AN ENFIELD SMLE MARK 3 rifle is currently worth an average price of $625.64 used . [32] The Lithgow Small Arms Factory finally ceased production of the SMLE Mk III* in 1953.[27]. Work on a long-range replacement cartridge began in 1910 and resulted in the .276 Enfield in 1912. That MLE with a s/n of 252 must be a pretty rare one then. [26], The iconic LeeEnfield rifle, the SMLE Mk III, was introduced on 26 January 1907, along with a Pattern 1907 bayonet and featured a simplified rear sight arrangement and a fixed, rather than a bolt-head-mounted sliding, charger guide. Anschutz target rifles fall into this category, and their system is given on the page for these rifles. 2, of varying marks. Truth be known about Enfield serial numbers is simply, the serial number was used more for production counting than any other reason. IV rifles are externally identical to a .303 calibre SMLE Mk III* rifle, the only difference being the .22 calibre barrel, empty magazine case, bolthead and extractor which have been modified to fire .22 calibre rimfire cartridges. 4 action was similar to the Mk VI, but stronger and most importantly, easier to mass-produce. Odd that the left side has been scrubbed and no FTR marks. Very collectable in its own right but still not rare. $ 1,099.00 For sale is a Canadian Lee-Enfield No.4 MK1* Long Branch bolt action rifle in .303 British. There are many theories about the serial number ranges included in these contracts, but since they include far more than 50,000 rifles there is no way to tell if a particular rifle was part of the Irish, British or any other contract. Cannot find any broad arrows. LeeEnfields are very popular as hunting rifles and target shooting rifles. If it has the cutout toward the barrel knox,after 1942. good point on the longbranch but the maltby not so much , interesting thought line englishman - i know peter has been a wealth of knowledge and much life experience. [30] The magazine cut-off was reinstated after the First World War ended and not entirely dispensed with in manufacturing until 1933 and some cut-offs remained on rifles so-equipped into the 1960s. The No. Military equipment, such as the Lee-Enfield rifle, are often found with letters, numbers, codes, runes and symbols stamped, etched, scratched, embossed, pressed or branded into the wood or metal. . Maybe something similar is going on with the No.4? The Serial Number is located on the right side of the receiver ring. Ishapore 2A and Ishapore 2A1 receivers are made with improved (EN) steel (to handle the increased pressures of the 7.6251mm round)[89] and the extractor is redesigned to suit the rimless cartridge. While British and Australian conversions were to the standard commercially available .410 shotgun cartridge (though of varying chamber lengths) the Indian conversions have been the source of considerable confusion. 5 was first issued to the British 1st Airborne Division and used during their liberation of Denmark and Norway in 1945. 4 Mk. Most bolts were copper plated for identification. First debuted in November 1895 as the .303 calibre, Rifle, Magazine, Lee-Enfield, the rifle has still found use today in military, sporting and ceremonial roles - over one hundred years since its inception in its original form. It is one of 75,000. 1 Mk III to the 7.6325mm Mauser pistol cartridge. 4 Mk I/2, whilst No. All serial numbers on Savage made No4s have a serial number format which includes a C in it, for. This example was built by Canadian Arsenals and was one of only 50,000 built at this period of time at the Long Branch facility. Poland: used by the Polish Armed Forces in the West, Portugal: used by the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, during the First World War. The No. For the No. 5) have serial numbers stamped on the rear face of the bolt handle with no indication of any numbers having been stamped or struck out on the bottom of their bolt handles. 0 Location:London SW19 Interests:British military Small Arms and ammunition. I (T) Serial number 0C820 made by Stevens-Savage as a No. The LeeEnfield takes its name from the designer of the rifle's bolt systemJames Paris Leeand the factory in which it was designedthe Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield. I have a lee Enfield no1 mark3. 1 Enfield rifle was adopted by the United Kingdom in 1941. 4 Mk I, Britain had obviously settled on the rear aperture sight prior to WWI, with modifications to the SMLE being tested as early as 1911, as well as later on the No. 4 Mk 1* rifle I have are the following on the left side of the metal band holding the. [14], During both World Wars and the Korean War, a number of LeeEnfield rifles were modified for use as sniper rifles. Adopted by the British Army at the turn of the century, the .303 Lee-Enfield saw service in both world wars and countless conflicts around the world. . (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force). 