Editing M1903 Springfield (section)

===World War II===
[[World War II]] saw new production of the Springfield at private manufacturers such as the [[Remington Arms]] and [[Smith-Corona]] Typewriter companies. Remington began production of the M1903 in September 1941, at serial number 3,000,000, using old tooling from the Rock Island Arsenal which had been in storage since 1919. The very early Remington-made rifles are almost indistinguishable from 1919-made Rock Island rifles. As the already worn tooling began to wear beyond use Remington began seeking Army approval for a continuously increasing number of changes and simplifications to both speed up manufacture and improve performance. The milled parts on the Remington M1903 were gradually replaced with stamped parts until, at about serial number 3,330,000, the Army and Remington recognized that a new model name was appropriate. Other features of the M1903, such as high-grade walnut stocks with finger grooves, were replaced with less expensive but serviceable substitutes. Most milled parts made by Remington were marked with an "R".<ref name=bnc2>{{cite journal |last=Canfield |first=Bruce N. |year=2015 |title=Wartime Remington M1903s? |journal=[[American Rifleman]] |volume=163 |issue=March |page=44 }}</ref>

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;<ref>{{US-patent|2336108A}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Dunlap, Roy 1948 p. 302">Dunlap, Roy, ''Ordnance Went Up Front'', Samworth Press (1948), p. 302</ref> 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.<ref name="Dunlap, Roy 1948 p. 302"/> All stock furniture was also redesigned in stamped metal.

In late 1942, Smith-Corona Typewriter Company began production of the M1903A3 at its plant in Syracuse, New York.<ref name="Brophy, William 1985 p. 187">Brophy, William, ''The Springfield 1903 Rifles'', Stackpole Books (1985), p. 187</ref> 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.<ref>Dunlap, Roy, ''Ordnance Went Up Front'', Samworth Press (1948), p. 362</ref> 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.<ref name="Dunlap, Roy 1948 p. 301">Dunlap, Roy, ''Ordnance Went Up Front'', Samworth Press (1948), p. 301</ref>  As the war progressed, various machining and finishing operations were eliminated on the M1903A3 in order to increase production levels.<ref name="Dunlap, Roy 1948 p. 301"/>

Original production rifles at Remington and Smith-Corona had a dark gray-black finish similar to the bluing of late World War I. Beginning in late 1943 a lighter gray-green parkerizing finish was used. This later finish was also used on arsenal repaired weapons.

It is somewhat unusual to find a World War I or early World War II M1903 with its original dated barrel. Most, if not all, World War II .30-06 ammunition used a corrosive primer which left corrosive salts in the barrel. If not removed by frequent and proper barrel cleaning, these residues could cause pitting and excessive wear. Cleaning was sometimes lax when fighting in the jungle on various Pacific islands, and the higher moisture levels compounded the corrosive action of the residue.<ref>{{Citation | last = Bishop | first = Chris| title = The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II | place = New York | publisher = Orbis Publishing Ltd | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0-7607-1022-7}}</ref>

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 [[United States Marine Corps|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;<ref>George, John (Lt Col), ''Shots Fired In Anger'', NRA Press (1981), p. 391: "Nearly every one [Marine] I talked to [on Guadalcanal] who used the Springfield in combat-without a scope-would have much rather been using a Garand."</ref> later Army units arriving to the island were armed with M1 Garands.<ref>George, John (Lt Col), ''Shots Fired In Anger'', NRA Press (1981), p. 391</ref> 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. {{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} The US Army Military Police (MP) and the US Navy Shore Patrol also used M1903s and M1903A3s throughout the war

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.<ref name=bnc2/> By then, most American combat troops had been re-equipped with the M1 Garand. However, some front-line infantry units in both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps retained M1903s as infantry rifles beyond that date and continued to use them alongside the M1 Garand until the end of the war in 1945. The Springfield remained in service for [[sniper]]s (using the ''M1903A4''), [[grenadier]]s (using a spigot type rifle [[22 mm grenade|22 mm]] with the M1 [[grenade launcher]] until the M7 grenade launcher was available for the M1 rifle in late 1943), and Marine [[scout sniper]] units.

