Pedersen device

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Diagram illustrating the device

The Pedersen Device is an attachment developed during World War I for the M1903 Springfield rifle that allowed it to fire a short 0.30 (7.62 mm) caliber intermediate cartridge in semi-automatic mode. This wonder weapon was developed to allow infantry to dramatically increase their rate of fire while on the move, while also allowing the rifle to be used in conventional bolt action mode for long-range fire from the trenches.

Production had just ramped up when the war ended and the Pedersen Device ended up in storage after the war. Most were later destroyed as surplus and the few surviving examples are extremely rare collectors' items. In March 2008, a 1918 Mark I Pedersen device and a few boxes of ammunition that were owned by the estate of Connecticut attorney Bruce Stern were sold at auction for US $55,000 (US $60,250 with buyer's premium).^[1]

History

John Pedersen, a long time employee of Remington Arms, was aware that the US would be entering the war at some point. Concerned about the inability for troops to effectively fire on the run while attempting to cross "No Mans Land", he decided to start studying the problem of semi-automatic fire that would allow them to fire from the hip without stopping. However, he also realized that there would be no way the Army would accept a totally new rifle design, as they were already struggling to produce enough Springfields, contracting to produce millions of M1917 "American Enfield" rifle with Remington and Winchester and were importing Ross rifles from Canada for training purposes.

This led him to the final design, which replaced the bolt of the standard Springfield with a device consisting of a complete firing mechanism and a small "barrel" for the small round. In effect, the "device" was essentially a complete blow-back pistol minus a receiver/grip using the short "barrel" of the device to fit into the longer chamber of the M1903 Springfield. The mechanism was fed by a long 40-round magazine sticking out of the rifle to the top right, and could be reloaded by inserting a new magazine. New sights were provided at the rear of the device. The system did require one modification to the rifle however, a hole had to be cut in the side of the bolt area to allow the ejection of spent rounds.

By 1917 his solution was perfected, and he traveled to Washington, DC to demonstrate it. After firing several rounds from what appeared to be an unmodified Springfield, he removed the standard bolt, inserted the device, and fired several magazines at a very high rate of fire. The evaluation team was astounded, and an immediate secret classification was applied. To deceive the enemy, the Ordnance Department decided to call it The US Automatic Pistol, Caliber .30, Model of 1918. Plans were put into place to start production of modified Springfields, which became the US Rifle, Cal. .30, Model of M1903, Mark I. Promises were made to have 500,000 ready for the 1919 Spring Offensive. The use of the Pedersen Device in the 1919 Spring offensive was to be in conjunction with the full combat introduction of the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR).

The Pedersen Device was also modified to fit the US Rifle, Model of 1917 (the American Enfield), and the US Rifle, Model of 1916 ( The Remington Mosin Nagant). Neither of those were ever put into production, although samples of both were made.

The US Patent Office issued U.S. Patent 1,355,417, U.S. Patent 1,355,418, U.S. Patent 1,355,419, and U.S. Patent 1,355,420 to Pedersen for his invention.

Production

Production of the device started in 1918, along with the modified rifle that December, after the war had ended. Production continued until 1920 however, allowing the US to put the system into service if the need arose. Each device was shipped with a container allowing it to be safely carried when not in use, as well as a pouch holding five magazines. In total the device added 14 pounds to the infantry's standard load, although this was considered to be well worth it at the time.

Post-war

After the war, the semi-automatic concept started to gain currency in the Army. By the late 1920s several experiments with completely different rifles from the Springfield M1903 - which were designed from the outset to be semi-automatic were underway, including a Pedersen rifle firing a new .276 (7 mm) rifle cartridge. John C. Garand adapted his rifle, originally developed for .30-06 to the new .276 cartridge. After the .276 Garand rifle was selected over the Pedersen rifle, General Douglas MacArthur came out against changing rifle cartridges since the .30-06 would have to be retained for machinegun use and one cartridge simplified wartime logistics. Garand reverted his design back to the standard .30-06 Springfield cartridge in 1932; the result became the M1 Garand.^[2]

The Pedersen device was declared surplus in 1931, five years before the Garand had even started serial production. Mark I rifles were altered to M1903 standard (except for a curious ejection slot that remained in the receiver side wall) and were used alongside standard M1903 and M1903A1 Springfields. Nearly all of the stored devices were destroyed by the Army except for a few Ordnance Department examples, when it was decided they did not want to pay the cost of storing. They were burned in a large bonfire, though some were taken during the process. Following their destruction, noted writer Julian Hatcher wrote an authoritative article for the May 1932 issue of American Rifleman magazine describing the device in detail.^[3]

See also

• Remington 51
• Remington model 14
• 7.65mm Longue

References

External links

• NRA
• Civilian Marksmanship Program, complete description of Pedersen device and history
• Remington Society
• Auction Press Release