4 Mark I and featured a rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for 300 yd (274 m) with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and was calibrated for 200800 yd (183732 m) in 100 yd (91 m) increments. Sterling Armaments of Dagenham, Essex produced a conversion kit comprising a new 7.62mm barrel, magazine, extractor and ejector for commercial sale. Netherlands: Both the LeeEnfield No. Bermuda: used by the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps. III* LeeEnfields were used by the. Republic of China (19121949): used during Warlord Era. The rest of the story is that this carbine was accepted into New Zealand service in 1899 and was assigned inventory number 1909. The results of the trials that were conducted on the L8 series rifles were mixed and the British Government and the Ministry of Defence decided not to convert their existing stocks of LeeEnfield No. thats what I thought. Lee Enfield SMLE MKIII * - .303 British $ 799.00 For sale is a Lee-Enfield SMLE MKIII* bolt action rifle in .303 British. [73] 303/25 calibre sporterised SMLEs are very common in Australia today, although ammunition for them has been very scarce since the 1980s. [14] LeeEnfield rifles are still popular in the region, despite the presence and ready availability of more modern weapons such as the SKS-45, the AKM, the Chinese Type 56 assault rifle, and the AK-74. RFI stands for 'Rifle Factory, Ishapore', denoting a rifle made after the Partition of India in 1947. The No. This is one reason the bolt closure feels smooth. A conversion specification of No.1 rifles to L59A2 Drill Purpose was also prepared but was abandoned due to the greater difficulty of machining involved and the negligible numbers still in the hands of cadet units. These conversions were for issue to police and prison guards, to provide a firearm with a much-reduced power and range in comparison to the .303 cartridge. 1 Mk. The LeeEnfield rifle is a popular gun for historic rifle enthusiasts and those who find the 10-round magazine, loading by charger clips, and the rapid bolt-action useful for Practical Rifle events. Pluralsight Android Threads Getting Started Torrent, Fundamentals Of Computer By E. Balagurusamy, Download Driver Usb Samsung Galaxy Y Gt-s5360b, Driver Hp Notebook 14 G102au Windows 7 32 Bit, Star Wars Battlefront 2 Binkw32.dll Error, 10-round magazine, loaded with 5-round charger clips. [44] The L42A1 sniper rifle continued as the British Army's standard sniper weapon being phased out by 1993, and replaced by Accuracy International's L96. Smoothbored shotguns could be legally held with far less trouble. Since formation in 1998, organisations such as the Lee Enfield Rifle Association have assisted in not just preserving rifles in shooting condition (many LeeEnfields are being deactivated and sold as 'wall-hangers' to collectors who do not hold a Firearms Licence in countries where they are required), but holding events and competitions. I* (T) were the standard WWII sniper rifles for the British and for the Commonwealth, except for Australia. Lee Enfield Number 4 Mk2 .303 1953. 95L9081 1950, CMk3 sight, non-FTR, Steel Buttplate, Un-Grooved, un-serialed stock, Magazine serialed to rifle. When Japan entered the war in 1941, New Zealand found itself lacking the light machine guns that would be required for local defence should Japan choose to invade, and so the New Zealand Government funded the development of self-loading conversions for the LeeEnfield rifle. [77] Similar developments were the South African Rieder and Charlton of Australian/New Zealand origin. 4 Mk. Again, thanks for the help! [103], Many Afghan participants in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan were armed with LeeEnfields. Where are the serial numbers on a Lee Enfield? No. 9, all .22 rimfire trainers and/or target rifles based on the Lee action, were adopted or in use with Cadet units and target shooters throughout the Commonwealth, the No.8 as of 2017 has been replaced among cadet forces due to obsolescence. [67], The C No.7 22' MK.I rifle is a .22 single shot, manually fed, training version of the No.4 Mk I* rifle manufactured at Long Branch. [23], The SMLE's visual trademark was its blunt nose, with only the bayonet boss protruding a small fraction of an inch beyond the nosecap, being modelled on the Swedish Model 1894 Cavalry Carbine. They were supplied to the UK under the Lend-Lease programme during the Second World War. 7 Mk. Lee Enfield rifles are used by the Jamaica Constabulary force for training recruits during field-craft exercises and drills. Often he would be given a batch of rifles to refurb. Bolt and stock band serial numbers match Bolt head is an#3 It's been sporterized. The Royal Canadian Air Force also used these as a survival rifle in the remote parts of Canada. The latter will have an engraving on the flat side of the receiver which will read something like (taking one of my rifles as an example), F(FTR)49. This feature was removed on the Mk III* rifle. [34], The Pattern 1914 Enfield and M1917 Enfield rifles are based on the Enfield-designed P1913, itself a Mauser 98 derivative and not based on the Lee action, and are not part of the LeeEnfield family of rifles, although they are frequently assumed to be. The serial number on this rifle is M / 25105 (by convention, the slash is used to indicate a different line). During World War II, the British standardized their sniper equipment as the Lee-Enfield Number 4 Mark I (T). [29], The inability of the principal manufacturers (RSAF Enfield, The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited and London Small Arms Co. Ltd) to meet military production demands, led to the development of the 'peddled scheme', which contracted out the production of whole rifles and rifle components to several shell companies. The used value of an ENFIELD SMLE MARK 3 rifle has risen $89.20 dollars over the past 12 months to a price of $625.64 . I (T) chambered in .303 British. M madcratebuilder Registered 8 and Rifle, No. I rifles were made for Trials. The bolt head is released by a spring catch on the No4 Mk1 and Mk2, but by a cut-out on the bolt track on No4 Mk1* made by Savage and Long Branch. II and Mk. 4 Mk 2 rifles: Note 1: Second World War UK production rifles had manufacturer codes for security reasons. If it's a 1942,it will more likely then not,have the rear release tab for the bolt. Along with this will be the model designation, and below this, the serial number. It was introduced in service in the 1970s. such a low number. 