Unertl Sniper

[cplstevennorton]

Bob thank you so much for the kind words. I am always truly honored and humbled to have the opportunity to work with you.

---------- Post added at 01:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 PM ----------

I am looking forward to see if any thing is found on the use of non-national match Springfield rifles that were set up with the Unertl scope . Back in the 1960's I spoke to a retired Marine Corps armorer who worked in the Philadelphia Navy yard where they built the snipers. He said that they ran out of National Match 1903 Springfields and ended up using low number rifles . The order was given to install new barrels and proof them with a 70,000 lb. proof round and fire 10 standard rounds . Than use a 5 pound brass maul to beat the receiver ring fire a second 70.000 proof round and 10 standard rounds ,If the showed no damage it was good to go !!!

My initial thinking is, he's not lying. I have no doubt he is telling the truth. I just don't think he is talking about the Unertl. I think he is talking about something very few people know about. I think he is talking about the Winchester A5 rifles build in the WWII era. Which even the Quartermaster of the Marines Corps declared during the war there was a huge problem as both sniper platforms are constantly confused with each other.

What most people don't know is the Marines did assemble Winchester A5 snipers in 1941, and there is a possibility they even assembled them into 1943. They for sure assembled 80 of these by 1942.

The documents stat that these were standard issue rifles and not team rifles, like the Unertls. The Marines at this time had a good number of A5 drilled receivers in storage at Philly Depot. These would have been low number receivers whose barrel had become unserviceable after WWI, the barrel pulled, and the bare receiver put into storage. I have counts on these and they had I want to say over 500 of them, without going back and looking at the document. So reading your comment, I almost think he might have been talking about building those A5's. Which from your descrption could be dead on accurate.

They very well could have pulled those low number receivers out of storage, that were already drilled, screwed on a new barrel, drilled the barrel, and fitted it to a stock. And the Marines did proof low numbers in a very similar way to what you are describing.

Forty A5's were used by the 1st and 2nd Marine Division as training rifles at the start of WWII, and around 20 were used in combat on Guadalcanal. The Marine Raiders also received 40 A5 rifles about the same time.

The A5's also were used in Sniper training in the US in 1943 and it's quite possible that the ones used were made around that time in late 1942 or early 1943. But I can't prove that. But there is a mention that makes me believe they made more A5's around that time. Even though there is no mention of where those A5 rifles came from, it does look like around 20 were at each school and there were 2 schools.

I think he is 100% telling the truth. I just think he was talking about the older A5 snipers. Which as he describes were low numbers and just standard rifles, and not team rifles like the Unertl.