Monster Media 1994 #2/Monster Media No. 2 (Monster Media)(1994).ISO/freq_qa/enfaq_a2.zip/ENFAQ-02.MSG

Text File | 1994-06-21 | 19KB | 355 lines

Not-the-Enfield-FAQ
No. 1 MkIII
Copyright (C) 1994 by Ben Sansing
compiled by <[e-mail]> with lotsa help
This FAQ, in its entirety, is available from xxxxxxxxxx
 or by calling (direct) Courts of Chaos BBS at [phone]
    [HST 28.8 or V32bis 14.4] and downloading ENFAQ-A2.LZH
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Part Two: History and Chronology (ENFAQ-02.MSG)

Most of this section was written by <[e-mail]>
Thanks, Ron!
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Contents, Table of, MkI
  - The British .303 and Variations
    * The Lee Metford Rifles and Carbines
    * Lee Enfield Rifles and Carbines
    * Variations On A Theme (P14, sniper rifles, etc)
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  THE BRITISH .303 AND VARIATIONS                    │
│                             by Ron Melson                           │
│                     <[e-mail]>                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

                   THE LEE METFORD RIFLES AND CARBINES

Rifle, Magazine, Lee Metford Mark I.
        Adopted in December 1888, it was the first British production
Lee.  Chambered for the original black-powder loaded .303 cartridge, it
could hold eight rounds in the magazine and had a full length cleaning
rod.

Rifle, Magazine, Lee Metford Mark I*.
         Adopted in January of 1892, this rifle was a conversion of the
orginial Mark I.  The sights were changed from the "Lewes" and "Welsh"
pattern to the barlycorn front and v-notched rear sight.

Rifle, Magazine, Lee Metford Mark II.
         Adopted in April 1892, it was the first to be fitted with the
ten round magazine. The bolt was modified and the outside contour of the
barrel was changed.  A half length cleaning rod was fitted and the brass
marking disk on the buttstock was omitted.

Carbine, Magazine, Lee Meford Mark I.
        Adopted in 1894.

Rifle, Magazine, Lee Metford Mark II*.
        Adopted in 1895, these rifles had the safety catch added to the
bolt. The Mark I Lee Metford had safety catch mounted at left side of
reciever. The Mark I* and Mark II Lee Metfords had no safety.

Historical Perspective.

Much like the Snider and Martini-Henry rifles that were in British
service, the Lee rfle had its design antecedents in the United States.

James Paris Lee was a naturalized American citizen whose parents came
from Scotland and settled in Canada in 1835 when Lee was four years old.
He followed his father's occupation of watchmaking while maintaining an
interest in firearms. Eventually, Lee moved to Wisconsin and took up gun
design on a full time basis. Lee did not orginally conceive the concept
of the box magazine, however, he did improve up on it. A bolt action
repeater of his own design was tested by both the Army and Navy. The
"Remington-Lee" was to soon catch the attention of the British and in
1880, the Lee rifle was soon to enter into the British service trials.
The first of these rifles were chambered for drawn brass .577-450
"Gatling" versions of the British service round and fitted with Martini-
Henry barrels.  The combination proved successful.  Originally, the
British were considering adopting .402 as their service caliber, but,
the efficiency of the .303-caliber cartridged as designed by Swiss Col.
Eduard Rubin caused the eventual scrapping of the .402 and experiments
with the .303 instead.  Finally, in 1888, prototype Lees with barrels
featuring seven grove rifling by William Metford, were tested (in .303
caliber). In December of the same year, the first Lee magazine rifle was
accepted as the British main service rifle.
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                      LEE ENFIELD RIFLES AND CARBINES

Rifle, Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark I.
        Adopted in November 1895, this rifle was the first to introduce
the deep Enfield rifling rather than the shallower Metford rifling.
This rifle also had modified sights.

Rifle, Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark I*.
        Adopted in 1899, this Enfield lacked the cleaning rod found in
stocks of earlier Lee's.

Carbine, Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark I.
        Adopted in 1896, it was the same as the Lee Metford carbine
except for the deeper rifling.

Carbine, Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark I*.
        Same as the Mark I carbine but without the cleaning rod or the
sling bar on the left side of the buttstock.

