The Lee-Enfield Rifle

The various versions of the Lee-Enfield rifle served the British and Commonwealth armies through two of its most trying wars, and through many other conflicts from the Second Boer War to Korea. In all it served its soldiers well with its reliability and accuracy. The rifle was designed by James Paris Lee, a Scotsman born in 1831. A modification of a Lee produced rifle, fitted with a detachable magazine, was accepted for use by the government in 1888. The adoption of the Lee rifle also saw the transition from .450 caliber cartridge (as used in converted Sniders and the Martini-Henry) to the .303 caliber cartridge. It also marked the transition to using smokeless powder. A shortened version of this Lee rifle, using a six round magazine, was quickly introduced for service with the cavalry. No.1 Mk.III In 1901 the SMLE (Shortened, Magazine, Lee-Enfield) was introduced. It was 4 1/2" shorter than the previous first-generation Lee rifle, garnering it the name 'Shortened' even though it is considered a full-size rifle by modern standards. This modification eventually became known as the No.1 rifle, and had the squared barrel cap which marks this style. The most numerous type of the No.1 rifle was the Mark III, introduced in 1907. This design was used throughout WWI and WW2. This rifle was also produced in India at the Ishapore factory and in Australia at the Lithgow factory. The weight of the rifle was 8lbs. 10 1/2 oz, the length of the rifle was 3ft. 8 1/2 ins. Below are several close-ups of the No.1. Click on any image to see the full-size version. Receiver Mag Cutoff Rear Sight Muzzle Cap A No.1 produced prior to the second war has a "Magazine Cutoff" shown in a picture above. When pulled out it allows rounds to feed up from the magazine. When pushed in it 'cuts off' the magazine and creates a plate beneath the bolt. This is used when firing single loose rounds. The rear sights on the No.1 are the "V" type. Yardage is adjusted using a rolling block sight as shown above. No.4 Mk.I The Lee rifle underwent another design change in 1931, when the first No.4 Mk.I rifle was produced for testing. An extended period of trial with the new design meant that production had not yet begun by the time war broke out in 1939. This caused a most unsatisfactory situation made worse by the loss of over 300,000 No.1 Mk.III rifles in the evacuation of the BEF from France in 1940 at Dunkirk. Luckily, the No.4 Mk.I was much more suited to mass production and by June of 1941 production had begun at the Maltby, Fazakerley, and BSA Shirley plants. The new rifle does not appear in photographs of troops until the end of 1942, where it is seen with specialist troops such as the Airborne forces. Paras on the February 1942 Bruneval Raid are shown carrying the early No.1 rifle. However, pictures of the Paras deployed to the North African campaign in late 1942 are shown carrying the new No.4 rifle. The No.1 rifle continued in service throughout the war with many troops in the North Africa and Italian campaigns, especially among Britain's Commonwealth allies. The situation was the opposite for Northwest Europe. Troops from D-Day on who fought in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany are shown exclusively with the new No.4 rifle. Click on any image to see the full-size version. Bolt Bolt Release Receiver Muzzle Cap The No.4 is easily distinguished from the earlier Enfield rifle by the muzzle cap, as the wood stock no longer extends to the end of the barrel. The mounting for the bayonet also changed, as the No.4 took the spike bayonet rather than the sword bayonet used on earlier rifles. The No.4 Mk.I has a small spring-activated bolt-release, as shown in a picture above. In order to remove the bolt from the rifle this lever is pressed down as the bolt is pulled all the way back. This allows the bolt-head to rotate up and the bolt to slide out of the rifle. In order to acquire enough of the new rifle over 1 million No.4's were purchased from North America, with the imported rifles being given the designation No.4 Mk.I* (The British MOD uses the * after a rifle name to indicate a variation that does not warrant an entirely new designation. Often this is done long after production of the variation has begun as a means of standardizing parts and inventory.) Production in the United States took place at the Savage Arms factory in Massachusetts and in Canada at the Long Branch factory in Ontario. There are several differences in this variation of the No.4 rifle. The barrels often have two grooves of rifling rather than the five grooves seen in British production