. S. Military Academy because its bright blade and mountings and neat steel scabbard go so well with the cadets’ dress uniform.
During its long service career the Springfield has naturally undergone a number of changes, although no attempt was ever made to call attention to them by designating the different slightly divergent styles in any special way. The earliest issues had the wooden hand guards over the barrels almost flat between the backsight and the lower band, did not have the steel reinforces inside the guard between the bands, had only one stock screw (the front one), and were very beautifully finished. The metal parts had a bright, satiny blue finish. Later the hand guard was thickened to protect the back sight and was concave. At still a later date the guard became convex, the old finish gave way to the modern greenish “Parkerizcd” nonreflecting finish and the bolt handle was swept slightly backward.
The first million Springfields were made with receivers of a low carbon steel, case- hardened. In 1918 a tougher double heat treated steel was introduced, and after another quarter million rifles had been made, nickel steel replaced the carbon variety. Used with ordinary issue ammunition which has not deteriorated unduly, the older brittle (relatively) receivers are as safe as the later ones.
When war was declared on the Central Powers in 1917 there were only about 600,000 Springfields on hand, and as only the government armories at Springfield, Massachusetts, and Rock Island, Illinois, were tooled to make the Model of 1903 rifles it was possible to produce only another half million for use in the First World War. The total number being adequate to arm barely a quarter of the men under arms, the regulation service rifle was retained for the war only by volunteer organizations—Regular Army, National Guard, Navy, and Marine Corps. The National Army (drafted men) was armed with the “U. S. Rifle, Model of 1917,” produced by rechambering and otherwise slightly altering the British 1914 Enfield, which several American factories were equipped to make in large numbers.
More than two million M 1917 rifles were made. The Enfield was not a popular arm, partly because it was heavy and clumsy but more especially because it was the badge of the “conscript.” This rifle is by no means to be confused with the Lee-Enfield, which is a totally different arm. The only things they have in common are the distinctive shape of the butt stock and the method of cocking on the closing horizontal movement of the bolt. The design of the 1917 Enfield is derived largely from the Mauser and the Springfield, but it has several original features of its own, notably the receiver back sight.
A number of other rifles were used by American forces in the First World War. The first token troops sent abroad in 1917 carried Krags, but these do not seem to have been used at the front. One American regiment, the Fifth New York (Negro) was uniformed and equipped by the French and carried the 3-shot “Mle 1907-15” 1395 Berthier-Lebel of Remington make. In the training camps at home were used many thousands of Canadian Ross rifles of the 1905 model. The Ross was a bulky but very light and well-balanced arm with a “straight pull” bolt action. As it was possible to assemble it in such a way that it would fire without the locking lugs being rotated it acquired an extremely sinister reputation. Numbers of Russian Mouzin- Nagant rifles were also used for training purposes.
In addition to the service pattern (Style S) the Springfield was made in a wide variety of models intended for every sort of target and sporting shooting. Upward of a dozen styles1 were turned out, some being so similar that a most careful study of the specifications is needed to discover wherein they differed. Besides the plainly finished arms furnished complete from the government shops, government barrels and actions were more finely finished and provided with sporting type stocks by a number of private gun makers; such sporters were not makeshifts for the poor man but highly admired by those who could afford the best imported arms. One of the first Sporting Springfields was the one taken to Africa by Theodore Roosevelt, and its success insured the converted service rifle’s future standing in the eyes of sportsmen.
The issue Springfield is a sturdy arm, but like all precision instruments it is readily destroyed through neglect and ignorance. All men using the rifle should be taught how to give it the small amount of attention that keeps it in good condition.
All parts of Springfields are made to be interchangeable except the bolts. These should never by any chance be shuffled, as might happen when a number of rifles are stripped and reassembled at one time. Each bolt must be carefully adjusted to its own barrel, so that correct “head space" is assured. Excess head space between the bolt and the cartridge allows the latter to set back on firing and this allows rearward escape of gas which can do great damage. Care should also be taken to make sure that when the bolt is locked the "safety lug" does not actually bear against the receiver bridge.
Nothing in the nature of brass polish must ever be used on the metal parts of the rifle, as it removes the protective finish. Overzealous men have often got themselves into trouble by trying to "shine up" their rifles. The leather sling must be kept well saturated with oil, as a dry sling quickly hardens and cracks. Shoe polish should not be used on the sling.
Every recruit gets a thrill out of his first issue of a rifle, as every normal man has an instinctive fondness for weapons. Unfortunately the recruit's attitude toward his rifle undergoes a decided change after he has drilled or walked post with it for a few hours. It is therefore necessary for officers and petty officers to maintain the man's affection and respect for the rifle by continually reminding him of its superiority over all other rifles, of its fascinating history, of its challenge to his physical prowess. For if it is to be of service to him in action it must be well cared for and he must be its master. This is especially important in the Navy, where the rifle's secondary importance as a weapon tends to make of it the symbol of drudgery and punishment.
1. Style NM, with hand-finished action and an improved stock, is currently issued to the Coast Guard as a service arm.