THE LEE-ENFIELD RIFLE

THE LEE-ENFIELD RIFLE

THE LEE-ENFIELD RIFLE

By

MAJOR E. G. B. REYNOLDS

LONDON: HERBERT JENKINS

First published by Herbert Jenkins Ltd 3 Duke of York Street

London, S.W.1 1960

? E. G. B. REYNOLDS 1960 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Second Impression 1962

Printed in Great Britain by Cox and Wyman Limited, London, Reading and Fakenham

5

FOREWORD

BY LIEUT.-COLONEL LORD COTTESLOE, T.D., V.D.

THE introduction of firearms into the armies of this country goes back a long way. In 1590 Sir John Smythe, in a book that was promptly suppressed as contrary to public policy, was lamenting that the firearm had superseded the long bow, a far superior weapon, and even complaining that the firearms of that time were inferior to those of his youth. Sir Winston Churchill has written of Crecy that the arrow hail at 250 yards produced effects never reached again by infantry missiles at such a range until the American Civil War. It was not until after Waterloo that the rifle attained as great an effective range and accuracy as the long bow; nor was it until the introduction of the breech-loading rifle a hundred years ago that it could develop as high a rate of fire.

For some three hundred years, during which the cumbersome wheel lock and match lock were superseded by the flint lock and there was some development of rifled barrels and of cartridges to facilitate loading, the development of the firearm was slow. But early in the nineteenth century Alexander Forsyth's brilliant concept of the percussion cap led the way in a remarkable revolution that culminated during the latter half of the century in a breech-loading rifle with a small bore and with relatively shallow rifling to reduce the accumulation of powder fouling, a rifle firing a long bullet of high stability, capable of good accuracy and of a high rate of fire. These most important developments were followed by the bolt action and the magazine to feed into the chamber a number of cartridges, by great improvements in propellants that enabled the length of barrel to be reduced and the weapon to be easily handled, and by the pointed bullet that sustained its velocity up to long distances. These were developments that altogether revolutionized the value of the rifle as an instrument of war, and had a profound effect on military tactics.

All this came to its full flowering in the Lee-Enfield ?303 magazine rifle, more particularly in the short model with which the British Army was equipped at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. It was a rifle light and handy, accurate at short and at long ranges, and as a result of a providential chance in the curved design of the bolt lever capable of a remarkable rate of fire. With this rifle more than sixty shots were fired in a minute, as a tour de force, in the proof butts; and with the highest training and skill thirty-seven shots

6

could be fired at a target in the same time by a man in full Service equipment. The Regular Army in 1914 were highly trained in the use of this rifle, and

the impact of their rapid fire during the German invasion of France was so great that the Germans believed the British Army to be using machine-guns. The effect of the Lee-Enfield rifle, as used by an army trained in its application for rapid fire, was of the greatest importance and influence on the early course of the war.

The history of the development of the rifle during the nineteenth century, and its culmination, so far as this country was concerned, in the Lee-Enfield rifle, is little known to the public. Major Reynolds has done a valuable service in setting down, in a book that is a mine of interesting information, the factual history of this rifle and its development from the beginnings until the present day, and he is to be congratulated on assembling and making available this fascinating story.

7

AUTHOR'S NOTE

THIS publication should be of particular interest to weapon collectors in all parts of the world, and to owners of any model of Lee-Enfield Rifle who want to know more about it. No collection of rifles can be complete without some representatives of the Lee-Enfield family, and this is a factual history of the Lee-Enfield from its inception to the present day.

Although its basic design remains unaltered during sixty years of service the Lee-Enfield has undergone many changes, according to the requirements from time to time of the British Services. The reasons for the changes, how and when they took place, are fully explained. All models and Marks of the Lee-Enfield are fully dealt with.

Throughout its many years of useful service the Lee-Enfield has had many critics, particularly regarding its accuracy as a target-shooting weapon. Many writers and critics appear to have overlooked the fact that it was designed as the British soldier's personal arm, and not as a target rifle. Its efficiency in the role for which it was intended was proved beyond question in the First World War and many survivors of those awful years of trench warfare will always regard the Short Lee-Enfield with no little affection. Its successor in World War II, the No. 4 Rifle, also proved itself a most efficient weapon of war and its smaller brother, the No. 5, emerged from the Far Eastern jungles with honours. The heavier barrel of the No. 4 has done much to enhance its reputation as an accurate target-shooting weapon. In many trials carried out during the Second World War the No. 4 Rifle, fitted with the No. 32 Telescope Sight, proved itself superior in accuracy to other sniping equipments, friendly and enemy, against which it was pitted.

Every effort has been made to avoid personal bias and opinions and compile an accurate factual history of the Lee-Enfield. Dates of introduction and official approval have all been taken from the War Office Lists of Changes. These dates are not necessarily those on which the various models first appeared in the British Services. For instance, the No. 4 Mark I* Rifle was being issued to the Forces in 1941, but its official introduction was delayed until 1946. This was an exception to the general rule and dates of approval and introduction were usually near the dates on which the weapons were first issued.

Accounts of trials which took place prior to World War II are

8

mostly based on reports of the Small Arms Committees, who were the War Office authority on these matters. Some of the trials were inconclusive and the reports may appear disjointed at times but they are the facts as recorded in the official archives.

The author would like to emphasize the valuable assistance he has received from the Inspectorate of Armament's Pattern Room at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock. He remembers the wholesale slaughter of old records which took place soon after the War (while he was serving on the Headquarters Staff of the Inspectorate of Armaments) and is grateful to those Infantry Officers, and others, who did not regard Small Arms as so much "black magic", and saved what they could for future reference.

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download