my dad has a NWMP carbine that was issued right after they handed in the ross rifles, the gun was originally built for the irish calvary and apparently we may have purchased between 500-1000 of these to bridge through the times between supplies. can anyone enlighten me a bit more? he remembers the story fairly well, i was just wanting to find out any more info i could, thanks!
NWMP enfield carbine 303
- Thread starter Mayhem
- Start date
NWMP used several different "Enfield" carbines: Snider-ENFIELD, Martini-ENFIELD, Lee-ENFIELD, all with different actions. I suspect that you are talking about the LEE-Enfield carbine which was used before and after the brief flirtation with the Ross.
Bolt-action, TAPERED barrel, SIX-round magazine chained to the triggerguard, cutoff.
The one here has a shockingly-low serial number and is marked on the LEFT side of the butt-socket as (Crown), VR, ENFIELD, 1896, LEC, I. Flag safety on the bolt. Bolt-handle swept forward and top of bolt-knob flattened. Butt marked "M & D", also Enfield signet seal, "I" below "I", cartouche with "RNWMP". There is a STOCK DISC which has the Division and Rack number, which is very handy for tracing the precise history of these significant little rifles.
And they are worth a PILE of loonies.
What else is there?
Hope this helps.
.
Bolt-action, TAPERED barrel, SIX-round magazine chained to the triggerguard, cutoff.
The one here has a shockingly-low serial number and is marked on the LEFT side of the butt-socket as (Crown), VR, ENFIELD, 1896, LEC, I. Flag safety on the bolt. Bolt-handle swept forward and top of bolt-knob flattened. Butt marked "M & D", also Enfield signet seal, "I" below "I", cartouche with "RNWMP". There is a STOCK DISC which has the Division and Rack number, which is very handy for tracing the precise history of these significant little rifles.
And they are worth a PILE of loonies.
What else is there?
Hope this helps.
.
Actually, smellie, there was no significant use (if any at all) of Martini-Enfield carbines or rifles by the NWMP/RNWMP .....
Toward the end of the service period of the .45-75 Model 1876 Winchester (which had replaced the Snider-Enfield) the NWMP received 200 Lee-Metford Magazine Carbines (in service 1895-1914) and 450 Lee-Enfield Magazine Rifles (i.e. the so-called "Long Lee-Enfield", in service 1900-c.1920).
The Winchester was finally (but very briefly) replaced as primary-issue long arm of the Force by the MkI Ross rifle (1,000 of them, in service 1905-1907.) Found badly wanting for RNWMP service, the Mark I was withdrawn in 1907, in anticipation of receipt of newer MKII rifles, which the Ross Rifle Company actually failed to deliver until the summer of 1909! In fact, none of these MkII Ross rifles were ever issued to Detachments - they were kept at Depot in Regina for target practice and drill, pending full acceptance by a very skeptical Commissioner and his Staff - which never happened because all but 34 of the 1,000 rifles were destroyed in a fire in March of 1912!
Following withdrawal of the Mk I Ross rifles in 1907, the RNWMP reverted to using its old Winchester and Lee-Metford carbines until, in September of 1914 the Force was rearmed with 1,000 Lee-Enfield carbines, freed up by the rearming of the Canadian militia with the Mark III Ross rifle. (They were purchased as surplus from the Department of Militia & Defence at a cost of $1.00 each!)
The Department of Militia & Defence had acquired some 4,800 of these Lee-Enfield carbines (which, like the rifle version, were almost identical in appearance with their Lee-Metford predecessors, the only significant difference being the form of rifling) in 1896-1899. They were all acquired new from the Royal Ordnance Factory at Enfield, so I'm afraid your father's understanding of the circumstances is erroneous.
Indeed, at that time there was no such thing as an "Irish cavalry" - all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom back then, with a single army. It is possible there is some confusion with the Royal Irish Constabulary (usually abbreviated RIC) upon which the general organization of the NWMP was originally based, if I recall correctly. There was a distinct RIC-pattern Lee-Enfield carbine, but it was a noticeably different configuration from the standard military-configuration carbines used by the Canadian Militia, and subsequently by the RNWMP .....
Standard Military-configuration Magazine Lee-Metford (top) and Lee-Enfield (bottom) carbines -
Royal Irish Constabulary-configuration Magazine Lee-Enfield carbine -
Toward the end of the service period of the .45-75 Model 1876 Winchester (which had replaced the Snider-Enfield) the NWMP received 200 Lee-Metford Magazine Carbines (in service 1895-1914) and 450 Lee-Enfield Magazine Rifles (i.e. the so-called "Long Lee-Enfield", in service 1900-c.1920).
The Winchester was finally (but very briefly) replaced as primary-issue long arm of the Force by the MkI Ross rifle (1,000 of them, in service 1905-1907.) Found badly wanting for RNWMP service, the Mark I was withdrawn in 1907, in anticipation of receipt of newer MKII rifles, which the Ross Rifle Company actually failed to deliver until the summer of 1909! In fact, none of these MkII Ross rifles were ever issued to Detachments - they were kept at Depot in Regina for target practice and drill, pending full acceptance by a very skeptical Commissioner and his Staff - which never happened because all but 34 of the 1,000 rifles were destroyed in a fire in March of 1912!
Following withdrawal of the Mk I Ross rifles in 1907, the RNWMP reverted to using its old Winchester and Lee-Metford carbines until, in September of 1914 the Force was rearmed with 1,000 Lee-Enfield carbines, freed up by the rearming of the Canadian militia with the Mark III Ross rifle. (They were purchased as surplus from the Department of Militia & Defence at a cost of $1.00 each!)
The Department of Militia & Defence had acquired some 4,800 of these Lee-Enfield carbines (which, like the rifle version, were almost identical in appearance with their Lee-Metford predecessors, the only significant difference being the form of rifling) in 1896-1899. They were all acquired new from the Royal Ordnance Factory at Enfield, so I'm afraid your father's understanding of the circumstances is erroneous.
Indeed, at that time there was no such thing as an "Irish cavalry" - all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom back then, with a single army. It is possible there is some confusion with the Royal Irish Constabulary (usually abbreviated RIC) upon which the general organization of the NWMP was originally based, if I recall correctly. There was a distinct RIC-pattern Lee-Enfield carbine, but it was a noticeably different configuration from the standard military-configuration carbines used by the Canadian Militia, and subsequently by the RNWMP .....
Standard Military-configuration Magazine Lee-Metford (top) and Lee-Enfield (bottom) carbines -
Royal Irish Constabulary-configuration Magazine Lee-Enfield carbine -
