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Title:	RIFLE, MILITARY -  DANISH RIFLE SCHOUBOE .30 SN# 2
Maker/Manufacturer:	SCHOUBOE, THEODORE JENS
Date of Manufacture:
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 4276
Measurements:	OL:122.5CM 48 1/4" BL:

Object Description:

DANISH RIFLE SCHOUBOE .30 SN# 2
Manufactured by - Recoil-operated. Serious tendency to jam. U.S. .30-06 cartridge too powerful. Almost entire handguard, cocking handle missing. Wood missing from butt near tang.

Markings:
Receiver: DANSK-REKYLRIFFEL-SYNDIKA/KOBENHAVN. Tang: 2.

ANNUAL REPORTS:
AR, 1904 - "Preliminary tests of the Self-loading Magazine Rifle submitted by Lieut. Jens Schouboe. Report forwarded to Ordnance Office: September 15, 1903."
AR, 1905 - "Test of Self-Loading Magazine Rifle, Model 1904 (Lieut. Jens Schouboe, Inventor). Report forwarded to Ordnance Office: Apr. 24, 1905. (375921-40).

Notes: "The Schouboe semi-automatic rifle, a Danish model, the invention of Lt. Jens Schouboe and put out by the Dansk Rekyle Riffel Syndecat of Copenhagen was considered apparently the most promising of any tested before 1907. A first test was conducted by the board of officers convened at the Armory for that purpose in Sep. 1903. The weapon, a recoil-operated arm, functioned sufficiently well to result in the board's requesting the inventor to embody a series of changes in the design and then resubmit the rifle. Report of the test of the redesigned model was made on April 7, 1905. Tests of furthur modification were made in 1906, 1909, and 1911. The most serious defect noted was the overriding of the cartridge or the follower by the bolt, and in the former case the consequent jamming of the cartridge at the front end as the bolt moved forward. The difficulty lay in the pressure created by the 1903 cartridge, for with the Danish Ammunition, functioning was satisfactory. So the rifles were returned for furthur changes.
The attempt to adapt the Shouboe design to use with 1903 cartridges proved un successful and not until 1909 was another model, also unsatisfactory, submitted. Report of the 1909 test has not been found. In April 1911 the report of the officers testing the latest Schouboe model was emphatically condemnatory.
1. The magazine could hold but five cartridges.
2. The safety features were unsatisfactory.
3. Rate of fire, 45 round per minute, was insufficient.
4. It was not readily useable as a magazine rife.
5. In the case of misfire recocking necessitated moving the bolt to the rear.
6. It was not accurate, due to the recoiling barrel.
7. Broken parts were not readily replaced.
8. Tools were needed for dismounting and reassembling.
9. There were no automatic indicator showing the number of cartridges in the magazine.
10. There was no device to show whether or not the rifle was loaded.
11. The bolt was in two pieces instead of one.
12. There was no adjustment for the retractor spring or the percussion spring.
13. The arm lacked strenght and durability the report concluded: It is inferior to our service rifle in accuracy, serviceability, and in rapidity, the competition had become very much keener and each invention showed the results of accumulated experience." - Mr. William H. Davis

References:
Davis, William H. PROJECT SUPPORTING PAPER #37 - "U.S. RIFLE, CAL..30 M1: HISTORY OF DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT PROCUREMENT AND PRODUCTION 1936-1945. July, 1946.