The Springfield Model 1903A3By the time the United States had entered World War II in December of 19

The Springfield Model 1903A3By the time the United States had entered World War II in December of 1941, the M1 Garand semi automatic rifle was the official battle rifle of the US Military.  However there was a major problem, the Garand was still a fairly new rifle and American industry was not prepared for wartime production of the it.  As a stopgap until the Garand could be fully introduced to American troops, the government began re-arsenaling old World War I and post-wwi vintage M1903 Springfield rifles.  In addition, the government issued contracts for a new updated version of the M1903 called the M1903A3.The M1903A3 was designed specifically to make the M1903 design easier to produce and more economical.  Stamped parts were used whereas the older M1903 used milled parts.  A different cut stock was introduced with better hand comfort and a cheaper parkerized finish was applied to the barrel rather than bluing.  Another radical departure was the M1903A3 rear sight.  The original M1903 featured a flip up rear sight above the forward grip, while the M1903A3 featured an adjustable aperture sight located at the rear of the receiver, close to the shooter’s eye.  This new sight was similar to that of the M1 Garand, and was installed to help transition soldiers from the M1903A3 to the M1 Garand once it was available. Incredibly the M1903A3 featured a magazine cutoff lever, which when engaged cut off its 5 round magazine and converted the rifle into a single shot breechloader, a feature common with turn of the century bolt action rifles..  It’s guaranteed that no soldiers or Marines ever utilized this feature.  The M1903A3 was manufactured by Remington and Smith Corona Typewriter Co. It was issued to US soldiers and Marines in 1942, especially for the Battle of Guadalcanal and the American landings in North Africa.  By 1943 M1 Garand production was in full swing and the M1903A3 was mostly phased out, however a few units continued to use the rifle.  Many M1903A3’s were converted into the M1903A4, a sniper rifle variant of the Springfield, which would continue to be used throughout World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. -- source link

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