Why U.S. Govt Still Making 03/A3's in 1944?

[Hammer]

By 1944 with millions of M1 Garands and millions of M1 Carbines having been made and still in massive Wartime Production, why were Remington 03A3s still be produced so late in the War? Who were they intended to be issued to?

Here's my only 03/A3. Its a sweet firing warrior that kicks like a Mule every time I shoot it :-)

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Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[RCS]

easy answer, rear units like MP and truck drivers on the Red Ball Express plus alot of other others did not require the M1 rifle.

[Hammer]

Were 03A3's cheaper to make? Was it because it would have cost the Govt more to build new Machinery for making more Garands than using the already older existing machinery from making 03's???

[Fushigi Ojisan]

easy answer, rear units like MP and truck drivers on the Red Ball Express plus alot of other others did not require the M1 rifle.

This. My father was a mechanic/truck driver and said they put one in each truck.

[BEAR]

They were made late in the war so the could be loaned to Greece and then cause massive confusion in the collector community when they were returned and sold by the CMP.

BEAR

[mmppres]

Because the manufacturers already were tooled up from WW1 to make that action. It was very easy to put it right back into production. Made sense to the government to keep producing them as a war material.

[Hammer]

Because the manufacturers already were tooled up from WW1 to make that action. It was very easy to put it right back into production. Made sense to the government to keep producing them as a war material.

Does anyone know how many 03A3s were made during World War II?

[Rick the Librarian]

Does anyone know how many 03A3s were made during World War II?

About 707,000 Remingtons, 234,000 Smith-Coronas and about 28,000 M1903A4 sniper rifles. (Plus another @ 348,000 Remington M1903s).

---------- Post added at 05:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:16 AM ----------

I sincerely appreciate everybody’s information and education. This all may be long known news for y’all, but it’s all new to me and it’s fascinating information for me.

I purchased this Remington in 1990 from an Army officer who said he had bought it years earlier from a national guard armory sales to military members transfer type program if I remember correctly.

So it looks like the receiver was made in late 42 or early 43 and then it got one of the replacement barrels that was made in August 1944. Of course now I wonder why they had to replace the barrel? Either it was used stateside for training and its original Barrel just got worn out from firing so many rounds at training ranges, or it was damaged or worn out from use overseas in wartime use. I think it was probably the former, but will never know.

If you can give us at least the first few digits of the serial number, we can get the date of manufacture significantly closer than that.

[Hammer]

About 707,000 Remingtons, 234,000 Smith-Coronas and about 28,000 M1903A4 sniper rifles. (Plus another @ 348,000 Remington M1903s).

---------- Post added at 05:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:16 AM ----------



If you can give us at least the first few digits of the serial number, we can get the date of manufacture significantly closer than that.

It’s shown in one of the pictures in the beginning of the post.
3781886

[1903Collector]

Incorrect. The Springfield Armory had already repurposed or scrapped all tooling. Springfield did not resume production because all available capacity was dedicated to M1 Garand ramp-up and production. Rock Island tooling and some qty of finished and WIP goods were taken out of government storage and transferred to Remington Arms. This was done to take advantage of the much shorter time-to-production made essential by the downward spiraling turn of global events that made US involvement in what would become he second World War imminent! Smith Corona was contracted to tool up with the help of RA.

One factor many dont think about is that RA and SC were private sector companies and their production and cancellation thereof was based upon contract terms. The government procurement office (GAO) and the War Production Board (WPB) had to balance order cancellation to the effect on businesses and employment. Lastly the production cost and lead time to manufacture M1903A3s was less than that for the Garand.

By 1944 there were indeed hundreds of thousands if not millions of M1 Carbines and M1 Garands produced (despite the incorrect posted herein that referenced production of less than 200000 (my guess it referred to Carbines, and by 1944 that number could ONLY apply to just one of the 9 volume Carbine manufacturers), yet existing production capacity of Garands (intended as front line battle rifles) and Carbines (initially intended only as a replacement of the 1911 and Thompson M1 for rear area use) was still not enough to meet demand for both new issue and replacement of arms lost, captured, or destroyed in the theatres of war. Lastly, in 1944 the war in Europe was still far from over and the inevitable invasion of Japan was looming. The number of Garands and Carbines envisioned to be needed was still daunting. Domestic, rear area, occupation, and POW rifle demand were served well by the 1903 while demand as the Garand and Carbine were prioritized for battle troops.