When in 1992 I learned that my future father-in-law, Thomas Shoen, Jr., had been a paratrooper in World War II I had to add an M1A1 carbine, jump boots, and a M1942 jump suit to my collection.  In conversations with fellow collectors I have found that many of us collect the firearms and accoutrements that we do because our dad, grandfathers, or uncles carried them in World War II or Korea.  With that motivation it quickly becomes a personal quest to collect these artifacts as a way to honor their sacrifices for our freedom and in their memory. – Scott Duff Thomas Shoen, Jr. was drafted into the Army in…

As a serious collector of all U.S. martial arms, I have long awaited publication of a collector-oriented book on the United States Rifle, Model of 1917.  Even though the Model 1917 was the predominant rifle of U.S. troops in the “war to end all wars,” it has been largely ignored by collectors.  In my opinion, one of the reasons for this neglect is that until now there has not been a book that specifically addresses the type of information that we collectors seek.  In order for collector-interest to advance for a particular model of firearm, detailed collector-oriented information must be generally available.  Regardless of the model of arm and its…

Everyone knows about the famous Springfield ’03.  From collectors to service rifle shooters to every 1950s deer camp uncle with a sporterised rifle.  But do you know all ‘03s are not Springfields?  The M1903 rifle was the primary U.S military rifle from 1903 through 1936 and remained in use in the early days of World War II.

When the U.S. entered the war, it had a similar need for rifles. The Springfield Armory had delivered approximately 843,000 M1903 Springfield rifles, but due to the difficulties in production, rather than re-tool the Pattern 14 factories to produce the standard U.S. rifle, the M1903 Springfield, it was realized that it would be much quicker to adapt the British design. Although it might have been faster to retain chambering for the .303 British military cartridge, the design was modified for the U.S. .30-06 Springfield cartridge to simplify ammunition logistics.   Acknowledgements v Foreword vii Introduction ix   Chapter Page 1 Origin 1 2 Manufacture: Interchangeability vs. Production 7 3 World War One 31…

It would be bemusing to find an arms collector or firearm enthusiast who was not familiar with the U.S. Rifle, Caliber, .30, Model of 1903. Developed by the Springfield Armory and adopted in 1903, the rifle is so closely associated with that venerable National Armory in Massachusetts that when someone refers to a “Springfield rifle,” it is almost axiomatic that they are referencing the M1903. It is sometimes forgotten, however, that another U.S. government ordnance facility also manufactured M1903 rifles from the time of the rifle’s adoption in 1903 until just after World War I. Foreword v Preface vii   Chapter Page 1 Rock Island Arsenal 1 2 First Production…

“Some movies, like “Band of Brothers” are very accurate, others are not. The general history books of these wars rarely contain the in-depth details of infantry weapons that would be of interest to collectors. The stories about US infantry weapons contained in this book are the real hands-on experiences of the men who actually used them for their intended purposes. Once I began reading these interviews, I could not put the manuscript down.” – Scott A. Duff Table of Contents v          Illustrations vii        Foreward ix         Preface xiii        Acknowledgements 1           Darrell “Shifty” Powers • World War II – ETO • Army, 101st Airborne Division 12        Bill Trexler •…

This blog post is the last of three about my favorite World War I U.S small arms.  When America entered World War I in April 1917 it was ill prepared in arms and equipment with which to fight in a world war.  As it took many months for US troops to train and travel to Europe and to enter combat, weapons manufactured in 1918 have been the focus of my collecting. Surprising to some, the M1903 rifle was not the predominant rifle carried by U.S. troops in World War I.  That rifle actually was the United States Rifle Model of 1917, often erroneously referred to as the M1917 Enfield or…