Looking for information on a Remington 1903 transition rifle with a 4/42 barrel that has British proof stamps on side of barrel and receiver. Never seen this before.
Printable View
Looking for information on a Remington 1903 transition rifle with a 4/42 barrel that has British proof stamps on side of barrel and receiver. Never seen this before.
Under the Lend-Lease program 64,000 1903/03-A3 rifles were shipped to England. Those that were released for sale after WWII had to be proofed before they could be sold. Most of these were released for sale beginning in 1952.
Thanks. I thought it might make an interesting addition to my collection.
I would like to hear more details on this rifle, if possible. Pictures?
A large number of these rifles were sold in the early 1960s by Kleins, Interarmco (Ye Old Hunter) and others.
Have not purchased it. I might give it a run. Not knowing much about them, I thought it might be a little more unusual and a nice WWII addition to US/British collection.
There are exceptions to the rule, but most of the British proof-marked Remington M1903s are completely original.
Please note: of the 64,000 Remington rifles sent to England during WW2, only half of them got there during the early days of the war because of U-Boat attacks on the ship convoys......Mike
Mike, I hope this doesn't come out the wrong way, but where did you read that? I have heard that suggested (and it may well be true) but never heard any hard data.
I am interested in these markings...can you post a photo? I think I may have one of these rifles as there are some strange markings on the right of the sight band which include a broad arrow as well as the letters PBS and numerals 1 and 4Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick the Librarian
Underneath the barrel at the muzzle is a p with crossed swords and "30/06 2.49 18 tons"
Seems to be a June/July Remington 03 with a 6-42 barrel
Any idea on the markings?
Thanks for yOur help
The caliber and proof pressure marking indicate it was proofed after 1954. What letters are at the 3:00 and 9:00 position on the crossed swords?
Anyone receive documentation on half the Remingtons being lost at sea?
As they were shipped at the height of the submarine war in the N. Atlantic, I have no doubts that at least some were lost. But I never heard about "half" being lost. Again, I'd be interested in any hard data.
Thanks for the info.Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Peppers
Coincidentally I purchased this rifle only yesterday and it will take a few weeks or more before I get my hands on it.
Any ideas about the markings on the side of the rear sight band?
Thanks again
Craig Eberhard
What is the correct stock for a 6/42 Remington 1903?
Probably an unboxed "spread" RLB stock. R L B
Just guessing without photos, but with the British broad-arrow property mark, they could be the British military inspection marks. Normally it indicates the facility that did the inspection, and identifies the individual inspector that did the inspection.Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Eberhardt
Fairly easy to track down lists of ships sunk by U boats. Finding and then searching the ship's cargo manifests would be a more daunting task. Info might be on line but i haven't found it yet. :) One would think that Ordnance would have tracked losses during the war so that critical items might be replaced?
Regards,
Jim
While it would certainly appear that small arms would be a critical item early in the war, in reality most of the small arms sent to England remained in almost if not unissued condition. The Model 1911A1 pistol was still being shipped to England in 1945 with the end of the war was in sight.
I think so Rick.....but it's close. As I recall, FJA started appearing around SN100,000. This rifle would also have 6 inspector's marks and a circle P. Remington used at least 3 OC cannon cartouches and this one could have either of the first two versions. If we can find out the letters between the crossed sabers, I can tell the date it was proofed. Regards, Rick.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick the Librarian
Respectfully disagree - the FJA did not appear until about 3,200,000. I also don't think these rifles had six subinspection stamps. Four was the "usual" with more occasionally being added, I assume if something else on the individual rifle needed to re "re-inspected".