#springfield 1903

Franklin Roosevelt with a Springfield 1903

Seen above is the 35 year old, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt firing and handling a Springfield M1903 at the Marine Corps' rifle range at Winthrop, Maryland in 1917.   The photographs were taken during a range demonstration of some of the US Military's small arms currently in service for top brass and politicians.  The M1903, Colt-Browning M1895 machine gun and Lewis Gun were among the weapons demonstrated on the day.  Also visible in the firing line in the photographs above is a Hotchkiss M1909 Benet–Mercie machine gun, a light machine gun adopted by the US military in 1909.  Roosevelt became an Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1913 and held the office until 1920. A year later he was struck down by Polio which paralysed him below the waist.

General Barnett testing a Colt-Browning M1895, with a Lewis Gun in the foreground and a Hotchkiss M1909 in the background

The Department of the Navy was and still is responsible for the US Navy and the US Marine Corps, as such Roosevelt would have been responsible for the training and equipping of both services making an understanding of their weapons essential. Roosevelt would have probably relished occasions like this as it is said that even with his position of importance at the Navy Department he was eager to join the military and see the fighting in Europe.

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Cutaway of the Day: Springfield M1903

Above is a cutaway diagram of the Springfield M1903 showing its bolt, breech and trigger assembly.  The M1903 was America's last bolt-action standard issue service rifle.  Introduced in 1903 it used a Mauser style bolt and was adopted after US forces found their Krag-Jørgensen M1892 rifles lacking against Spanish Mausers during the Spanish American War.  It first saw action during the central American and Caribbean interventions known as the Banana Wars right through World War One and as a sniper rifle of choice for the US Army and Marines through World War Two and Korea and to an extend in Vietnam.  It was replaced by the M1 Garand in 1938 as the standard issue service rifle.

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