My wife and I watched White Christmas last night and I noticed in the opening scenes where Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are performing for the troops sitting there that one of them seems to be fidgeting with the bolt on an M1903 rifle. It was supposed to be 1944, wouldn't they all have been issued the M1 Garand by that time?

Nope, the 1903 was issued thru WWII. To a lot of units because they hadn’t built up stores of the M1Garand yet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1903_Springfield

I doubt the the producers of White Christmas were very concerned with being accurate with the military props that were used being such a small part of the movie. That being said one of the if not THE best Christmas movie. I have yet to watch it this year.

i could also see a scenarios where non front-line units retained the 1903s to free up M1 supplies for combat forces

things like Corps support, convoy duty, depot guard duty, training units etc

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If I’m not mistaken, the M1903 Springfield was also the primary weapon for designated sniper personnel.

M1903 rifles continued to be issued throughout the war, in both theaters.

M1903 and M1903A3 rifles were more common among second line troops (MPs, signals, logistics, etc.), with frontline troops having priority for M1 Garands.

However, even when there were sufficient M1 Garands available, each infantry squad typically retained one M1903 or M1903A3 rifles dedicated to rifle grenade use. This was usually issued to the assistant squad leader.

Snipers were issued the M1903A4 sniper rifle through the end of the war.

Plus, some "old salts" chose to retain (or reacquire) M1903 or M1903A3 rifles even when they had M1 Garands available, preferring the accuracy and reliability of the familiar older bolt rifle.


Here's a M1903 with M1 grenade launcher attached, in use with a Ranger in Italy:


And here's a paratrooper during Market Garden who jumped in with a M1903A3 with attached grenade launcher:


Here's a M1903A4 sniper rifle, with some of the guys directly behind him having M1903s, among several others with M1 Garands:


Here's an MP in Germany with a M1903A3:


Here's a Marine on Bougainville with a M1903A3, checking out a Japanese bunker:


And in this famous photo from D-Day, the guy on the far left has a M1903A3, with everyone else having M1 Carbines:

^^^^^^ PFFFT! So other than THOSE examples, what else is there to prove the 1903 was in use huh?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Plus, some "old salts" chose to retain (or reacquire) M1903 or M1903A3 rifles even when they had M1 Garands available, preferring the accuracy and reliability of the familiar older bolt rifle.

That described my father who was an avid hunter before and after the war and who had been issued the Springfield when he enlisted several years before Pearl Harbor. That was one of the things he specifically mentioned to me about his wartime service.

My father (RIP) was a combat engineer and I recall he said he carried a carbine on D Day and all the way through to Berlin. He had an arrowhead and 4 battle stars on his campaign ribbon. His unit, 149th Combat Engineers, was at or near the front for most of the war. He said he was glad to not carry one of those heavy SOB's (1903 or Garrand battle rifle) for all the miles they walked.

My late FIL related to me that when he went ashore at Omaha Beach on one the first waves because his landing craft skipper got confused and joined the wrong group in the confusion. His unit was not scheduled till the 8th wave, and he would not join back with them for over a week. He was a Squad Leader and armed with an M1 Carbine. He said the first thing he did was throw it in the ocean and pick up an M1. Later as they made their way across France, he said he used an O3 in the field but always traded it for an M1 when fighting in the villages and towns for its greater firepower. He liked the feeling of the 03 better plus he was the unit's unofficial sniper. He said they took the aiming scope out of a shot-up tank and attached it to another 03 which he used for longer shots. He hated the M1 Carbine as it was too under powered for front line duty.