Pattern 1914 Rifle

History

A Winchester made P14 MkI*

 

 

 

 

 

 

The P14 was to mark a departure from the Lee-Enfield rifle. Had it’s development progressed to its intended conclusion, Great Britain would have adopted a Mauser actioned rifle chambered in a modern rimless cartridge. Most likely ending the Lee-Enfield rifle and the .303 British cartridge's career in the early twentieth century.

I have included this rifle in the Lee-Enfield Rifles webpage because of its unique place in the progression of the Lee-Enfield rifle. Though the P14 is not a Lee-Enfield, it was developed at RSAF Enfield and it was eventually chambered in .303 British. For these reasons it holds an honorary place alongside the Lee-Enfields.

Eight years after the SMLE made its debut as Great Britain's service rifle, planning began on a possible replacement. The British War Office felt that a rifle based on the Mauser action with a one-piece stock and chambered for a yet undetermined modern rimless cartridge would be more beneficial. These discussions produced a series of specifications that stated the new rifle must consist of a one-piece stock, be comprised of a Mauser type action and have relatively the same weight and length of the SMLE. It must be equipped with a receiver mounted aperture sight and be chambered for the new trial cartridge. Of particular interest in pre-trial research was the American Springfield M1903.

The new cartridge under consideration was to be similar to the .280 Ross, departing from the .303 British round completely. What was finally decided on was a .276 caliber cartridge, consisting of a 165-grain jacketed spitzer bullet with a desired muzzle velocity of 2785 feet per second. Beginning in 1903, with the new round approved; Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) Enfield began production of 1000 rifles for troop trials. The .276-inch Enfield Magazine Rifle or Pattern 1913 closely resembled the Springfield M1903 and embodied most of what the War Office had stipulated for specifications. Shortly into trials, a significant problem surfaced with regards to the .276 round. The intense pressures of the round caused rapid chamber and barrel wear, breech explosions (cook-off's), where the heat of the chamber caused chambered cartridges to go off before the trigger was pulled. Before these issues with the cartridge could be solved World War I started. The development of the .276 round was halted for the time being.

With the .276 round on hold, the decision was made to proceed with production of both rifles, the SMLE and the new rifle, but chambered in .303 British. Late in 1914 the Pattern 1914 MkI rifle was approved, with Vickers Ltd. contracted to produce them. Plagued with production problems, Vickers having only produced sample prototypes was quickly abandoned as a source for production, and other options were considered.

As all the other rifle factories in England were running at peak building SMLE's, the U.S. firms of Winchester and Remington were contacted and asked to manufacture the P14. The results were quite positive, with Remington going so far as to purchase a second plant in Eddystone Pennsylvania to assist in production. Starting in January 1916, Winchester, Remington and Remington Eddystone began production and by April 1917 they had produced nearly 1.2 million P14 rifles. As the United States entered the war Winchester and Remington offered to produce a similar rifle for the American forces. With little delay, the production of the U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1917 was under way.

 

Major General Hatcher had this to say about the P14 and Model of 1917:

 

“The rifle that was being produced for the British was of highly advanced design, making it the best military rifle used during World War I. Though it was basically a typical Mauser, it was improved in several respects, and had a bolt and receiver of high grade nickel steel that gave it a superbly strong action. The well protected peep sight, mounted on the receiver, close to the shooter’s eye, with a front sight likewise protected by strong steel ears, gave a sighting combination that was far superior to that on the Springfield, and by a considerable margin the best and most practical of any seen in that war.”

 

Quoted from Hatcher’s Notebook - Third Addition.

The only notable changes made to the P14 in its life span was the modification of its bolt incorporating a longer locking lug. These rifles were designated the Pattern 1914 MkI*. The only other designation change occurred when the rifles were pulled out of storage just prior to World War II. During their inspection, they either had their volley sights removed or were re-stocked completely eliminating the volley sights. These were designated No3 MkII rifles (the P14 designation being dropped in 1926 in favor of the numbering system).

Although the P14 was a trial rifle hastily put into production with .303 British chambered barrels, it did demonstrate very good accuracy. As the need for a sniper rifle was soon apparent the P14's characteristics fit the role nicely. Efforts were quickly underway to outfit this rifle with an appropriate sighting system. More can be read on the P14 Sniper on the P14(T) page.

The Pattern 1914, later re-designated in 1926 as the Rifle No3 MkI*, was originally envisioned as the new service rifle of the British Empire. As fate would have it, this pedigree was cruelly altered mainly because of war, quite ironic. Instead, the future new rifle became a war stock reserve weapon only to be used as substitute standard during two world wars before being scrapped or sold off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Pattern 1913 Trial rifle. The P13 is readily identified by its finger groove fore-end. Chambered for the .276 trial cartridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A U.S. Model 1917 Rifle. Chambered for the 30-06 cartridge.

 

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