rifles. The North American rifles also forego using the bolt-release catch. The standards for parts were also relaxed in an effort to increase production. Nevertheless, rifles from the United States and Canada are usually quite well manufactured and often prized by collectors. During the second war the Indian and Australian plants, Ishapore and Lithgow respectively, continued to manufacture the No.1 Mk. III due to wartime exegencies. In 1916 the quality standards for No.1's had been relaxed in order to increase production. These rifles were designated the No.1 Mk.III*, and it is this variation that was produced in India and Australia. Structurally there is very little to distinguish this model, except for its simplified rear sight, and omission of the brass buttstock disc and magazine cutoff. No.4 Mk.I (T) - (with a Lyman Alaskan scope) A scoped version of the No.4 was produced for the sniper role. Choice production rifles were tested for accuracy, then fitted with a wood cheekpiece, accurizing under the barrel, and a scope. These rifles received new markings, and were designated as the No.4 Mk.I (T) model. In England the conversion of sniper rifles was made at Holland and Holland plant using No.32 Scopes, Mk.I through Mk.III. Due to a shortage of sniper rifles a similar conversion was done in North America beginning in late 1944 with Long Branch and Savage rifles using the American produced Lyman Alaskan scopes. A small number of experimental rifles were produced in Canada using the No.32 Mk.IV scope and a sporterized stock. Sniper rifles were usually issued with an American leather rifle sling. Click here to see our page on the No.4 Mk.I (T) sniper rifle. No.5 Mk.I - ("Jungle Carbine") A shortened version of the No.4 was considered desirable for the fighting in the South-East Asia. As a result, the No.5 Mk.I was produced beginning in late 1944. This weapon is more commonly known as the 'Jungle Carbine'. Serious problems with accuracy caused this rifle to have a short production life, although it proved popular with the troops and continued in use after the war in the conflicts in Palestine and Malaysia. It is nearly two pounds lighter and five inches shorter than the standard No.4 rifle. Australia experimented with a similar cut-down model based on the No.1 Mk.III receiver. Click on any image to see the full-size version. Buttplate Foreend The buttplate on the No.5 was modified so that the sling attached on the side of the butt on a fixed loop. The buttplate also incorporated a rubber pad to reduce the vicious recoil. A large flashhider was added to the barrel, as was a special fitting for a sword-type bayonet used exclusively on the No.5. The bayonet attachment has been filed off on the rifle shown above, apparently a common practice with troops who saw little value in its use. Another rifle commonly encountered as a living historian is the No.4 Mk.II. This rifle was introduced in 1949, and the outward appearance is nearly identical to the wartime No.4 rifle. With postwar Britain no longer under the strain of wartime mass-production, this rifle uses higher quality parts and wood, and often has a lighter coloured beech-wood stock. These rifles were used throughout the Korean conflict, and remained in service until replaced by the self-loading FN-FAL rifle. Ballistics As would be expected in a history of over 60 years the ballistics of the .303 cartridge changed a great deal. The first rounds used had a 215 gn bullet, were boxer primed, and using a compressed black powder charge they achieved a muzzle velocity of 1845 ft/sec. In 1891 the standard cartridge used cordite rather than black powder, and by 1893 were Berdan primed. The switch to cordite charges improved muzzle velocity to 1970 ft/sec. In 1910 the size of the bullet was reduced to 175 gn. These rounds achieved a muzzle velocity of 2440 ft/sec. A number of specialized rounds were made in .303. Hollow point rounds were introduced in 1897, and tracer rounds in 1915. More unusual are obersvation rounds using phosphorous in the bullet, and incendiary rounds. A round designated as armor piercing had a bullet that is common today in modern hunting rounds, using a copper-sheathed lead core. Related Links A great place for information or questions on these rifles is the Enfield Research Site. An excellent written resource on the Lee rifle is Ian Skennerton's The British Service Lee, which is out of print but can be found in used book stores and on online. Mr. Skennerton now has a web site titled Arms & Militaria Press. The Restoring and Accurizing the Lee-Enfield site is a how-to for restoring or improving your rifle.