1946 Jungle Carbine
- Thread starter Newby
- Start date
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
Good call. It’s part of the rifle’s history and originality. If you removed it you’d always know it was no longer how it left the service.
If I’m recalling correctly they started painting the metal under the wood during WWII as a means to keep the rifles in the field for the duration.
It's my belief they were painted with the "green" rust resistant paint because of issues with the No5 rifles used by the Brits in Malaysia.
It wasn't just the jungles which gave them rust issues, but the Mangrove swamps, which are filled with brackish (salt) water.
I've seen rifles from the time period, which had the steel end caps removed and rounded off in a similar manner to the very early models, because the salt water got under the caps and caused all sorts of rot/rust issues, so it was decided to remove them.
It wasn't just the jungles which gave them rust issues, but the Mangrove swamps, which are filled with brackish (salt) water.
I've seen rifles from the time period, which had the steel end caps removed and rounded off in a similar manner to the very early models, because the salt water got under the caps and caused all sorts of rot/rust issues, so it was decided to remove them.
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
I have a Longbranch No4 that has the green paint and have seen others with it, even a Ross MkIII that was painted under the wood this way. I know the official info on the timing and reason was stated over at milsurps a number of years ago. It was something along those lines, that it was done as a field corrosion inhibitor to try to keep the rifles in the field (hopefully) for the duration of WWII. This may have been carried over into Malaysia as well as you say.
falaisegap44
New member
- Location
- Penticton B.C.
A very nice example of an original issue No.5 .... take good care of it .... there were only 280,000 or so made . Its' a tragedy to see these have their bayonet lug or flash hider cut off.
This is related - I'm pretty sure my No5 is actually new, this is the bolt face. The gun still has Cosmo in it. It came with a cool hunting knife too - it's a bugger to fit to the gun, very tight. I got an NOS butt pad for it, and put an NOS sling on it and got an original cleaning kit for it. The bayo is real, marked as being made at Viners, Sheffield (N37?) - correction bayonet is marked N79. Second last shot is looking down into the breach - note the follower and feed ramp. I've never seen another one in this shape.
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That bayonet looks like one for a FNC-1 rifle
Can you post more pictures ? Its rare to get a unmolested jc, most have been refurb'd, gone through armories, overseas etc. I have handled prob 20, they are always at gun shows, owned a couple that were close but no cigar. What I found interesting on mine, which yours will have is all the proofs and maker marks on the wood. I just looked at another one last week, just the sn on the wood. I don't know if the marks get sanded off or if replacement wood just gets restamped with the sn.
Sure, I'll take some more, the ones above are just pictures that were on my phone.
falaisegap44
New member
- Location
- Penticton B.C.
If I recall, the painted finish was called Suncorite and quite toxic to apply .... it can still be had (so I understand), but only in India where legislation/laws are somewhat lax. My last No5 was about as mint and unfired as one could hope for .... it had been in possession of Lever Arms in Vancouver for decades before I got it.
Suncorite is the black finish on late No4 rifles, the green stuff is supposed to help prevent rust under the wood, but it's nowhere near as tough as Suncorite. It isn't as toxic either. Incidentally Suncorite is still used in some industries, but the permits required to apply it professionally are hard to get.
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