- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
Not sure is this a no 1 mk 3?
Does anyone know? No1 mk iii?
- Thread starter tinymike66
- Start date
- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
Awesome...thank you.
My neighbour sold it to me.
It has an ati stock and drilled for scope.
Just a possible Deerror gun if I ever get asked to go.
Cheap 3x9x40 scope too.
$150.
If it goes bang I figured why not.
Sporter Lee Enfields probably have put more meat on the table in Canada than any other surplus rifle. They are a classic and get the job done. Rugged and reliable, you made a good choice. You paid what it costs for just the stock set, well done.
What you have is THE battle rifle of WWI, made at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, London, England in 1918. The model is a Sht.LE mk.III*, or Short, Lee Enfield Mk.III*. The model being Mark.III, the * designation signified that the rifle had been made with some war time manufacturing concessions to get it through production quicker and into soldiers' hands.
The changes were to the sighting system. It involved the deletion of a secondary sighting system referred to as the 'volley sights'. The sights were used for firing on mass at a distant target to create a worrying fire and harass the enemy, often over a mile away. The tactic was a throw back to earlier days where archers would shoot a phalanx of arrows. The bullet trajectory of volley fire would make it possible to engage an enemy behind a distant hill. Its effectiveness was limited and the introduction of the machine gun to the battle field was used to the same effect, making volley sights redundant. So they were dropped from production late 1915.
Another war time manufacturing concession was the removal of the magazine cut off plate. A device for blocking the top of the magazine turning the rifle into a single loader, but with a magazine supply of ten rounds for use in an emergency, such as rapid fire on a closing enemy. This was a throw back to early days where the soldier fired in ranks under the control of an officer. If needed, the officer would call 'Magazine fire!'. The Lee Enfield was quite capable of firing 30 rounds a minute. Early in the first war, Germans engaging British troops were under the belief that they had been fired upon by massed machine guns.
Post war, the cut off was reinstated. Between the wars there was a refurbishment program where rifles were completely rebuilt to as new specs and the cut off was retrofitted. Such rifles * designation cancelled out. Such is the case with your rifle. It is now a Mk.III.
In 1925, there was directive to simplify how weapons were identified in British stores. The Sht.LE Mk.III (or Short Magazine Lee Enfield = SMLE Mk.III) became the rifle No.1 Mk.III. any of the three designations is correct.
What you have is THE battle rifle of WWI, made at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, London, England in 1918. The model is a Sht.LE mk.III*, or Short, Lee Enfield Mk.III*. The model being Mark.III, the * designation signified that the rifle had been made with some war time manufacturing concessions to get it through production quicker and into soldiers' hands.
The changes were to the sighting system. It involved the deletion of a secondary sighting system referred to as the 'volley sights'. The sights were used for firing on mass at a distant target to create a worrying fire and harass the enemy, often over a mile away. The tactic was a throw back to earlier days where archers would shoot a phalanx of arrows. The bullet trajectory of volley fire would make it possible to engage an enemy behind a distant hill. Its effectiveness was limited and the introduction of the machine gun to the battle field was used to the same effect, making volley sights redundant. So they were dropped from production late 1915.
Another war time manufacturing concession was the removal of the magazine cut off plate. A device for blocking the top of the magazine turning the rifle into a single loader, but with a magazine supply of ten rounds for use in an emergency, such as rapid fire on a closing enemy. This was a throw back to early days where the soldier fired in ranks under the control of an officer. If needed, the officer would call 'Magazine fire!'. The Lee Enfield was quite capable of firing 30 rounds a minute. Early in the first war, Germans engaging British troops were under the belief that they had been fired upon by massed machine guns.
Post war, the cut off was reinstated. Between the wars there was a refurbishment program where rifles were completely rebuilt to as new specs and the cut off was retrofitted. Such rifles * designation cancelled out. Such is the case with your rifle. It is now a Mk.III.
In 1925, there was directive to simplify how weapons were identified in British stores. The Sht.LE Mk.III (or Short Magazine Lee Enfield = SMLE Mk.III) became the rifle No.1 Mk.III. any of the three designations is correct.
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- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
That's awesome. Wish I had the wood for it .... just the history of it is awesome.
How do you tell if the * was cancelled out? The line stamped underneath the *?
I see the * lined out with two lines. Done by hand, so not precise.
