Many samples of small arms that appeared at the beginning of the 20th century deservedly bear the title of the first products of a particular class. In the absence of ready-made proven solutions, gunsmiths had to propose and test new schemes, which resulted in the emergence of new classes of weapons. So, the first representative of the class of self-loading rifles chambered for rimfire cartridges was the development of the American company Winchester under the name Model 1903.
The most important role in the development of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company was played by the designer Thomas Crossley Johnson. He became an employee of Winchester in 1885 and over the next several decades was engaged in the development of new models of small arms. For half a century of work as a designer T. K. Johnson received 124 patents for his designs. Some of the samples created by him were brought to mass production and produced for supply to various customers. Since the end of the 19th century T. K. Johnson dealt with the topic of self-loading weapons, capable of independently carrying out all operations for reloading and cocking mechanisms.
In August 1901 T. K. Johnson received a patent number US 681481A for the "Automatic firearms" ("Automatic small arms"). The document confirmed the designer's right to invent a new design of a self-loading rifle based on the use of a free bolt, a tubular magazine and some other ideas proposed by the gunsmith. In addition, the new weapon was supposed to use the.22 Winchester Automatic cartridge, also developed by T. K. Johnson.
General view of the rifle Winchester Model 1903. Photo Historicalfirearms.info
The invention of the designer, confirmed by the patent, interested the management of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. At that time, gunsmiths from leading countries were just beginning to develop automatic systems that could be of great interest to potential customers. In this regard, it was decided to check the existing project of T. K. Johnson, if necessary, modify it and then put a new weapon in the series. The timely completion of the work made it possible to release the first serial sample of the new system on the arms market and thereby occupy an still empty niche with all the positive consequences of an economic nature.
Until 1903, the design team of Winchester was developing the project, which resulted in the emergence of a complete set of documentation that allows production to begin. In the same year, the first serial rifles were released for sale. By the year of production, the newest self-loading rifle received the designation Winchester Model 1903. The sale of the first products of the new model secured the Winchester M1903 the honorary title of the world's first serial commercial self-loading rifle chambered for rimfire.
In terms of the general layout, the M1903 rifle had to correspond to other samples of its class. The project proposed to use a relatively long barrel, under which the mechanisms of the reloading system and a wooden forend were to be installed. All the main parts of the weapon were to fit inside the receiver, which was divided into two blocks. It was also planned to use a stock with a thin neck, traditional for that time, and, in the appropriate modification, a pistol protrusion.
M1903 rifle in working order. Photo Wikimedia Commons
The rimfire cartridge, designated.22 Winchester Automatic, was specially developed for the new rifle. Its design was based on the existing.22 Long Rifle, but had some differences. The main differences between the cartridges were the use of smokeless powder and a longer sleeve - 16.9 mm versus 15.6 mm for the.22 LR. Other parameters of the two cartridges were almost the same. In particular, an old lead bullet of 5, 6 mm caliber was used.
The main reason for the appearance of the new cartridge was the desire of the designer to protect the promising self-loading weapon from damage. At the turn of the century, shooters continued active use of the.22 LR black powder cartridges, which were characterized by a large amount of carbon deposits. A self-loading rifle for reliable operation needed less "dirty" ammunition, which was created by T. K. Johnson. To avoid confusion and the use of incorrect ammunition, the Winchester M1903 rifle cartridge was slightly longer than the standard.22 LR, which precluded the use of the latter. Subsequently, the development of small arms led to the almost complete abandonment of black powder cartridges, due to which the need for a special.22 Win Auto cartridge disappeared. Later it turned out that the M1903 was the only rifle chambered for this cartridge. No other systems were developed for.22 Win Auto.
The main unit of a promising rifle, which contained most of the parts, was the receiver. It was made in the form of a detachable device, consisting of two parts. The upper one was a polygonal box with a U-shaped cross-section. In the front wall of the upper part of the box there were mounts for the barrel and the underbarrel reloading handle. It was also proposed to attach a wooden forend to it. In the upper part of the right wall of the receiver, a small window was provided for ejection of spent cartridges.
Disassembly for transportation. Photo Wikimedia Commons
The second part of the receiver was an L-shaped piece with low sides on the lower bar. On the upper part of this part there was a screw for fastening the two halves of the receiver, and on the lower part, the firing mechanism assemblies were mounted. The rear wall of the L-shaped frame had a hole for installing the store. The store itself was supposed to be located inside a wooden butt. The two halves of the receiver had to be connected with a front latch and a screw in the back. At the same time, a complete assembly of the rifle was also carried out with bringing it into working condition.