Carbine, Magazine, Lee Enfield, RIC Model.
        Adopted in 1905, when 10,000 Lee Enfield carbines were modified.
The carbine nose cap was removed and the stock cut back and slimmed down
to take an upper band with bayonet stud to fit the Pattern 88 knife
bayonet.  These carbines were made up for the Royal Irish Constabulary-
RIC, which was disbanded in 1922.

Rifle No. 1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark I.
        Adopted in December of 1902, this was the first of the short
rifles(SMLE).  This rifle was stocked to the muzzle and first to allow
charger loading. The right side charger guide is on the bolt head, and
the left charger guide is on the receiver. It has a v-notch rear sight
with adjustable windage and a barlycorn front sight. This was the first
of what is commonly referred to as the No. 1 rifle, nicknamed "Smellie".

Rifle No. 1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark II ( COND ).
        Essentially the same as the SMLE No. 1 Mark I, but was converted
from the earlier Mark II and Mark II* Lee Metfords and Long Lee
Enfields.

Rifle No. 1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark I*.
        A minor variant of the SMLE No.1 Mark I.

Rifle No.1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark II*.
        A minor variant of the No. 1 Mark II SMLE.

Rifle No.1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark III.
        Adopted in January 1907, this was the main battle rifle of the
British forces in World War I, and used extensively in World War II.
Versions of this rifle have been found in use as recently as the
Afghanastan War when Afghan rebels fought against the Russians ( the
Afghan rebels also created crude copies of this rifle).

Rifle No. 1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark IV ( COND ).
        Adopted in 1907, it was basically the same as the No. 1 Mark III
but created from Long Lee's and Long Lee-Metford rifles.

Rifle, Charger Loading, Long Lee Metford Mark II.
        This rifle is a converted Lee Metford Mark II that allowed use
of a charger. The initial conversion was made in 1907 for the
Territorial Army and were converted again in 1909 to a Lee Enfield Mark
I*. Few of these rifles were made.

Rifle, Charger Loading, Long Lee Enfield Mark I.
        Another 1907 conversion that involved early marks of the Long
Lee Enfield to charger loading. The Mark I* version is the most common
and a large number of them were used by the British in the opening days
of World War I.

Rifle No. 1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark III*.
        Adopted in World War I, these rifles were made in large
quantities and are still in use around the world today.  This version
lacked the long range sights of early Mark III's and does not have a
magazine cut off.

The Royal Ordance Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock made over 2 million
of this model and the No. 1 Mark III during World War I.  At the same
time, B.S.A. made 1.6 million and L.S.A. made several hundred thousand.
The rifle was last manufactered in Britain in 1943 by B.S.A.  while the
Australian arsenal at Lithgow and Indian plant at Ishapore manufactured
the Mark III* after the adoption of the No. 4 by the Brits.  Lithgow
went on to produce 415,800 Mark III* rifles from 1939 to 1955 when
production was switched to the FN.

Rifle No. 1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark V.
        This rifle appeared somewhere around 1922.  The rear sight is
mounted on the reciever bridge and an additional stock band is mounted
to the rear of the nose cap.

Rifle No. 1, Short Magazine, Lee Enfield Mark VI.
        This rifle was developed between 1924-1930 and was the
forerunner of the No. 4 rifles. It possessed the sight on the reciever
bridge, had a lighter nose cap, heavier barrel, and smaller bolt head
than the earlier marks. It had the cut-off and the left reciever wall
was cut low as on the Mark III.

Rifle No. 4 Mark 1I.
        This rifle originally appeared in 1931. Of excellant quality for
a service arm, it was generally similiar to the No. 1 Mark VI except it
had a heavier receiver.  In 1939, the No. 4 Mark 1 was redesigned to
allow for mass production and became, with the No. 4 Mark 1*, the
British workhorse of World War II.  Stamped bands were used and various
manufacturing shortcuts were taken to increase production (hence, rifles
after 1939 lack the quality of the earlier No. 4 Mark 1's). Three
different sights were used on these rifles, ranging from a finely
machined adjustable leaf type to a simple L-shaped peep sight. Many of
these rifles can be found still in service in the British Commonwealth
and in former British Territories.

