Canadian WW2

Long Branch No. 4's for overseas troopies. Some No. 1's for 'Zombies'(the troopies who refused to volunteer for overseas duty). No No. 5's I've ever heard about. The Ross was pitched during W.W. I.
The No. 4 was used until the C1 was issued after Korea.
 
welll long branch was (at least one ) the canadian manufactures )
in the states....savage......lithgow (AUS)
Enfield (of course)
uh Fazakerly ( they did the repair maybe building them also )
there were more

Caution: the enfield rifle is highly addicting

canadians also used sub guns Stens, thompson, and FYI inglis (yep the washing machine manufacturer ) made our hi power pistols
 
and...

I believe the Enfield P17 in 30-06 cal...saw a documentary film at the Canadian War Museum where the reserve (Fusillers du St Laurent) on the coast of the Gulf of the St Lawrence river were doing maneuvres with this P-17, there was a red painted band on the forestock to avoid confusion with it twin sister the Enfield P-14 in 303 Britiah caliber...as well as grooves int eh bayonet handle to distingish it.

I also have a Ross Rifle M-10 that has HG stamped on the butt...Home Guard...I was told they used it in Canada for protection of important points like bridges, dams, etc...

If you limit your question to Oversee troops you get a more simple answer...

J
 
There were other Lee Enfields in Canadian service not produced at Long Branch. There were also P-17s in Canadian service. I used to own one!

Long Branch also produced STENs... used to have one of them too.
 
summerside sniper said:
Thank you all very much. That only took 13 min! WOW! Now that you guys have said all that. What arsenals made the No 4? I thought Long Branch was a type or name of some sort of L.E.
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Longbranch was actually a place, not the name of the company. It was a crown corporation, Small Arms Ltd, which made the Cdn wartime production of the Stens and Enfields. At the end of the war, it was renamed Canadian Arsenals Ltd, and continued making Enfields when required, and later producing the FNs and SMGs.
 
Until No. 4 rifle inventory was large enough that the rifles could be issued in quantity, SMLE rifles were the standard. Canadian troops in the 1st Division went overseas with SMLEs in 1939. Many troops in Italy carried them. SMLEs were used at Hong Kong. Troops rotated out of Italy for service in NW Europe exchanged SMLE rifles for No. 4s. Troops equipped with No. 4 rifles in Canada would have gone overseas with LB rifles. Troops equipped with No. 4s overseas may have received LB rifles. Cdn. snipers did not. Many, if not the majority, of the LB made rifles went to Britain, for British use.
In 1939, there were more Ross rifles of different marks in inventory than SMLEs. Rosses were used for training throughout WW2, at least into 1944. Mk. III Ross rifles were also supplied to the UK for Home Guard issue. Many of the Rosses that went to England were sporterized in the UK and sold surplus in Canada in the '50s. I would suggest that a Ross with a HG serial number on the left side of the breech was made and sold for WWI Canadian Home Guard use. Some of these rifles may have been used for secondary purposes during WW2. During WW2, did Canada have an organization officially known as the "Home Guard"?
P-14 and M 1917 rifles were used, particularly in Canada. M17s with RCAF marks have been observed.
First Cdn. combat use of Stens was at Dieppe.
 
Rifles-WWII

Initial overseas deployments to England and Hong Kong were with No1 MkIIIs.You don't see No 4s appearing in the hands of troops until Sicily and Italy in 1943.The Canadian Army Official History Vol 1 Appendix G notes that the No1MKIII was the standard rifle until Nov 1942,and was then phased out in favor of the No4.This pretty much tracks with the ramp up in No4 production at Longbranch.Apart from the Hong Kong disaster in Dec 1941 and the Dieppe fiasco in summer 1942,the Canadian Army was not engaged in significant operations until 1943.After that the No4 was standard issue overseas until VE Day.On the home front things began with the Mk III,but Rosses were also pressed into service initially.My Dad and uncle both trained with Rosses and the MkIII in Canada.Canada also purchased a large number of M1917 Enfields from the US for use on the home front-reserve battalions,POW camp guards,RCAF ground defence,etc.In late 1945 the 6th Division was concentrating in Canada for operations against the Japanese and was organized along US Army TOE and equipped with the full range of US small arms-Garands,Carbines,etc.
 
