HISTORY OF THE LEE ENFIELD RIFLE
The Lee-Enfield (or what
would become the Lee-Enfield) rifle actually began its tenure as
The Magazine Rifle MkI, the
first of the Lee rifles, was most commonly referred
to as the Lee-Metford, or Magazine Lee-Metford (MLM). As the Lee-Metford was
designed to fire a black powder cartridge, the subsequent change to a smokeless
powder (Cordite) loaded cartridge presented a couple of problems. The first was
expected as the increased velocity altered the ballistics of the .303 British
cartridge and this required a new backsight to accommodate the different
trajectory. What was not completely expected was the Metford rifling’s
inability to withstand the hotter temperatures of the Cordite loading,
unacceptable throat erosion began to present itself rapidly. RSAF Enfield dealt
with this problem by designing a new rifling pattern that had sharper edges,
was cut deeper, and had lands and grooves of equal width, needless to say it
was named Enfield rifling. Adopted in 1895 the new
barrel, with altered sights, fitted to the Lee action became the Lee-Enfield
Magazine Rifle Mark I, or Magazine Lee-Enfield (MLE). Since the MLM and MLE
were 49.5 inches long overall, they are often referred to as Long Lees. In
conjunction with the development of the Long Lee’s, similar carbines were
produced for the Cavalry. These carbines differed only in their overall length
(39.9 inches) and magazine capacity, otherwise they mirrored the Infantry
rifles. The Carbines as developed were adopted as the Lee-Metford Cavalry
Carbine MkI, Lee-Enfield Cavalry Carbine MkI (LEC MkI), Lee-Enfield Cavalry
Carbine MkI* and the Magazine Lee-Enfield Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)
carbine.
It was
during the second Boer War of 1899-1902 that demonstrated the Long Lee’s
inability to compete with the Boers German made Mausers. The main shortcomings
included poor accuracy and the lack of a charger loading capacity. This caused
the British to begin trials on an improved Lee-Enfield that would address these
faults. In addition to correcting the known faults of the MLE the government
was keen to reduce the cost and logistics of arming both the Infantry and
Cavalry and sought to issue both with the same rifle.
RSAF
Enfield responded with the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle MkI, or SMLE.
Developed to provide a single rifle to replace both the Magazine Lee-Enfield
and the Lee-Enfield Carbine it had an overall length of 44.5 inches, the new
weapon was referred to as a short rifle, thus the word "short" refers
to the length of the rifle NOT the length of the magazine. The SMLE also included
provisions for charger loading and an improved sighting system where the front
sight, set in a dovetail, could be replaced by a unit armourer to individually
zero each rifle utilizing a variety of different sized sights. The SMLE MkI was
officially adopted in 1902 and between 1903 and 1907 it saw a host of
modifications culminating in the most recognizable variation the SMLE MkIII.
This rifle and its sister the MkIII* would prove itself to be a formidable
combat rifle during World War One and would remain Great Britain’s
primary service arm until midway through World War Two.
Although
the SMLE MkIII and MkIII* remained the primary service rifle of the British
Army and that of her Commonwealth countries between 1907 and 1939 trials and
experiments continued on the rifle at RSAF Enfield. These included attempts to
reduce production costs, utilize improved mass production methods and develop
better sighting arrangements. To this end RSAF Enfield produced the SMLE MkV
trials rifle in 1922, its main improvement being a receiver mounted aperture
sight, and then in 1926 it produced the No1 MkVI. This rifle departed radically
from the SMLE, incorporating a receiver mounted aperture sight, heavier barrel
and a stronger receiver. Designed with modern manufacturing processes in mind
it was faster and cheaper to produce, eliminating many hand fitting procedures.
The MkVI rifle will eventually be adopted in 1939 as the No4 MkI rifle of World
War Two fame.
In 1926, the British government
changed the nomenclature of its rifles, re-designating the SMLE’s as No1
Rifles, the .22 caliber conversions of SMLE’s as No2 Rifles, P-14
Enfields as No3 Rifles and yet to follow, the No1 MkVI would become the No4
rifle. Serious collectors will distinguish between earlier SMLE rifles and later
No1 rifles, but for all practical purposes "SMLE" and "No1
Rifle" are alternate names for the same weapon.
The No4
MkI rifle was the last major development in the Lee-Enfield series of rifles.
The No4 would provide the basis of which the No5 (Jungle Carbine) was designed
as well as the No4 Mk2 version. It would also be the platform for which the
7.62 x 51mm conversion rifles would be built on and used into the 1980’s.
What made the Lee-Enfield
such a great service rifle was its rear locking lugs which allowed a bolt
movement of the same length as the cartridge case and the design of the locking
surfaces which gave a particularly easy movement to the bolt handle. These
features combined with the cock-on-closing striker, which split the effort of
extraction and cocking, made the Lee-Enfield the fastest and lightest bolt
action to manipulate. Aimed fire could be undertaken at up to 15 rounds a
minute without much fatigue to the trained soldier. Other major benefits to the
design was the removable bolt head which could be threaded off and changed to
compensate for varying headspace and the 10 round magazine, twice the capacity
of other military rifles of the time. Another well designed feature was the
generous chamber dimensions which allowed loading dirty ammunition and aided in
easier extraction of spent cases when the rifle was fouled or heated up from
rapid firing. Overall the Lee Enfield was an extraordinary combat rifle, where
its robust construction permitted it to operate in the extreme conditions of the
battlefield.
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