The 1903A3 Smith Corona (SC)

[sakorick]

History and background: In 1942 WWII is in full swing and the war department needed more rifles. While Remington was struggling with increasing its production rate, the Ordnance Deptartment sought other manufacturing sources for new ’03 production. To this end, in January 1942 the Ordnance Dept. began negotiations with High Standard Mfg. Co. of New Haven, Conn., for the production of 100,000 ’03 rifles. High Standard was interested in the contract, but it was already operating at near peak capacity with existing contracts and would be unable to serve as prime contractor on the new project. The company offered to accept the contract if it would be permitted to manufacture only the barrels and subcontract the rest of the production, including assembly of the rifles, to the L.C. Smith & Corona Typewriter Co. of Syracuse, N.Y. The Ordnance Dept. was reluctant to agree to such a proposal and, logically, took the position that Smith-Corona should be named prime contractor with High Standard serving as the subcontractor for barrel production.

The 1903A3 had some major changes compared th the 03. The changes included a very outstanding rear peep sight which replaced the 03's rear sight. All the parts were stamped and the stocks did not get the beautiful fit and finish of the early 03's.......hey we're at war here! Other unique differences with the SC were a different butt plate pattern, a 4 groove barrel, X marked bolts with very little additional metal markings, and a stock cartouche diamond with a number in it signifying a SC stock. Most 03A3's went back through the Rock Island Arsenal after the war. These overhauls included a boxed RIA cartouche with FK..... Frank Krack being the chief inspector at Rock Island after the war.

My 03A3 is SN4797460 and was made in October, 1943. A total of 234,000 03A3's were produced by Smith Corona. Collection concerns include some tough problems. Since most if not all of these went through arsenal overhaul, it is important to find a SC with SC parts. Unfortunately, many of these fine rifles are littered with R(Remington) marked parts......yuck! Worse, is that the Army had become obsessed with parkerized rifles. From what I've learned, the only parts on a SC that were parked were the action, barrel, floorplate/triggerguard and rear sight. The bolt, barrel bands, butt plate etc were all blued at the factory.

Even with Remington and parkerized parts, the 1903A3 is a joy to shoot and incredibly accurate....many, including me, attribute this to the High Standard 4 groove barrels.....which were all marked SC by the way. One variant to look for is the ultra rare 6 groove barrel. These were used on the first 5,000 rifles made as HS had this number on hand. Many collectors refer to the 03A3 as America's Kriegsmodell......don't believe it! Even with the shortcuts in production, the 03A3 is one fine piece of workmanship. Regards, Rick.SIZE]

[Fieldmor77]

Very intersesting write up Rick, and a fine looking example of the model, i never knew they made so many 03's that far into the war, i thought the M1 Garand was the main battle weapon, quite a few troops must have been issued with these 03's as the standard weapon.
 
I remember talking to dad about the Yanks stationed here during the war, [some one million American soldiers passed through Brisbane], and he remembers that all of the soldiers who arrived first [1942], had bolt action weapons, we had an argument about it, me saying they would have been Garands, and Dad insisting they were Springfield bolt actions.

[sakorick]

Hello Fieldmor77. Your dad was 100% correct. Early in the war we didn't have enough Garands to go to war with Bolivia let alone the Axis power! The 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal was equipped with 03's for the first year of the war. I read stories of 03's still being used by main battle units into Iwo Jima. Most of the new Garands went to the ETO. All US Army support units like MP's were issued 03's throughout the war. Additionally, the 03A4 was the primary sniper rifle for the entire war. Gitano has a beautiful A4 that his dad got while they were stationed at Red River Army Depot.....I hope he posts it as it is sensational. The A4 was also used in the Korean War and some units in Vietnam still had them......the Garand being hard to scope up. I waited too long to afford an A4....once Saving Pvt Ryan came out the prices skied.

Take nothing away from the Garand.....Patton called it the most efficient battle weapon ever designed. I'll be posting an example soon and then move on to Enfields, Type99's, Mosins, Mausers etc.

PS. You won't see a Carbine from me....I consider them a rather feeble pistol with a stock.  Regards, Rick.

[Alboy]

And I think about the one Dad bought from K-Mart in the late 50's for $10 so we could go hunting with my uncles and he did not have a rifle. I do not know what happened to it but I am sure it was an 03A3 of some sort because I remember that paddle safety on the left side.

[sakorick]

Hello Alboy.....you remembered the on/off switch not the safety as the safety was essentially the same as a Mauser. The on/off switch on the L side replaced the bolt stop/ejector box on the Mauser. Funny that change and the firing pin were the changes that the US fought the Germans in court over the patent infringement.:smiley: Of course the US lost and had to pay Mauser somewhere in the area of 100K in the settlement. The 03 is a Mauser.....not a purebred, but nonetheless a Mauser. Regards, Rick.

[sakorick]

I have learned a ton of info on these rifles and the other day, I decided to take her apart for a detailed inspection. As you may recall my 03A3 passed through Rock Island for a physical and general overhaul after WWII. Much to my chagrin I found a number of dreaded Remington parts on my Smith Corona!!!! The follower, spring, front band, trigger and sear were all marked with the letter R. Luckily, I have a contact who can supply me with x marked/unmarked pieces to put this rifle back to the way it was made. It's actually more a nuisance that a big deal as folks are always looking for Remington parts as I am looking for SC parts. I'll be glad to put this to bed! Regards, Rick.

[JaDub]

I just bought , at auction , a `sporterized` 03A3. It`s a very nice , clean piece. I hesitate to call it sporterizd because some folks just have to say unnecessarily unkind things. I`m a newby so be gentle to me. Serial Number is Z4001364. It has a 22" barrel nicely fit into a modern one-piece stock.........similar to a new 700 or so. A 3X9 power Nikon scope is fitted. There is a very faint B on the breech end of the barrel as well as an R on the action to the rear of the bolt slot. The bolt / inner action has been chromed or brightly refinished as well . Can you give me an approximate manuf. date etc. or other bits of information that might be of interest?
 
Cheers, Jeff

[sakorick]

1943-1945. Sounds like a Remington.....barrel whacked and sporterized belongs in the guns and ammo thread where you will not be baggered. :MOGRIN:Regards, Rick.

[JaDub]

I found the date stamp on the fore end of the  barrel...........3-1943, so  I don`t think the barrel has been cut.   All markings are indeed Remington..........  the more I look the more I find.  I think I`m in the market for an original stock.   8-)  Thanks for the unadulterated baggering!!