This is an extremely rare and very well known FEB 1942 PRODUCTION US WWII REMINGTON M1903 MODIFIED SPRINGFIELD RIFLE. THIS RIFLE IS ONE OF THE “RED STAR” rifles that were brought back in 1955. There were approximately 120-200 imported, they do not have British export markings. This one AMAZINGLY IS STILL IN THE COSMOLINE AND IS THE ONLY KNOWN EXAMPLE IN THIS CONDITION!
This is a very scarce example from a small group of rifles that had original been shipped to England in the early days of WWII under the Lend Lease program and just stayed in England unissued in their original wooden crates. These were eventually reimported back into the US in the mid 1950s and stayed with the original owner Lt Willard Levin who eventually sold a small number in the late 1990s through the Red Star Museum in California. At the time Lt Col Levin imported these rifles there were 10 crates of 10-12 rifles in each crate that totaled approximately 120-200 rifles in total. This example is obviously one of those ultra rare original Remington Arms Red Star rifles. These all fall into the serial number range of approximately 3,020,000 to 3,055,000. As it stands today only a small number of these rifle have ever turned up for sale as most are still in either Remington Arms or 1903 Springfield collections.
Today, the surviving examples, (many were turned into deer rifles) are all hidden away in collections. This is probably the only surviving example still in the original packing grease from right out of the crate. These rifles are something of a legend to military rifle collectors. This is a must have artifact and will not last long!
