British Rifles & Carbines

The Enfield No4 rifle entered service during 1941, it was made at various factories in the UK, as well as the Savage-Stevens factory in the USA which made huge numbers for the British Army, Long Branch in Canada also made very large numbers of them for the British and Canadian forces. The No4 underwent very little change during WW2, most modifications being small manufacturing concessions to speed production, the only two Mark variants being the Mk1 and the Mk1*.

The No5 Jungle Carbine was a lightened and shortened version of the No4, although more practical for jungle fighting it had a huge kick on being fired and suffered from inherent zero (accuracy) problems, probably caused by one lightening cut too many. Much research was carried out but the problem was never overcome and the No5 became obsolete a few years after the end of WW2

The No4 carried on in service totally replacing the SMLE after WW2 and was finally phased out when replaced by the SLR from 1958. However, a sniper version the L42 carried on until it was replaced by the Accuracy International rifle in the 80's.

The Enfield SMLE entered service as the Mk1 just after the turn of the 20th century, when King Edward VII was still on the throne. After various upgrades the revised short rifle, the SMLE MKIII, was introduced prior to WW1.

Various companies and countries produced the SMLE for the Empire, RSAF Enfield, LSA and BSA in the UK (Also Standard Small Arms, later the National Rifle Factory during late 1917 & 1918), Lithgow in Australia and Ishapore in India (India continured manufacturing the SMLE into the 1970's!).

Manufacturing alterations caused several changes to simplify production, offically from 1916 but in practice prior to this. The main changes were to the rear sights and the removal of the magazine cut off which was designed for single shot loading, also the omission of the long range volley sights, this became the MKIII*. In practice however rifles dated 1917/18 sometimes still have the cut off. However repairs and modification to new specifications meant that MKIII's often appear with fixed rear sights and new wood without volley sights.

The SMLE, renamed the Rifle No1 MkIII* (they should all have been upgraded to MK111* where possible), carried on until the end of WW2 in the British Army, seeing service in France in 1940, and also in North Africa, Italy and Burma etc until the end of WW2.

Rifles such as the 'Long' Lee Enfield, CLLE, Martini Henry/Enfield etc

The Pattern 14 rifle was derived from the Enfield P13 which was intended to replace the SMLE but with the outbreak of war production was halted. Spare prodciton cpacity in the USA meant that they could manufacture a version of the P13 and this went ahead as the P14, the Americans used some additonal capacity to make the .30-06 chambered P17. Both rifles went on to be used by the Home Huard in WW2 due to the shortage rifles after Dunkirk.