The purpose of the 1903A3

[shooter88]

Hello all. The 1903A3 was meant to be an upgrade from the 1903, however as I understand it, the 03A3 was developed after the Garand had been adopted and was in wide use by all the services. So why the need to upgrade an obsolete rifle? What role did the A3's fill in WWII? Were they mainly used in training environments, or given to guard/rear area troops?

BTW, my Smith Corona A3 is one of my best shooting rifles and one of my favorites. Now I just need to get a Remington.

Information

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[browningautorifle]

They were issued as a substitute standard rifle. The front line men had a certain demand for issue and they got that, followed by second line troops that were issued things like 1903A3, S&W revolvers...pilots for instance.

[Sunray]

Hi. The '03A3 was a redesign by Remington to simplify production. Not really an 'upgrade'. Well, except for the sights.
Springfields were used by troopies not sent overseas. Like NG guys guarding dams, canals and such. Also used on Stateside Navy installations. And, of course, the USMC, who didn't adopt the M1 Rifle until the fall of 1942. Just after the '03A3 was approved and adopted.
"...need to get a Remington..." Auction sites. Expect 4 figures.

[lgr1613]

I understand a number of 03A3's made it to both the European and Pacific Theaters. Not even close to the numbers of M1's of course. I was watching a program on US Navy WW 2 operations in the Pacific and the arms locker aboard the ship was shown - clearly 03A3's from the bayonet lug band and the stamped stacking swivels. Also, Bruce Canfield in his book "An Illustrated Guide to the '03 Springfield Service Rifle" discusses the overseas use of the 03A3 on page 133. He includes photos of the rifle in possession of infantry troops in Burma in 1945 (03A3 and 03A4) and being carried by a 101st Airborne troop aboard a glider.

I got my Remington 03A3 just a few years ago for $600. Still in cosmoline from post WW2 storage.

LGR

[Mk VII]

The project to get the Springfield back in production had its origin in British interest in acquiring new sources of rifles, coupled with the knowledge that the tooling originally installed at Rock Island was in store and could be refurbished for the purpose. The prospect of making .303 Springfields for Britain seemed real at one time but eventually the delay this would entail reconciled them to accepting .30 ones while a new line at Savage-Stevens was created to make British Lee-Enfields.

[Eaglelord17]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the M1903A3 also have a service life on the front lines in WWII as the grenade launching rifle?

[Aragorn243]

There's always a shortage of rifles when you go to war. The Garand was in production but not fast enough to keep up with the mobilization of the military. Existing stocks of 1903's were issued in the meantime and since the Springfield production lines were still available, they just fired them up with a few changes to make the process faster. The Marines had 1903's for the most part with production of the a3's just a little late for them as Garand production had caught up. However, all those truck drivers on the Red Ball Express and the other "rear" echelon troops needed something to defend themselves with so the a3's were issued to those fellows. They supposedly cannot be used in military service rifle competitions because they were never a "service" rifle, they were substitute standard rifles. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me but this was recently explained to me on another forum. They did see combat but on a limited basis. They did however free up many Garands from troops that didn't really need one to give to those that did.

[shooter88]

Thanks for the replies guys. Glad I posted this question. I learned a few new things.

[browningautorifle]

but didn't the M1903A3 also have a service life on the front lines in WWII as the grenade launching rifle

Yes, Springfields were used for grenade launching...beside M1 rifles.