I wrote this a while back, but it seems to still be a topic of discussion, so here goes again:
"In any discussion of the Model 1903's origins, it is almost certain to be stated that it was copied from the Model 1898 Mauser. This is supposedly proven by the fact that the U.S. paid Mauser royalties on six patents which allegedly covered the Model 1898 Mauser. That is not true. All but one patent covered features that were used in previous Mauser rifles, notably the Model 1893 ("Spanish Mauser"), large quantities of which were captured from the Spanish. The one remaining patent covered a variation of the bolt sleeve lock, which was later used in the Model 1898 Mauser, but which Springfield did not use in the same way.
The patents, dates, and area of coverage are as follows:
No. 467,180 01/19/1892 Extractor
No. 477,671 06/28/1892 Extractor collar
No. 482,376 09/13/1892 Ammunition clip
No. 527,869 10/23/1894 Internal box magazine
No. 547,933 11/15/1895 Safety catch
No. 590,271 11/21/1897 Bolt sleeve lock
With the possible exception of the last, NONE of those patents covered features of the Model 1898 Mauser and there is no evidence in any of the archival records I have seen that the Springfield designers ever saw a Model 1898 Mauser or the U.S. patents covering its features. (References to the "Model 1898" in the ordnance records of the time invariably refer to the U.S. service rifle, the Model 1898 Krag, not to the Mauser.)
In a separate issue, the U.S. paid royalties to the German DWM company on pointed bullets, but that has no relationship to the design of the M1903 rifle.
Note that some of those U.S. patents were after the fact; rifles with the patented features had already appeared. That was not uncommon as patent attorneys and lawyers tried to keep up, and of course the date I gave is the date the patent was granted, not the date it was applied for.
Here are the features of the Model 1898 Mauser that were NOT in any previous model. All were patented in the U.S. by Mauser in 1896-1897, but Mauser claimed infringement only for the bolt sleeve lock. The other features were obviously not used in the Model 1903 and all were probably unknown to the Springfield designers.
1. The safety bolt lug locking into the bottom rear of the receiver. (The Springfield designers adapted the Krag safety lug to the new rifle, causing some problems further down the design path.)
2. The bolt sleeve lock, to prevent the bolt sleeve from turning when the bolt is opened, even if the safety is in the middle position. (The U.S. Model 1903 designers dealt with the same problem in a different manner, but the U.S. still paid royalties on the Mauser patent. This is the only Mauser Model 1898 feature on which royalties were paid.)
3. The undercut extractor cam, which tends to force the extractor to grip the case more firmly if the case sticks. (This keeps the extractor from jumping over the case rim if the pull is hard.)
4. The firing pin flanges that prevent the firing pin from reaching the primer if the firing pin breaks at the rear when the bolt is unlocked.
5. The inner receiver collar that provides an additional gas seal and also makes barrel installation much easier by eliminating the extractor cut in the barrel."
One other point needs discussion. The U.S. agreed voluntarily to make payments for the rights to Mauser's patents prior to WWI and the situation had long been settled when war broke out. The claims by DWM for the pointed bullet ammunition continued through the WWI period and were settled after the war when the U.S. agreed to make payments. But that was a separate issue, not related to the rifles.
Jim
