1917 Eddystone?
I have a gun that shoots 3006 ca. and is marked U.S. 1917 eddystone. Is this a real manufacture of ww1 weapons? The action looks like a springfield.
RichardKCMo
RichardKCMo
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My friend has an Eddystone 1917 #2341xx. "US" He would like to know when it was made and any other info. that someone might know about. thanks 0 -
January 1918 0 -
From some internet research I've done:
The M1917 Enfield, the "American Enfield" (frequently misidentified or mislabeled as the "Pattern 1917", "P1917", or "P17"), formally named "United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917" was an American modification and production of the British .303 caliber P14 rifle (listed in British Service as Rifle No. 3) developed and manufactured during the period 1917-1918.
Before World War I, the British main rifle was the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE). Compared to the German Mausers or the U.S. 1903 Springfield, the SMLE's .303 rimmed cartridge, originally a black powder cartridge, was ill-suited for feeding in magazine or belt-fed weapons and the SMLE was less accurate than its competition at longer ranges. Together with the development of an improved cartridge for the SMLE, a committee was formed to develop a new rifle. This began by copying many of the features of the Mauser system, including a front locking, dual lug bolt action with Mauser type claw extractor, as well as a new, powerful rimless .276 Enfield cartridge. Ease of manufacture was an important criterion. However, the onset of war came too quickly to put this design into production. When the great empires of Europe let slip the dogs of war in 1914, no countries found themselves fully prepared, and Great Britain was no exception. The King's purchasing agents looked to the industrial powerhouse of the United States for arms. In 1914, they went to Remington in New York and brought with them their plans, produced by Enfield, for a wholly modern rifle. This rifle took all the lessons learned from captured Boer Mausers and the British Army's own standard SMLE. It was more accurate, stronger, and, some argue, more reliable. They asked these companies to produce the new rifle design in the old .303 caliber for convenience of supply. The new rifle was termed the "Pattern 14".
Contracts for the new rifle dubbed the P14 were placed with Winchester and Remington. A third manufacturer, Eddystone Arsenal - a subsidiary of Remington - was tooled up at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, PA. Thus, three variations of the P14 and M1917 exist, labeled "Winchester," "Remington" or "Eddystone".
When the U.S. eventually entered the war in April of 1917, it had a similar need for rifles. The standard US military rifle was the excellent M1903 Springfield rifle. However, there were only enough of these by 1917 to arm about 10% of the envisioned Army that would be sent, "over there." With Great Britain's P14 rifle order filled, three large rifle plants in the US were sitting idle. The Springfield Armory had delivered approximately 843,000 M1903 rifles, but due to the difficulties in retooling factories, it was realized that it would be much quicker to adapt the British design for the American .30-06 cartridge. Accordingly, Remington Arms Co. altered the design under the close supervision of the U.S. Army Ordnance Department, and Britain's rifle formally became the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1917. In addition to Remington's production at Ilion, New York and Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Winchester produced the rifle at their New Haven, Connecticut plant. Together this gave a combined total more than twice the M1903's production. Eddystone made 1,181,908 rifles - more than twice the production of Remington (545,541 rifles) and Winchester (465,980 rifles) combined.0 -
The 1917 is, IMO, every bit the equal, if not superior to the 1903. Very smooth action, cock on closing, and just a solid bit of military hardware. As recently as 5 - 6 years ago, you could pick up one in good shape for under $ 500.00, though they seem to be attracting a little more now.
It is the rifle that both Alvin York and Kevin Harris employed in the defense of freedom.
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