How common are 1956 ROF Fazakerley No.4 Mk2 Lee Enfields? anybody got one?

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mkrnel

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I have a 1956 dated ROF Fazakerley No.4 Mk2 Lee Enfield and I also know that the No.4 production factory was closed down in that year and sold off to Pakistan in that year as well, anybody know how many Faz rifles they made that year before they closed down production and who they issued them to?
 
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You may be the only other person who has one. As unlikely as that sounds, there should be thousands of '56 Faz No.4 Mk.2's out there....and as far as I knew until a moment ago, I had the only one. I'd love to see pictures... please post.

I know they're out there...
 
stevebc said:
You may be the only other person who has one. As unlikely as that sounds, there should be thousands of '56 Faz No.4 Mk.2's out there....and as far as I knew until a moment ago, I had the only one. I'd love to see pictures... please post.

I know they're out there...
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I knew you had one after searching out info about 1956 Faz's on the web and seeing your postings, I did see another posting from somebody in my extensive shearching who said that basically as these were the last limited run and they had already settled on and were preparing to start making the L1A1's they all but a few went straight into long term storage and kept to the last when they were then later mostly destroyed. It seems that only about 10,000 in total were made as the production run only lasted a few months before the order to finish up send the factory to Pakistan.

It must be lucky that at least two ended up in Canada. When I got it I didn't even realise that it was from the last run of Faz No.4 Mk2's, I was just looking for a nice No.4 Mk2 to add to my LE collection, I was really surprised when I started to search out the serial number to try and determine who or where it may have been issued too.

The serial number on mine is 402**, I would post some pictures but I have just taken it down to give it a good cleaning, linseed oil the wood and check to confirm it was all matching, which it is right down to the magazine.
 
Most of the Fazakerly 1956s seem to be recycled and floor sweeping receivers. Ie) they show earlier features and non standard parts and markings.

I think I may have 2 of them....
 
Serial numbers start UP###x I've seen a few of them, blonde Beechwood furniture, matte blackened finish - slightly less shine than the PF guns, most of which still had Walnut furniture and the Mk1 rear sight. Generally the 1956 guns are in new, unissued condition, which costs extra :cool:
 
mkrnel said:
I have a 1956 dated ROF Fazakerley No.4 Mk2 Lee Enfield and I also know that the No.4 production factory was closed down in that year and sold off to Pakistan in that year as well, anybody know how many Faz rifles they made that year before they closed down production and who they issued them to?
Click to expand...

Most, if not all, would have gone into War Stocks and sat in an Ordnance Depot for decades before being sold off as surplus.
 
mkrnel said:
I knew you had one after searching out info about 1956 Faz's on the web and seeing your postings, I did see another posting from somebody in my extensive shearching who said that basically as these were the last limited run and they had already settled on and were preparing to start making the L1A1's they all but a few went straight into long term storage and kept to the last when they were then later mostly destroyed. It seems that only about 10,000 in total were made as the production run only lasted a few months before the order to finish up send the factory to Pakistan.

It must be lucky that at least two ended up in Canada. When I got it I didn't even realise that it was from the last run of Faz No.4 Mk2's, I was just looking for a nice No.4 Mk2 to add to my LE collection, I was really surprised when I started to search out the serial number to try and determine who or where it may have been issued too.

The serial number on mine is 402**, I would post some pictures but I have just taken it down to give it a good cleaning, linseed oil the wood and check to confirm it was all matching, which it is right down to the magazine.
Click to expand...

Interesting- I didn't know the magazines were serial numbered, too. Unfortunately, mine isn't, nor do I have a matching bolt...
 
enefgee said:
Serial numbers start UP###x I've seen a few of them, blonde Beechwood furniture, matte blackened finish - slightly less shine than the PF guns, most of which still had Walnut furniture and the Mk1 rear sight. Generally the 1956 guns are in new, unissued condition, which costs extra :cool:
Click to expand...

Mine starts with UF. I hadn't heard of any with UP, but you never know.
 
Lee Enfield said:
Most of the Fazakerly 1956s seem to be recycled and floor sweeping receivers. Ie) they show earlier features and non standard parts and markings.

I think I may have 2 of them....
Click to expand...

If you can enlarge on that- what non-standard features to look for, I'd be grateful. And as always, pictures are great too.
 
UF was the second last series made, UP the very last. I have a PF gun made in 1954 - according to the importer (30 years ago) they were issued as drill rifles to University Cadet Corps. They weren't marked up as such, since the Universities that had Cadet Corps were not issued any ammunition for them, it was considered unnecessary. When the University Cadets did their summer training they were using L1A1's. So basically, they were handled, and drilled (mine has bumps and dings) but never fired - mine was absolutely perfect from the bolt head to the muzzle, and in the magazine.
 
enefgee said:
UF was the second last series made, UP the very last. I have a PF gun made in 1954 - according to the importer (30 years ago) they were issued as drill rifles to University Cadet Corps. They weren't marked up as such, since the Universities that had Cadet Corps were not issued any ammunition for them, it was considered unnecessary. When the University Cadets did their summer training they were using L1A1's. So basically, they were handled, and drilled (mine has bumps and dings) but never fired - mine was absolutely perfect from the bolt head to the muzzle, and in the magazine.
Click to expand...

Where did this UP serial number prefix come from? According to info I have seen, the late 1950's UK serial number prefix regime for all UK small arms serial number refers to the country of manufacture and production factory, ie. the serial prefix U refers to United Kingdom, with the last letter in the prefix always denoting the factory, ie. Fazakerley. And as ROF Fazakerley was the only UK No4 Mk2 maker, the only other factory that made No4 Mk2's being POF Pakistan on the ROF Fazakerley supplied tooling and machinery when they stopped making them.

Why would they go away from their standard convention and follow UF with UP?

My No.4 Mk2 rifle is stamped No.4 MK2 above UF 56 A 40217. Each Serial number block also ran from "A 1" til when they reached "A 999999" when they would have switched to "B 1 to B 999999" etc. I have heard that Faz only made 40,000 No.4 MK2 rifles in 1955 so my one was the 217th made one in 1965 before they shut down production.
 
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enefgee said:
UF was the second last series made, UP the very last. I have a PF gun made in 1954 - according to the importer (30 years ago) they were issued as drill rifles to University Cadet Corps. They weren't marked up as such, since the Universities that had Cadet Corps were not issued any ammunition for them, it was considered unnecessary. When the University Cadets did their summer training they were using L1A1's. So basically, they were handled, and drilled (mine has bumps and dings) but never fired - mine was absolutely perfect from the bolt head to the muzzle, and in the magazine.
Click to expand...

Thanks enefgee, that explains the bumps and bruises on my 1/54 as well yet a pristine bore.
 
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