It also broke quite often.Īccuracy with the M1917 was top-notch, and with iron sights, an average shooter could produce three-inch groups at 100 yards. They were too far from the eye, and the front sight was thin and hard to see. However, the M1903 sights of World War 1 weren’t incredibly effective. The peep sight allowed the M1917 to be more accurate than the M1903 in the early days, but later models of M1903 incorporated them as well. That’s great on an open battlefield, but sucked for close-range fighting in the trenches. In that role, the sight allows a soldier to carefully aim and take a precise shot. It wore a peep sight that was suited for long-distance engagements. Accuracy In CombatĪmericans and Western European forces placed a good amount of value on accuracy in their rifles, and that’s apparent in the M1917. At close range, a faster firing rate is quite valuable (as was the 16.5-inch long sword bayonet). Enough so that the Enfield rifles gained a reputation for having a faster firing rate than the Springfield rifles. The bolt throw and movement on the M1917 Enfield were rapid and smooth. It may sound slow by today’s standards, but it was pretty quick in its day. Soldiers aligned the stripper clip with the integral magazine of the weapon and pressed downward, loading the magazine rapidly and allowing the soldier to jump right back into the fight. Stripper clips allow for rapid reloads via simple disposable clips that hold five rounds by their rim.
30-06 and could be loaded via individual rounds or through stripper clips. They weighed nearly 10 pounds, featured 26-inch barrels, and an overall length of 46.3 inches. While many of us may think of bolt action rifles as light hunting rifles, these guns were from that. The Enfield M1917 would quickly deploy with American Expeditionary Forces and fight in the fiercest battles of World War One. Thus the M1917 Enfield was born.Īmerican forces eliminated the volley sights and added a 16.5-inch bayonet to the end. Luckily since the original rifle was itself designed for a powerful new British round, it accommodated the American 30-06 just as easily. Service cartridge and were modified as such to accommodate the round. They would be chambered, however, in the American 30-06 U.S. It would be much faster to produce Enfields for America than to retool the factories for Springfield rifles. Let’s just make P14s for American forces. So, they looked at the factories building Enfield rifles and planned to retool them to make America’s Springfields instead. Specifically, not enough Springfield M1903 rifles. There weren’t enough rifles to go around. This helped the British forces greatly, but by the time America got involved in the war, they had the exact same problems the Brits had. They couldn’t build their P14 rifles quick enough to meet their needs, so they contracted with American weapon manufacturers to produce more.Īmerican factories were spitting out P14 rifles left and right, chambered in the old. The Brits had recently changed rifles and calibers, and when World War 1 came around, they were in need of rifles… but they clung to an old caliber to simplify logistics. However, we often help our allies in some big ways once we show up. You see, Americans are typically a little late to World Wars. Well, my dear reader, it’s simple logistics. If the Springfield 1903 was the American service rifle of the time, then you might be asking: why did the M1917 Enfield arm the whopping majority of American troops? However, if you watch the Gary Cooper rendition, he wields a Springfield M1903. This includes Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York who silenced machine gun after machine gun with his M1917 and M1911 pistol. Yet, 75% of American troops carried the Enfield M1917, and only the paltry remainder actually carried the Springfield rifle. The Springfield name is absolutely legendary, and at the time, the Springfield 1903 was the official service rifle of the United States. The Springfield 1903 certainly served overseas, and if you asked video games and movies, then you’d be led to believe it was the only American service rifle fighting that war.
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