Inside the receiver, a bolt of the original design, a reciprocating combat spring with a lever and a firing mechanism were to be placed. The shutter was made in the form of an elongated part with an internal channel. A spring-loaded striker was placed in the channel, capable of moving forward and held by a spring in the rear position. The striker was made asymmetrical, since it had to hit the edge of the sleeve with an initiating charge pressed into it. An interesting feature of the M1903 rifle was the lack of a direct connection between the bolt and the reciprocating mainspring. They had to interact with a special lever.
Behind the bolt was a swinging rocker arm of a complex shape with a large hole in the upper arm. On the lower shoulder there were mounts for a reciprocating mainspring. Also, in the central part of the lever, a small recess was provided for contact with the trigger trigger. In the lower front part of the receiver there was a cylindrical reciprocating combat spring with a guide rod. During the operation of the mechanisms, during the compression of the spring, the rod could not only pass through the support plate of the spring, but also swing due to the conical shape of the hole in it.
General structure of the rifle. Drawing from a patent of 1901.
Rifle T. K. Johnson received the original reloading system, which was also used on several other samples developed by Winchester. For the preliminary cocking of the mechanisms, it was proposed to use a long rod mounted under the barrel. When you press the head of this rod, protruding in front of the forend, the shank had to go inside the receiver and interact with its mechanisms. The rod was returned to the neutral position with the help of a spring put on it.
The trigger mechanism of the rifle was quite simple and consisted of only a few parts. There was a trigger placed inside the safety guard and equipped with its own leaf spring, as well as a swinging sear designed to block mechanisms before firing. In the rear pillar of the safety guard there was a safety button that blocked the movement of the trigger. It should be noted that the fuse did not appear immediately. The first batches of rifles did not have such a system.
The 1901-1903 project involved the use of a tubular magazine placed inside the butt. The tube containing the cartridges of the corresponding diameter had to be located in a longitudinal channel passing through the entire butt. The head of the tube was equipped with a special tray of complex shape, the upper cut of which was parallel to the line of movement of the shutter. The tray was placed inside the shutter lever window. The shank of the store received a lamellar handle and a lock. The main tube of the store could be removed from the weapon to be equipped with cartridges. Inside the tube there was a cylindrical feeder and a feed spring. The store managed to fit 10 rounds of a new type.
Automatic mechanisms in neutral position. Drawing from a patent of 1901.
In the first version, the Winchester Model 1903 rifle was to be equipped with a 5.6 mm rifled barrel, 20 inches long (510 mm or 91 caliber). The barrel was connected to the receiver by means of a thread.
The rifle received wooden fittings in the form of a forend and a butt. The forend of the U-shaped profile was supposed to cover the reloading rod, as well as protect the shooter's hands from the heated barrel. An updated butt was proposed, inside which there was a channel for installing the store. Due to the use of a relatively large handle placed on the shank of the store, a rounded recess appeared in the rear of the butt. The wood in this part of the butt was covered with a metal butt plate. The fittings were to be fitted with belt mounts.
The weapon was equipped only with mechanical sights. A front sight was fixed on the muzzle of the barrel, and an open mechanical or circular sight was to be installed in the rear of the barrel. The design of the sighting devices has changed several times during mass production and during the development of new modifications.
Rifle cocked and some of its details. Drawing from a patent of 1901.
The first version of the Winchester Model 1903 rifle had a length of 940 mm and weighed (without cartridges) no more than 3.2 kg. From the point of view of the main characteristics, this weapon should not differ from other samples using the.22 LR cartridge. For ease of transportation, the relatively long rifle could be disassembled into two parts.
To equip with cartridges, the store should have been removed from the weapon. To do this, he turned by the handle at a certain angle and removed from the butt. After that, it was necessary to sequentially place 10 cartridges in the tube with bullets to the upper cut and return the store to its place. By pressing on the rod under the barrel, the mechanisms were cocked to prepare for the shot. After that, the weapon was ready to fire. T. K. Johnson meant the use of a free shutter with a non-standard arrangement of mechanisms. The rifle was supposed to fire from an open bolt and work according to an algorithm unusual by modern standards.
When the trigger was pressed, the sear lever was supposed to release a large lever associated with a reciprocating mainspring. When unclenched, the spring pushed the lower arm of the lever, after which the upper arm forced the bolt to move from the rear position forward. At the same time, the upper cartridge was seized from the store, chamfered into the chamber and fired with the help of the available drummer.
.22 LR (left) and.22 Win Auto (right) cartridges. Above - boxes for.22 Win Auto cartridges. Photo Wikimedia Commons
Under the influence of recoil, the shutter rolled back, in which this part forced the lever to swing and again compress the reciprocating mainspring. At the same time, the cartridge case was removed from the chamber with subsequent ejection through the window in the receiver. When the rearmost position was reached, the shutter stopped, and also pressed down the lever, which engaged with the sear. The weapon was ready to fire another shot.
