Now, let us take a stroll through time.
The rifle is a gun from the time of the Old West.
The gun is chambered in the large .45-70 cartridge.
The name Springfield Armory has a long-standing association with the arms of the U.S. military. During the past 100 years, there has been an amazing evolution of rifles that the author examines here.
The .30-40 Krag
Fast forward just a bit to 1898.
It is still the cowboy years, but the Wild West is on its way out.
Our next gun to consider came from this time and is called commonly the Krag.
Springfield rifles have influenced the outcome of battles from San Juan Hill to the Battle of the Bulge. The Krag shown above saw combat during theSpanish-American War.
TheSpringfield Model 1892-99was a design by Norwegian designerKrag-Jorgenson.
The particular model of the rifle we had on hand was a Model 1898 rifle.
The .30-40 Krag round has noticeably more recoil than the previous .45-70 cartridge.
The Springfield Model 1884 is a variant of the famous “Trapdoor” rifle. The gun is chambered in the large.45-70 round.
It also has a design with a tapered casing like more modern rifle ammunition.
The Krag rifle did have a solution to this problem with its unique side-loading mechanism.
The rifles internal rotary magazine could hold five rounds and allow one in the chamber.
The “Trapdoor” part of the name it’s now known as comes from its hinged breechblock that operates like a trapdoor.
It also fired a more capable round.
These issues with the Krag lead us to the year 1903.
M1903
The year is 1903.
On the battlefields of the Spanish American War, it was discovered that the Krag rifle was slower to reload than the Spanish Mausers carried by the opposition.
The Great War would last from 1914 to 1918.
During that period, more than 30 nations would declare war, eventually including the United States.
The standard-issue service rifle for America that would be the faithful companion of some soldiers was theM1903.
Here you can see the Krag rifle marked with “Model 1898 Springfield Armory.”
The rifle was officially adopted by the United States as the standard infantry rifle on June 19, 1903.
Another big advantage over the Krag was that the M1903 waschambered in .30-06.
But, all good things come to an end.
The Krag’s internal rotary magazine can hold five rounds and uses a side-loading gate mechanism.
So did the 1903s time as the standard rifle; but even better things were on the horizon.
The next rifle we are going to discuss would become one of the most famous rifles in American history.
In three short years, World War II would begin.
The M1903 was a bolt-action American-made rifle with an internal magazine and chamberedin .30-06.
In 1936, the design now known as theM1 Garandwas adopted by the United States Military.
This was the first autoloading rifle ever to be adopted by the United States.
This influential rifle was designed by Canadian-American designerJohn C. Garand, and the rifle was manufactured by Springfield Armory.
Nearly 40 years after its introduction, U.S. Marines carried the M1903 family of bolt-action rifles into combat in remote corners of the world like Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
After World War I, John C. Garand set out to create a semi-automatic self-loading, gas-operated service rifle.
This new rifle had to be able to replace the Springfield 1903 rifle.
It had to be dependable, reliable, and have quality performance in the worst environmental conditions.
After World War I, John C. Garand created a semi-automatic self-loading, gas-operated service rifle. That famous rifle was the M1 Garand.
As mentioned it was, of course, a semi-automatic rifle.
It loaded with an en-bloc clip that was fed into the guns internal magazine.
All of this could be done by a soldier in a few mere seconds.
The M1 Garand rifle shot faster, loaded, unloaded and reloaded faster than bolt-action rifles carried by many militaries at the time.
He said The M1 wasthe greatest battle implement ever devised.
The conflict in Vietnam is underway.
The M14 was clearly influenced by the M1 Garand with the same form factor and many similar parts.
The M1 Garand proved to be easy to operate and was reliable in the worst environmental conditions. It won the admiration of both friends and foes.
But the new M14 rifle had things the new age demanded.
For example, it had a 20-round detachable box magazine that could quickly get the gun into action.
The M14 was also a selective-fire rifle.
Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team members, armed with M14 rifles, assume a defensive position after assaulting the beach during an amphibious demonstration in 1988. Photo: PH2 Jeffrey Loshaw, USN
The rifle is also available in civilian, semi-auto form as theSpringfield Armory M1A.
Their extensive use of aluminum and plastics also makes them very light, yet very hardy.
Conclusion
A lot of things have changed over the last century and beyond.
The M14 also played a role in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993. A Springfield Armory M1A rifle is shown here configured to look like one used in that battle.
It will be interesting to see what the next century holds.
What kind of optic, cartridge, and firearms advancements there will be.
Will the things we see as science fiction today be a reality within the next 100 years?
The Springfield Armory SAINT is an exemplary example of the modern AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle inspired by the U.S. military M16.
Only time will tell.
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