The Pedersen device was an experimental weapon attachment for the M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle that allowed it to fire a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) pistol-type cartridge in semi-automatic mode. The attachment was developed to allow an infantryman to convert "their rifle to a form of submachine gun or automatic rifle" in approximately 15 seconds. Production of the Pedersen device and modified M1903 rifles started in 1918. However, World War I ended before they could be fielded. The contract was cancelled on March 1, 1919, after production of 65,000 devices, 1.6 million magazines, 65 million cartridges, and 101,775 modified Springfield rifles. The devices, magazines, ammunition and rifles were subsequently placed in storage, and declared surplus in 1931. When the United States Army decided they did not want to pay the cost of storing the devices, nearly all of the stored devices were destroyed except for a few examples kept by the Ordnance Department. Fewer than 100 Pedersen devices escaped ordered destruction to become extremely rare collectors' items. History Prior to the United States' entry into World War I, John Pedersen, a longtime employee of Remington Arms, developed the Pedersen device. His idea was to dramatically increase the firepower available to the average infantryman. His final design replaced the bolt of a modified Springfield M1903 rifle with a device consisting of a complete firing mechanism and a small "barrel" for a new .30 caliber pistol like cartridge. In effect, the "device" was essentially a complete blowback pistol minus a receiver-grip using the short "barrel" of the device to fit into the longer chamber of the M1903 rifle. The mechanism was fed by a long 40-round magazine sticking perpendicularly out of the rifle at a 45-degree angle to the top right, and could be reloaded by inserting a new magazine. Each magazine had cut-out viewing slots facing aft so the rifleman could observe the number of unfired rounds remaining. The system required an ejection port to be cut into the left side of the M1903 rifle's receiver and the adjacent stock cut away to allow clearance for spent cartridges being thrown from the action. The sear, trigger, and magazine cut-off also required modifications which did not limit the ability of Mark I receivers to function in the normal bolt-action mode. Pedersen traveled to Washington, D.C. on 8 October 1917 to conduct a secret demonstration for Chief of Ordnance General William Crozier and