The production of the new rifle began in 1903. Soon, this weapon entered the stores and received the well-deserved title of the first sample of its class, which reached commercial deliveries. For some time, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company has made significant profits from a lack of direct competitors. At that time, the creator and manufacturer of the new system could temporarily become a monopolist, having received well-deserved fame and the due material reward in the form of payment for the supply of weapons.
Model 1903 rifles were produced in two versions: Plain and Fancy. The differences between the rifles of the two versions were only in the finish. "Simple" products received walnut fittings with smooth surfaces. Fancy rifles were distinguished by the presence of a pistol protrusion on the butt, as well as corrugation on the neck of the butt and forend. The mechanisms and principles of action did not differ.
The store and its latch. Drawing from a patent of 1901.
The first rifles of the new type were produced according to the original design, but soon it was decided to change their design. After the release of 5 thousand products in the basic version, the production of improved rifles began, which differed in the presence of a fuse on the trigger guard. Other mechanisms were not changed. In the future, the production of M1903 rifles continued without any special design modifications.
In 1919, the manufacturing company introduced a shorter and lighter version of the rifle called the Model 03. The Model 1903 and Model 03 were produced in parallel for several years. In 1932, Winchester decided to discontinue production of the M1903. At the same time, however, it was proposed not to stop the production of such weapons completely, but to replace the old model with an updated product. After modernization, the rifle received the designation Model 63.
During the upgrade, the rifle of the basic design received different accessories, a new sight, etc. The most significant innovation of the Model 63 project was the use of a new ammunition. Instead of.22 Win Auto, it was now suggested to use the standard.22 Long Rifle. By the beginning of the thirties, cartridges with black powder were almost completely out of use, so there was no need for a special ammunition designed to "protect" weapons from increased carbon deposits. 22 Winchester Automatic cartridges continued to be produced in large batches for some time, but later they were discontinued due to lack of prospects. As a result, the M1903 rifle remained the only weapon designed for the use of this cartridge.
Model 63 rifle advertisement. Drawing Rifleman.org.uk
The Winchester Model 63 self-loading rifle was produced from 1933 to 1958. An interesting fact is that the change in the type of cartridge was beneficial to the weapon and had a positive effect on the volume of orders. So, in 1903-32 (29 years in the series) 126 thousand rifles of the basic version of Model 1903 were produced. Updated Model 63 rifles were produced for 25 years, and during this time 175 thousand units of such weapons were sold.
Interestingly, over time, the rifles of the M1903 family were copied by some other small arms manufacturers. Some of these "clones", which differ from the basic weapon in one way or another, are still being produced and sold. Among other things, this allows shooters to purchase products of interest to them even several decades after the manufacturer ceased production.
Rifles of the Winchester Model 1903 family were primarily intended for sale to amateur shooters. However, some of these weapons were purchased not by retail stores, but by government customers. In 1916, the Royal Flying Corps of Great Britain (future Royal Air Force) ordered 600 M1903 rifles for use in rifle pilot training. In addition, the contract for the supply of weapons implied the sale of 500 thousand cartridges along with the first batch of rifles. In the future, the customer was to receive several more batches of ammunition, 300 thousand cartridges each with monthly deliveries.
Rifles of the M1903 family. From top to bottom: Winchester Model 1903, Winchester Model 63 and a modern copy of the Taurus Model 63. Photo by Rimfirecentral.com
The first batch of 300 rifles was delivered to the customer before the end of 1916. Another three hundred weapons were transferred in the 17th. The new rifles were originally proposed to be used for shooting training of flight personnel. Later, the pilots began to take this weapon with them in flight and use it together with other systems that were already in service. According to some reports, British pilots and air gunners diligently practiced shooting: an easy calculation shows that monthly shipments of.22 Win Auto cartridges allowed 500 rounds of each rifle to be fired.
According to some sources, at the moment, the fate of only one M1903 rifle delivered to the UK is reliable. This item is kept in the Imperial War Museum. The fate of other rifles is unknown, but, apparently, they in one way or another became the property of amateur shooters, primarily the pilots themselves, who used such weapons earlier.
The Winchester Model 1903 was the first self-loading rimfire rifle to reach mass production and sales. This weapon was quickly able to interest potential customers, which led to the corresponding production volumes. For more than half a century, more than 300 thousand of these rifles in several modifications have been produced and sold. Despite the relative simplicity of the design and specific ammunition (in the early versions), the rifles of the family enjoyed well-deserved popularity and are still of some interest to collectors and amateur shooters.
