After studying the options, American ordnance engineers were put to work modifying the British rifle to accept the U.S. Finally, the Pattern 1914 could be modified to accept the.30-’06 Sprg., which would reduce supply issues, but would cause some delay in getting the modified rifle into production. But this would introduce a non-standard cartridge-one generally viewed as inferior to.30-’06 Sprg.-and add likely troublesome supply problems. The Ordnance Dept.Īlso looked at adopting the Pattern 1914 in the.303 British chambering, permitting the maximum number of rifles to be manufactured in the least amount of time. If the three plants converted from Pattern 1914 to M1903 production, troops would be issued the familiar ’03, but it would require an inordinate-and unacceptable-length of time to get a totally new rifle into production at three different factories. and Eddystone Rifle Plant, operated by Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co., an affiliate of Remington located in Eddystone, Pa.Īssistant Secretary of War Benedict Crowell later said that three large plants with trained workers and tooling intact at the right time to manufacture critically needed rifles was “well nigh providential.” While it was unquestionably fortunate to have these production facilities on hand, the Ordnance Dept. The manufacturers were:, New Haven, Conn. The workforces and production machinery used to manufacture the Pattern 1914 were still in place, thus the firms could almost immediately go into production for the U.S. The.303 British Pattern 1914 rifle was a slight modification of the “Enfield.276-inch Magazine Rifle,” also known as the “Pattern 1913,” which was a modified Mauser design chambered for an advanced.276-cal. Sometimes, timing is everything, and it was fortuitous that at the time the United States declared war, three American plants were completing production of large numbers of the “Pattern 1914” rifles under contract for Great Britain. Was left with looking at another rifle as the only viable alternative. Thus, almost by default, the Ordnance Dept.
The former was explored at length, but the lag time required to find suitable firms capable and willing to manufacture the ’03 rifle, negotiate contracts, procure the necessary materials and machinery, then train workforces would be too great to alleviate the potential crippling shortage of rifles within a reasonable period of time. Had two options for procuring additional rifles: Seek additional manufacturing sources for the Model 1903 or adopt a second service rifle to augment the ’03. It was apparent that the combined output of these two national arsenals could not meet demand, and large numbers of additional service rifles would soon be needed. Consulted with Springfield and Rock Island engineers for ways to reduce production time and cost for ’03 manufacture but, without a substantial redesign, changes would only be cosmetic. Production of the standardized Model 1903 rifle was ordered to be increased at both and Rock Island Arsenal. The government had approximately 600,000 Model 1903 Springfields on hand along with some 160,000 obsolescent Krags, numbers totally insufficient to meet the projected demand. When the United States entered the woefully misnamed “War to End All Wars” on April 6, 1917, the nation was immediately faced with a serious shortage of service rifles. (Reference C.S Ferris, United States Rifle Model of 1917 page 9.) Based on that, rifle #503xxx would likely have been made in the first quarter of 1917.
Quoting from your source: 'By the time production at the three plants ended in July 1917, Eddystone had produced 604,941 P-14s, Remington had produced 403,126 P-14s, and Winchester had produced 235,448 for a total of 1,243,515.' 'Production of the Pattern 1914 rifle ended at Eddystone with the delivery of their final rifle on June 1, 1917'.
KARL KNILLING CELLO SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBER
Based on the serial number on my rifle (on the way from a GB purchase, (503xxx)), it looks like it would have been made in mid to late 1917. Based on this, Eddystone produced 604,941 rifles between 19. The firing of the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s. Caliber P14 rifle developed and manufactured during the period 1917.
KARL KNILLING CELLO SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBERS
Karl Knilling Cello Serial Numbers on this page.
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