Tracing the history of a SMLE No. 4 Mk. I
- Thread starter Paul_M
- Start date
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
If it's been FTR'd it certainly saw service. You don't send a new rifle back to the factory for overhaul.
The serial and letter prefix indicate it was made at Fazakerley in 1943
The serial and letter prefix indicate it was made at Fazakerley in 1943
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HB288xxA indicates the rifle was made at ROF Fazakerly as it falls in their 1941-1949 serial block. The "A" suffix denotes that at some point (possibly before the FTR and possibly no longer on the rifle), your enfield was fitted with at least one non-standard spec part. A common occurence in the hurry to manufacture wartime rifles.
The most likely "non-standard" part is a wartime safety that omitted the bolt-locking helicoid gear. They were all ordered replaced in service at the close of the war. No guarantee that that's the offending part though. In any event, an issue rifle passed muster and will be perfectly safe to shoot.
The most likely "non-standard" part is a wartime safety that omitted the bolt-locking helicoid gear. They were all ordered replaced in service at the close of the war. No guarantee that that's the offending part though. In any event, an issue rifle passed muster and will be perfectly safe to shoot.
The rifle likely was used, no way of telling where/who/when then went through the FTR, then into storage. It wasn't ungraded with Mk. II features at the time of its FTR. There is no way to tell what happened to it after the rebuild. It may have been in storage in the UK until it was sold as surplus and sporterized, or it could have been shipped to any one of a number of countries where it saw service, and was subsequently disposed of there.