A couple of footnotes;
-In WW2 we had an organization known as the Veterans Guard of Canada-peak strength in 1943 was 451 officers and 9806 ORs.It was employed mainly on POW Camp guard duty in Canada ,but also guarded designated vulnerable points.
-There are exceptions to every rule.A while back I was visiting the 12th Manitoba Dragoons museum in the Brandon Armoury and saw a photo of a sniper with ther Perth Regt in Italy using a scoped P14 Enfield!!
-on SMGs,the Thompson was the standard in Italy,but was exchanged for the STEN when 1 Cdn Corps re-deployed from Italy to NW Europe in Feb/Mar 1945.From reading a few accounts,this was not a welcome change.
 
A vet I know was not pleased to turn in his SMLE for a No.4. Don't recall if this was while he was still in Italy.
Issue of No.4Ts to Cdn snipers was rather late in the war.
 
and the 1st Special Service Force (FSSF)

these Canadians also used the standard US equipment, uniforms and fire arms...

The RC Navy, I believe used Ross Rifle for their shore patrol, boarding party etc...I know they did in WW1, I missed my chance to buy one that had a rack number with matching bayonet...I was told this one was on a Canadian ship sold to a South American country...then the Ross & bayonet with rack numbers resurfaced on the surplus market...




purple said:
A couple of footnotes;
-In WW2 we had an organization known as the Veterans Guard of Canada-peak strength in 1943 was 451 officers and 9806 ORs.It was employed mainly on POW Camp guard duty in Canada ,but also guarded designated vulnerable points.
-There are exceptions to every rule.A while back I was visiting the 12th Manitoba Dragoons museum in the Brandon Armoury and saw a photo of a sniper with ther Perth Regt in Italy using a scoped P14 Enfield!!
-on SMGs,the Thompson was the standard in Italy,but was exchanged for the STEN when 1 Cdn Corps re-deployed from Italy to NW Europe in Feb/Mar 1945.From reading a few accounts,this was not a welcome change.
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The Rosses you are referring to have a serial number DA + up to 3 digits. They were ship's stores on HMS Canada. HMS Canada was a British ship, not Canadian. The ship was laid down for Chile prior to WWI. Bought and finished by Britain, was at Jutland in 1916. The bayonets, scabbards and frogs for these rifles were modified to RN spec. In 1920, the ship was sold back to Chile, served as Almirante Latorre until the late '50s, when she was scrapped. Rifles were subsequently sold as surplus. I have two DA rifles, one with matching bayonet. The rifles served originally with the CEF, one with the 15th Bn., the other with the 16th. After they were withdrawn from front line Canadian service, they went to the RN. I am aware of one DA Mk. III Ross dated 1918. This must be one of the last Rosses assembled from parts.
 
I have a picture of my great uncle very clearly holding a P14 while undergoing training in Debert, NS. He was a XII Manitoba Dragoon and the photo was taken shortly before he went overseas.
 
tiriaq said:
The Rosses you are referring to have a serial number DA + up to 3 digits. They were ship's stores on HMS Canada. HMS Canada was a British ship, not Canadian. The ship was laid down for Chile prior to WWI. Bought and finished by Britain, was at Jutland in 1916. The bayonets, scabbards and frogs for these rifles were modified to RN spec. In 1920, the ship was sold back to Chile, served as Almirante Latorre until the late '50s, when she was scrapped. Rifles were subsequently sold as surplus. I have two DA rifles, one with matching bayonet. The rifles served originally with the CEF, one with the 15th Bn., the other with the 16th. After they were withdrawn from front line Canadian service, they went to the RN. I am aware of one DA Mk. III Ross dated 1918. This must be one of the last Rosses assembled from parts.
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Fascinating info...I developped an interest for the Ross as my Grand father worked at the plant on the Plain of Abrahan in Québec City. I have a nicely sportarised frontstock M-10 (too bad for the sportarised aspect). I read the Russian adapted the Ross to their 7.62X54 caliber and won international shooting competitions...
 
SMLE's

Two of my Canadian issued MKIII*'s wear '42 LB stamped replacement barrels. Obviously shipped back to SAL for refit when replaced by LB No.4's. They then would have been re-issued as 2nd line defence weapons. Same for M1917 (P17's) which I've seen marked to RCAF,QOR and various home guard units. I've yet to ever see proof that P14's were used by Canadian troops, any claimed to be turned out to wear 1917 stocks that were C-broad arrow marked.
Geoff
 
I have seen a picture from the (National Archives?) showing a Canadian Sailor during an Anti Submarine Action crouching on the deck of a (corvette), with what appeared to be some kind of Lee-Metford in his hands, does this jive? Also saw pics of American soldiers on maneuvers in the UK somewhere with what appeared to be Lee-Metfords with ropes for slings. Pretty interesting.
 
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