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Marine A5 Sniper Rifle
1) As I recall, the first shipment was 350 rifles.
2) The Corps was making tapered bases in 1916. According to an article in the Marine Gazette, Philly wasn't operational as an armory until 1919.
3) They would need no more sniper rifles. Now you are telling me they assembled another 1150 rifles? I presume you have solid evidence those contracts were filled?
4) For the upteenth time, you have no idea what I think. The rifles existed as around 937 A5 surplus scopes at Philly. Show me evidence that all those scopes were purchased in 1918. Before you say, "Aww heck, Jim. They wouldn't purchase scopes they didn't need after WWI." Especially, since you are telling me they assembled over a thousand sniper rifles they didn't need in 1918.
5) Do you have any idea how many A5 scoped rifles the Marines had on hand with #2 bases? They didn't throw them away. Nor did they cease R&PT training in WWI. They actually set up a program to train the wives of Marines to shoot. I even have the pictures to prove it. So, unless that order is somehow linked to the sniper program in your documents, it means squat.
6) I can show the Marines were making tapered bases as early as 1916. They never did have to use Niedner. The choice to use Niedner was based on factors that may be considered a bit strange.
One more time - the Corp drained itself of armorers outfitting the 5th and 6th Regiments. OSD was not operational in 1917. The Recruit Depots were filled to the max training Marines to outfit the 5th Brigade. The Corps was stretched to the limit as it increased in size by a factor of 7.5 which demanded the Corps use a whole lot of outside resources. It made perfect sense, and still does in today's Corp, to use commercial armories to help train their armorers. Who better than WRA? The Corps had been making tapered bases and mounting A5 scopes for a long time, and didn't need WRA to show them how, they just needed them to train armorers. If you are going to fight a war, you had better have one ass load of armorers on hand, or like David, learn to throw stones. I would wager the Corps sent Marines to Ford Motor Company to learn to fix vehicles, but it still doesn't have squat to do with the sniper program.
7) I am sure you have perused Pershing's wires. If so, you know that Pershing condemned the WS scopes early in 1918, and demanded better equipment from SA. So the Army order makes perfect sense, but I know nothing about that order and it has nothing to do with what we are discussing.
8) Townsend Whelan had condemned the WRA #2 mounts and bases as crap long before the war started, just before the Corps started using tapered bases. I seem to remember Crossman condemning them also. Captain Fay was a close friend of both men, as was Daulty Smith. Do you think the change to tapered bases was a coincidence? Now you tell me the men who made that change were going to reverse themselves and buy sniper rifles with crap mounts and bases? That was never going to happen.