1 Mk V), adopted a new receiver-mounted aperture sighting system, which moved the rear sight from its former position on the barrel. Generally inferior workmanship, including weak/soft metal, poorly finished wood, and badly struck markings. RFI, in India, converted a large number of MkIII rifles to single shot muskets, chambered for the .410 Indian Musket cartridge. Most of these were 1931 and 1933 dated No. 5. Yours falls into the category of having a low serial number and one of 917,000 produced. MAGAZINE LEE RIFLES & CARBINES Lee-Metford Lee-Enfield Note: Charger loaders and conversions are family. It is essentially an updated N0. 9 blade bayonets were issued for use with the No. BSA Shirley undertook 100 conversions to .22'. Nepalese Police constables may also be usually seen equipped with SMLE rifles. The same six serials were used on the six rifles, but not necessarily applied to the exact same ones. We cannot say for certain it is a year, nor can we say for certain much of anything else about that number. Peek! Rifle No 5 on display at the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum. Australia: No.1 MkIII/MkIII* manufactured at Lithgow Arsenal in Lithgow, New South Wales. Observed examples are dated 1931 and 1933. The LeeEnfield family of rifles is the second oldest bolt-action rifle design still in official service, after the MosinNagant. [23] The barrel was now halfway in length between the original long rifle and the carbine, at 25.2 inches (640 mm). good idea, I will have. [100], The quality on such rifles varies from 'as good as a factory-produced example' to 'dangerously unsafe', tending towards the latter end of the scale. What should I mark down for insurance value? De ransel op de rug deel 2. The whole nine yards including refinish to produce what would in effect be a brand new rifle.. A new rifle based on the Mauser design was created to fire the round, called the Pattern 1913 Enfield. Despite a rubber butt-pad, the .303 round produced excessive recoil due to the shorter barrel. Thanks for the tips! Magazine cut-off on an SMLE Mk III rifle. The action features helical locking surfaces (the technical term is interrupted threading). Such rifles would have 5-digit serial numbers with either an "E" or an "F" serial number prefix, and the serial number would be stamped on the rear of the bolt handle and on the bottom of the fore-end, as well as on the receiver ring. 4 Mark I would be adopted in 1941 and serve until 1952, until replaced by the M1 Garand. Small numbers of LeeEnfield rifles were built as, or converted to, experimental automatic loading systems, such as the British Howell and South African Rieder and the best-known of which was the Charlton Automatic Rifle, designed by a New Zealander, Philip Charlton in 1941 to act as a substitute for the Bren and Lewis gun light machine guns which were in chronically short supply at the time. A five-round .22 cal 'Parker-Hiscock' magazine was also developed and in service for a relatively short period during the later period of the First World War, but was subsequently withdrawn from issue due to reliability problems with its quite complicated loading and feeding mechanism. 1 Mk. Experiments with smokeless powder in the existing LeeMetford cartridge seemed at first to be a simple upgrade, but the greater heat and pressure generated by the new smokeless powder wore away the shallow, rounded, Metford rifling after approximately 6000 rounds. 1 Mk. I suggest if you bolt has not been proofed with the rifle; get it checked for fit and a new proof. I have a No4 MkI cruciform bayonet made by Singer Sewing Machine. 5 Mk I, designated Rifle, No. #9. An Afghan mujahid carries a LeeEnfield in August 1985, Canadian Rangers, photographed in Nunavut, June 2011. The Canadian scopes made by Research Enterprises Limited and were prefixed with a letter C and went through C no. p. 372. However, the LeeEnfield was mainly replaced in main-line service in the Pakistani Police in the mid-1980s by the AK 47, in response to increasing proliferation of the Kalashnikov in the black market and civilian use. . Recently acquired a Lee Enfield Mark4 1/2.303 ser # 52Y20xxx in good condition, & a early Lee Enfield SMLE.303, ser# 21xxx, Does Anyone Know the. Many early model rifles, of Magazine LeeEnfield (MLE), Magazine LeeMetford (MLM), and SMLE type, were upgraded to the Mk III standard. In total, over 16 million LeeEnfields had been produced in several factories on different continents when production in Britain shut down in 1956, at the Royal Ordnance FactoryROF Fazakerley in Liverpool after that factory had been plagued with industrial unrest. [46] With a cut-down stock, a prominent flash hider, and a 'lightening-cut' receiver machined to remove all unnecessary metal, reduced barrel length of 18.8 in (478 mm) the No. Such rifles would have 5-digit serial numbers with either an "E" or an "F" serial number prefix, and the serial number would be stamped on the rear of the bolt handle and on the bottom of the fore-end, as well as on the receiver ring. Numbers and markings on rifles, I find fascinating. Lee Enfield 303 Serial Numbers 1 How can I look up my SMLE's history by serial? Although the .276 Enfield had better ballistics, troop trials in 1913 revealed problems including excessive recoil, muzzle flash, barrel wear and overheating. Turkey: converted Ottoman-captured rifles to 7.9257mm Mauser. It was the British Army's standard rifle from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957. 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