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I just purchased an 03a3 and it has the front sight hood on it. It's isn't however the large type used by the marines. I'm pretty sure the marines used a thicker blade too but I'm not sure how to tell the difference. Can anybody help me on this?
-thanks
If the blade is thin , same width as the slot it fits into , it's regular. The USMC blade is much thicker , 1/10 inch , IIRC. Also , with the rear leaf down , the USMC sight will be on at 200 yds , the regular one , 547 yds ( again IIRC).
Chris
thanks for the info. I was wondering if they used the 03a3 in the European conflict as well.
The 03A3 was used by troops in all theaters... for the Marines however, the M1903 was much more common, especially in the beginning of the war. The Marines on Guadalcanal relied on the M1903 as their main battle rifle, but after "acquiring" some of the army's M1 Garands, the Marines found themselves wanting to trade their tried 'n true M1903s for the semi-auto Garand which gave them fire superiority in the often close range combat scenarios of the jungle.
The 03A3 was sent mostly to the army- and it saw mixed service since many front line guys had the Garand. However, it did serve its time on the line to some extent as well as often in the rear int he hands of support troops.
The front sights you are referring to were used by the Marines (called the #10 sights- as they were a tenth of an inch thick, and had a rear slide with single, larger peep to match) in the interwar years, with the Marines reverting to standard front sight blade thickness by the time WW2 started. Many #10s were still on Marine rifles in WW2 combat however, as were many of the larger front sight covers.
Thank you. That is very helpful information.
no #10 sight was ever used on the 1903A3..
most 1903A3s were issued to support troops, truck drivers, guards ect..
for that matter, not many #10 sights were used on the 1903s. iv owned and looked at well over 100 known USMC 1903s and not one had the #10 sights installed.
that's interesting. I wouldn't have thought that the marines didn't use the 03a3.
both variations were used by all branches of service..
most A3 combat pictures are staged or of support troops with said rifle, many of the black troop pictures show them with a 1903A3.
iv seen many real combat pics during the Korea war, with the A3 in use, mostly as a support or Grenade rifle.
i would say, the majority of A3s were never issued to U.S. troops, rather that they were used for ROTC training and Lend Lease programs.
not uncommon to see a 1903A3 that was modfied for drill use, that was a new unissued rifle. and never saw drill use as well.