==== Sniper rifle====
[[File:American First World War Official Exchange Collection Q85303.jpg|thumb|233x233px|M1903 Springfield with a telescopic sight]]
The M1903A4, a variation of the M1903A3 was the U.S. Army's sniper rifle of choice during the Second World War. The only difference between receivers was that the model and serial number on the receiver were split on M1903A4 to make room for the Redfield [[scope mount]]. The Redfield scope mount removed the rear peep sight that was standard on the M1903A3. The scope used on the M1903A4 was a Weaver Model 330 or 330C, which was a 2.75x telescopic sight. The receivers were tested by Remington Arms and those that were deemed best, meaning those closest to design specifications were selected to become M1903A4s. The barrels were also selected specifically to be added to the M1903A4 rifle only if they were within almost exact specifications for the design. The front sight on the barrel was never installed on the A4 barrels, however, the notch for it was still in place.<ref name="Dunlap, Roy 1948 p. 302"/>  Barrel specifications were, in general, unchanged between the M1903A3 and M1903A4, however, the War Department did start installing barrels with two-groove rifling instead of four-groove, despite the lack of clear changes from the four-groove rifling that was the standard until 1942.<ref>George, John (Lt. Col.), ''Shots Fired In Anger'', NRA Press (1981), p. 392</ref> From its adoption in 1943 until the end of the war the M1903A4 was used extensively in every theater of operation by both the US Army and the USMC.<ref name="George, John 1981 p. 392-393">George, John (Lt. Col.), ''Shots Fired In Anger'', NRA Press (1981), p. 392–393</ref>

While the M1903A4 was a relatively accurate rifle with an effective range of about {{convert|600|yd|m}}, by some accounts it was inadequate as a sniper rifle. Its limitations on long-range targeting were due to limitations of both the Weaver scopes. The Weaver scopes (later standardized as the M73 and M73B1) had limited,field of view, were  of low magnification, and were not waterproof and frequently fogged over or became waterlogged during humidity changes. The optional M81/82 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.<ref name="Dunlap, Roy 1948 p. 302"/><ref name="George, John 1981 p. 392-393"/><ref>George, John (Lt. Col.), ''Shots Fired In Anger'', NRA Press (1981), p. 296–299</ref> The USMC and the US Army eventually switched to a large 8x scope that spanned the length of the rifle, designed by John [[Unertl Optical Company|Unertl]].

==== Foreign users====
Various US allies and friendly irregular forces were 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 rifle]]s. The M1903 became one of the primary rifles used by French forces until the end of the war, and was afterwards used in [[Indochina]]<ref name="Viet Minh">{{cite book|title=French Foreign Légionnaire vs Viet Minh Insurgent: North Vietnam 1948–52|series=Combat 36|first=Martin |last=Windrow|date=20 Sep 2018|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=9781472828910|page=22}}</ref> and by local militia and security forces in French Algeria.<ref name="Algeria">{{cite magazine|language=fr|magazine=Gazette des Armes |issue=220 |date=March 1992|title=L'armement français en A.F.N.|pages=12–16|url=http://fr.1001mags.com/parution/gazette-des-armes/numero-220-mars-1992/page-14-15-texte-integral}}</ref> Large numbers of M1903 rifles were sent to China.<ref name="Chinese Army">{{cite book|title=The Chinese Army 1937–49: World War II and Civil War|series=Men-at-Arms 424|first=Philip |last=Jowett|date=10 Jul 2005|isbn=9781841769042|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|page=19}}</ref> The M1903 rifles captured by the Germans were designated ''Gewehr 249(a)''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ball|first=Robert W. D.|title=Mauser Military Rifles of the World|year=2011|location=Iola|publisher= Gun Digest Books|isbn=9781440228926 |page= 420}}</ref>

During the Korean War, South Korean Marines used the M1903A3.<ref>{{cite book|last=부|first=창옥|title=한국 전쟁 수첩: 어느 학도병 의 참전 일기
|year=2012|location=경기 고양시|publisher= 한그루 미디어|isbn=9791195158027 |page= 6}}</ref> [[File:South Koreans Marines m1903a3.png|thumb|South Korean marine armed with M1903 rifle, 20 September 1950]]