Rifle No. 4 Mark 1*.
        This was the North American production version of the No. 4 Mark
1 rifle.  The principle difference was that the bolthead catch, which
was situated behind the receiver bridge on the No. 4 Mark 1 (and earlier
marks) was eliminated on the No. 4 Mark 1*, and a cutout on the bolt
head track was used for bolt removal.  Over 5 million No. 4 rifles were
made during World War II in the UK, Canada (Long Branch Arsenal) and the
United States (Savage/Stevens).  Australia did not adopt the No. 4 and
continued with the production of the No. 1 Mark III* at Lithgow.

Rifle No. 4 Mark I* (light weight).
        Produced at the Long Branch arsenal in Canada in prototype form,
this weapon had a one piece stock and the trigger pinned to the
receiver.  It weighed in at 6 3/4 pounds. The barrel was 23 inches in
length with an overall length of 42 1/2 inches. The receiver wall was
cut down and the stock inletted to reduce weight.  The buttplate was a
sporting type unit made of rubber.  Micrometer sights with a peep battle
sight was adjustable in clicks (100 yard steps) from 100-1300 yards. It
could also be used for grenade launching. One other feature of the rifle
was the Mauser type trigger.

Rifle No. 4 Mark 2.
        This rifle was developed at the end of World War II and differed
from early marks by having the trigger pinned to the receiver rather
than the trigger guard.

Rifle No. 4 Mark 1(T) adn No. 4 Mark 1*(T).
        These are the sniper versions of the No. 4 rifle. They are
fitted with scope mounts on the left side of the receiver and have a
wooden cheek rest screwed to the butt. The No. 32 telescope is used on
these weapons.  There are also sniper versions of the No. 1 and No. 3
rifles (Pattern 14).  The Canadians also used the No. 4 Mark 1*(T) with
the Telescope C No. 67 Mark 1.

Rifle No. 4 Mark 1/2 and Rifle No. 4 Mark 1/3.
        These are conversions of the No. 4 Mark 1 and No. 4 Mark 1* that
have been modified to the pattern of the No. 4 Mark 2.  These rifles are
still in use and are possibly being held as reserve weapons in the UK.

Rifle No. 5 Mark 1.
        The famous "jungle carbine", this rifle appeared at the end of
World War II.  It possessed a lightened and shortened barrel that has
been fitted with a flash hider.  The fore-end has been cut back and
rounded, making the jungle carbine look more like a sporting rifle. A
rubber pad was fitted to the buttstock to reduce recoil.  Only 250,000
were made.

[BEN: At one time, plans were to convert all No.4s in British inventory
 to No.5 pattern and make the No.5 the standard British infantry rifle.
 But, continued "zeroing" problems with the No.5 (it would not stay
 "sighted in"), coupled with protests from the ranks that this light
 rifle's recoil was objectionable, caused this project to be scrapped.]

Rifle No. 6 (Australia).
        It appeared only as a prototype, an 18 inch barreled version of
the No. 1. It was developed at Lithgow.

Historical Perspective.

The original Lee Metford was a fine service arm until the introduction
of Cordite Powders. It was found out quickly that Cordite burned much
hotter and faster than black powder and that the new corrosive powders
were eating away the bores of the rifles. The experts put their heads
together to try and come up with a solution to the problem.  It was
resolved by experts at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Enfield Lock (hence
the name Lee Enfield). Their solution was to create a barrel with a
deeper, five grove rifling that was more resistent to the corrosive
effects of Cordite.

On November 11, 1895, the legend was approved and a year later, rifles
produced at Enfield, Sparkbrook, L.S.A., and B.S.A., went into service.
Externally, the Lee Enfield was identical to the Lee Metford. It was
this gun and its modified version, the Mark I*, that the British used
against Mausers for the first time during the Boer War.  During this
war, several shortcomings were found with the new Lee Enfield rifle.
Problem with the sights and the lack of quick charging came to the front
and once more the experts got together to find a solution.

The charging problem was quickly resolved as was the sighting problem.
In the process, a shorter length was added to the equation so the rifle
would be easier to handle by both infantry and calvary. The result was
introduced in 1902 as the Mark I SMLE. More improvements were made and
in January of 1907, the Mark III was introduced, a rifle that was to
become a legend. As with any war, World War I brought manufacturing
short cuts to the Mark III. These included the elimination of the
cutoff, dial sights, rear sight wind guage, and identification discs.
This rifle was known as the Mark III*.

