WW2 Firearms trivia question

08-09-2006, 06:48 AM,

M1917 the us enfield?

Greybeard · 08-09-2006, 11:49 AM,

Hello Red Devil,

Ahh - very good..

The P-17 was a license built version of the Enfield P14. The P14 was chambered in 303 while the P17 used the US 30-06. The P14 saw limited service with the UK as it held fewer rounds, and was a little slower in operation than the famed SMLE. The P17 was less complex than the Springfield, and thus cheaper to make, delivered the same rate of fire. For those of us that saw Gary Cooper as 'Sgt York', the movie was inaccurate in that Mr Cooper was shown using a 1903 Springfield Rifle, where Sgt York accomplished his feat using the Enfield P17.

OK- next question..

In the 1890's the US developed the first smokeless military cartridge, and a bolt-action rifle for standard issue to the US army. One particular event ultimately resulted in this rifle being replaced by a newer design after a very short service history. Can you identify the event, the rifle, and what replaced it in US army service?

Greybeard

Steel God · 08-09-2006, 12:35 PM,

Springfield version of the Krag-Jorgensen.

They went up against Cuban troops armed with Mexican copies of the Mauser in the Spainish American War of 1898 and found the performance was very poor in comparison.

This led to the development of the 30-06 and also the model 1903 Springfield (and I happen to have one of those in my collection ;) )

Paul

Greybeard · 08-09-2006, 02:25 PM,

Hello Paul,

Very good.. .30-40 Krag was the first magazine fed, smokeless powder rifle adopted by the US Army. The 1895 7mm Mauser came as a nasty surprise to the US troops - far out-ranging the Krag, and much more accurate at long ranges. The US troops found themselves having to advance in the face of long range volley fire, and about the time they reached a point where they could return volley fire, they came under aimed fire..

Next question.. the German 1898 Mauser (known as the Gewehr '98) and later variants have become known in the firearms world as having one of the strongest, if not the strongest reciever designs of any rifle since. However, there is one asian military rifle that far out-strips the Mauser in the strength of it's receiver, also commonly used in WW2. What firearm might this be, and with which country did it serve?

:happy:

-Greybeard

Steel God · 08-10-2006, 02:09 AM,

I'll walk out on the limb here a little and guess the IJA's Arisaka Type 99 rifle. I happen to have a type 38 Arisaka, and I know the Type 99 was basically a stepped up 38 chambered to take a more powerful round (8mm?) based on experience in China, so I'm guessing that an upgraded round will also result in an upgraded receiver.

Paul

Greybeard · 08-10-2006, 05:31 AM,

Hello Paul,

Pretty close.. the type 99 fired a 7.7mm round, and the type38 a 6.5mm. If I recall correctly, the type 99 with the larger bore, actually operated at a lower peak pressure than the 6.5mm did. I recently read an American Rifleman article about the type 38, and it was designed to handle chamber pressures approaching 75,000 CUP.. nearly all other firearms are designed for 50,000 CUP - including the mauser.

Now to figure out the next question..

-Greybeard