Any Lee Enfields used in both wars?

AgentFoxMulder

AgentFoxMulder

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Heya guys. Quick question for you.

I'm starting out with a surplus collection. I've recently got a sporterized LE and I love it. And I was thinking of putting up the money to get a non sporterized one in actual military format.

Starting out my collection I'd like to try and get models of rifles that have been used in both world wars. And then maybe after I have a bit more money to spend get some of the later models which were only ww2.

Which model of Lee Engfields would have been present in both wars?

Would a No.1 Mk III 1918 rifle have been used for both? Would they have had a stockpile tucked away at the start of ww2? Or would they have had a large assortment of newer rifles by that time?

I've been doing research and I seem to be getting different info.

I'm just trying to get as much historical significance out of a lee engfield rifle as I can ;)

Thanks for any help you knowledgeable b@sterds can provide :D
 
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From what I know, there were Mkiiis used by certain nations until up to Korea. Mine is a 1918 and the stock seems to be a WWII replacement. I like to think the ticks on the side are something significant and not a previous owners deer count
 
I actually own a two war Enfield, a No 1 Mk III. It has some interesting stampings that tell a tale.

BSA 1917 manufacture with a broad arrow on the receiver, so accepted into British Service during the 1st.

After that, it would appear at some point it made it's way into the Canadian arsenal. And that's where it got interesting...

Because it got re-barrelled at LongBranch (Canada), with an LB stamp and a C Broad Arrow on the barrel.

There are a few of these out there. Before Longbranch got fully up to speed at the beginning of WWII, they re-barrelled a number of No. 1 Mk III's, just to get some guns out the door and into hands. As far as I can tell, none of these saw actual front line service (the Canadian Military had moved on to the No 4. Mk I before the war), but were put into the hands of second line troops (cooks, truck drivers, etc. ) home guard units, and POW camp guards.

Unfortunately, Bubba got hold of this one after WWII and did a number on the wood, so a lot of the secondary stampings are gone. I'm in the middle (for the past 3 years or so) of fitting it out with a full set of wood to give the old girl the dignity she deserves.
 
Canada went to war in 1939, and started the war with the no1mk3 rifle. At that time, the no4mk1 had only been built in small numbers as a trials rifle. The no4mk1 did not go into production in Canada until 1941, and serious production numbers did not happen until 1942. Until that point it was the no1mk3. It is possible to find the no1mk3 with new Canadian barrels made and installed by Small Arms Limited (Long Branch) during the early 40s.
 
The No. 1 Mk. 3s and No. 1 Mk. 3*s saw service in WWI, WWII, Korea, the Sino-Indian war (and many other conflicts, including as recently as Afghanistan).

A 1918 production it is hard to say if it would have made it to combat in WWI. If it was early 1918, definitely it could have, but like anything else you can never know. A 1910 production, could possibly not have made it to the front lines, well a 1917 one could have. Its all a matter of who it was issued to, and where it was.
 
Canadians fought at Dieppe using WW1 vintage Mk 3 Enfields in 1942. British forces fought with Mk3's in the European theater up until 1943, and the Far East theater until the end of WW2. So WW1 Lee Enfields saw much use in WW2.
 
Robbs said:
Canadians fought at Dieppe using WW1 vintage Mk 3 Enfields in 1942. British forces fought with Mk3's in the European theater up until 1943, and the Far East theater until the end of WW2. So WW1 Lee Enfields saw much use in WW2.
Click to expand...

the Canadians fighting in Italy were issued the No1 MkIII* it was not untill D-Day that Canadian formations were using the No4
 
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