Patton, an 03A3, and a Silver Star

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...Patton_3-1.jpg


From the Silver Star citation of Pvt. Ernest A. Jenkins, Quartermaster Corps:

Entering Chateaudun, France, August 16-17, before the town was liberated, Pvt. Jenkins and the officer he was driving, Maj. Charles W. Ketterman, located and knocked out an enemy gun position by killing three and wounding other members of the enemy crew. After silencing the gun, Pvt. Jenkins assisted Maj. Ketterman in the capture of 15 German soldiers found in a cave. Pvt. Jenkins was credited with assisting notably in the capture of the city.

Looks like at least one 03A3 saw combat use.

I looked it up. Quite an interesting encounter. Those two had a hell of an 8 hours.

WWII Quartermasters Liberate French Town

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by firstflabn

Looks like at least one 03A3 saw combat use.

---

And it doesn't have a sight cover, either! :D

Thanks for the link, Jim. :cheers:

That is interesting. I would have thought Quartermaster personnel would have been armed with M1 Carbines.

Some didn't take any chances.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...rgeLarge-1.jpg

He is well prepared for short or long range work! Smart man, nothing like having a second gun. Rick H.

Now those are a couple of cool picture.....Frank

Which revolver is that in the first picture? And do I see it right that the M1 is lacking the bayonet lug?

Cool to see a refurbished rifle in service. Notice the straight handle bolt and early stock with carvings (is it single bolt too? Not sure on that) but a late barrel (rounded sight base with late knobs).

Alot of people think the 1903a3 was not used in combat. Hello it was used and when the rear got over ran they were used by the rifle men in the rear. In the battle of the bulge my dad seen troops using 1903a3,s in combat. The Garand was the main rifle,but the 1903,s seen some combat to.

as i said before , most A3,s were issued to the black troops, good friend of mine drove a 6x6 , was issued a Remington A3, and no side arm. most of the combat or action pics so to speak with the A3 are with black troops.

General Patton wore two revolvers. A Colt Single Action Army in .45 LC and a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum double action on the other hip. They were his personal sidearms.

Not sure exactly when bayonet lugs o the carbine were introduced but it was later in the war. The carbine guys will know.

I don't think it's hypertechnical to correct some misconceptions about specialties and small arms. The Rifleman (SSN745) only appeared in the rifle company - nowhere else. That's around 12% of a 1944 infantry division and a bit under 2% of the entire army at its 1945 manpower peak (if including USAAF personnel). Unlike when we were ten year old boys playing in the back yard, the rifleman was a small part of the real army in WWII. They receive and deserve our attention because of the almost unbelieveable casualties they took in proportion to their numbers and our fascination with the question of how they summoned the courage to do what they did.

The reason blacks are often seen in WWII photos carrying the '03 is twofold: racial discrimination and low education levels. This combination led to blacks being overrepresented in the support units like QM and greatly underrepresented in the technical units like signal and air. Nothing close to complete data is available on service units, but it comes as no surprise to see lots of 03s in their photos.

I believe the bayonet lug on the carbine was devised in late 1944 and went into production in early/mid-1945.

Rick is correct - Inland and Winchester began using the 'Type III' barrel bands with bayo lugs along with 'Type III' adjustable rear sights late before all M1 carbine production ceased in 1945, but few are known to have seen service before WWII ended.

By far, the majority of both were installed in the massive post war rebuild programs.

Looks like a single action Colt. Yes, the carbine has no bayonet lug.