In 1926, the nomenclature of service rifles was changed. The Mark III
became known as the No. 1 Mark III and the experimental Mark VI became
known as the No.1 Mark VI.  After several modifications, the No.1 Mark
VI emerged in 1931 as the No.4 Mark 1. With impending hostilities
mounting in Europe, the development program on the No. 4 Mark 1 was
stepped up and in 1939, the rifle was accepted as the standard service
arm.

The No. 4 was 44 1/2 inches overall with a 25 inch barrel. The action
was beefier than the Mark III and the screw aperature adjustable rear
sights (if installed) were graduated from 200 - 1300 yards. The barrel
extends past the forestock a good three inches, allowing for the easy
fitting of both a bayonet or grenade launcher. A variant, the No. 4 Mark
1* was built in Canada at the Long Branch facility and in the United
States by Savage (at the former Savage Arms plant in Chicopee Falls).
The No. 4 Mark 1* is easily recognized by its simpler bolt head release.
There was a cut-out in the reciever which allowed the bolt to be pulled
back and the bolt head rotated in order to achieve extraction of the
bolt. Both Marks were later fitted with an L-shaped flip up aperature
that had two ranges, 300 and 600 yards.  Last, but not least, of the
original .303 Lee Enfields was the famous No. 5 Mark 1 "Jungle Carbine".
This rifle had a barrel of 20 1/2 inches and featured a cone-shaped
flash hider. The fore end and hand guard were cut down to expose more of
the barrel and the base of the foresight assembly contained a lug that
mounted a unique Bowie-bladed knife bayonet. Weight was reduced by 2
pounds which increased recoil, a big problem with this little gun.  The
right side of the butt was equipped with a sling loop, much like the old
Lee Metford carbine. Although introduced too late in the war to see any
real service, the jungle carbine did well enough, save for the wandering
zero problem that never has been resolved.
________________________________________________________________________

                           VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Pattern 13 (P-13).
        Tested in 1913, the P-13 was nothing more than a modified Mauser
action (cocking on the forward stroke of the bolt), and was chambered
for the large .276 caliber cartridge.  The cartridge itself was
remarkably similiar to the Canadian .280 caliber Ross cartridge. The
rifle was made in very small numbers for field trials in .303 caliber.

Pattern 14 (P-14).
        The P-14 was the production model of the P-13. Initially it was
built in .303 caliber here in the United States for Great Britain during
World War I. Save for its use as a sniping weapon, the P-14 was classed
as a limited standard rifle and few were used. However, when the United
States entered World War I, the P-14 was changed from .303 caliber to
U.S. Cal.  .30 (.30-06) and was designated the M1917, though it was
known as the Enfield. Between World Wars, the British changed the
nomenclature to Rifle No. 3 Mark I.

Pattern 14 Sniper Rifles.
        During World War I, the P-14 was used extensively as a sniper
rifle. There were two basic patterns, the P-14 (T) and the P-14 (T) A.
The former has a Pattern 1918 telescope adjustable scope and the latter
had an Aldis telescope. In 1926, when the British went to number
designations, these weapons were renamed the Rifle No. 3 Mark I* (T) and
the Rifle No. 3 Mark I* (T) A.

[BEN: I need to add specs and commentary for the WW2 DeLisle carbine, a
 No.1 MkIII* rebarrelled to .45 ACP with an integral suppressor, used by
 Commando units.]

Sniper Rifle L4A1.
        Developed from the commercial version of the No. 4 Mark 1 rifle,
the Enfield Envoy, which was originally cut down and modified for target
use. The rifle featured a cut down stock and rebarrelled to fire the
.308 NATO cartridge. A further number were converted in similar fashion
by the Royal Arms Factory (Enfield) and fitted with sights which are a
modified version of the original No. 32 telescopic sight.  Though
superseded by the Accuracy International L96A1, some of the .308
Enfields (L4A1) still remain in the British Army's inventory.

[BEN: I have seen and handled one of these .308 conversions, but did not
 have the opportunity to fire it. Some have cast doubt on the ability of
 the old rear-locking Lee-Enfield action to safely handle the .308
 ctge., but the rifle I handled, at least, had seen thousands of rounds
 without problem, and was in fact being used successfully in High Power
 target competition, so I guess the conversion works!]
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