Posted 10 years ago
Chrisnp
(310 items)
I’m posting my SMLE out of chronological order because I wanted it to coincide with ANZAC Day. May our friends down under have a peaceful and reflective national holiday, and know that your allies deeply appreciate your sacrifices.
It’s been said that in WWI the Germans brought the best hunting rifle and the Americans the best target rifle, but the British Empire brought the best battle rifle. In my opinion the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) does not have the esthetic appeal of the Mauser or the Springfield - in fact I think it’s kind of brutish - but that’s appropriate for what it does.
The “Short” in SMLE refers to the British move to replace both the Long Lee Enfield rifle and the Lee Enfield Carbine with a single short rifle. The weapon’s compactness turned out to be an advantage in the trenches. Balancing it in my hands, I can imagine the blunt force trauma this thing could produce if it came down to hand-to-hand. It could also take a lot of abuse and continue to function in the muddy trenches and with dirty ammo. At ten rounds, the SMLE had double the magazine capacity of the German Mauser. Unlike the Americans who focused on accuracy, the British drilled their soldiers to achieve reasonable accuracy with a high volume of fire. A trained soldier could fire 25 shots with the SMLE in one minute. The ten round box magazine is detachable, but not intended to be carried as spares. Ammo was loaded from an open bolt via two five round stripper clips.
The SMLE was produced in a bewildering array of “Numbers”, “Marks” and variants indicated by asterisks. Mine is configured as a Number 1, Mark III*, the version that was first produced during WWI. As such it lacks a magazine cut off, volley fire and windage adjustable sights – a simplification over the pre-WWI Mark III.
My SMLE was manufactured in Lithgow Arsenal, New South Wales, Australia in 1915. It may have originally been a Mark III, as both the stock and receiver have the provision for a magazine cut off, either never installed or later removed. Following WWII, Australia initiated a program of arsenal reconditioning its old SMLEs, and markings on the stock of mine indicate replacement by Lithgow in November 1945. Markings above the chamber that I believe date from this reconditioning assign the rifle to the 2nd Military District (New South Wales). In the 1980s the Australian government divested itself of thousands of these SMLEs, many of which made their way to the U.S. via a sharp Australian entrepreneur.
Most SMLEs were equipped with the classic British web sling. In determining the correct WWI accessories for my Australian SMLE, I learned that the Australians did not have a cotton web manufacturing capability at the start of the war and Britain could barely keep up with its own needs, so the Australians went to war with domestically produced leather kit. This sling is marked “Cole Bros 1916” And I do not know if it’s actual Australian issue or British substitute standard issue, but it is correct period for the SMLE. Inside the butt compartment is a pull through for cleaning the bore and a brass oiler. Both are period SMLE accessories.
Ammo: During WWI the standard round for the SMLE was the .303 caliber Mk VII, which fired a 174 grain full metal jacketed spire point at 2440 feet per second. I can get under 3” groups using 174 grain Sierra MatchKing bullets and 40.4 grains of IMR 4895, which I’ve clocked at 2345 fps I only neck size the brass as the SMLE has slightly oversized chamber dimensions, which I believe were intentional to reduce jamming in muddy conditions with dirt caked ammo. This rifle has become my favorite shooter!
WARNING: Load data is provided for information only. Many vintage firearms are unsafe to shoot and I do not advise use of this load data for other firearms since I do not know the specific firearm that may be involved or its condition.
In Lithgow yeterday Chris and there is a museum at the old BSA factory there. Maybe for you someday?
Everyone of my age and older remembers these rifles, their dad or uncle or grandfather had one in the back room. No longer. Very strict gun laws here mean we only get to see them in museums or by collectors. This gun was the backbone of the Australian army for a very long time.
Thanks for the post!
I have heard there was a Museum at the old Lithgow small arms factory, and it’s on my list if I ever make it to Australia. The Australian War Memorial is at the top of that list, with the usual touristy things quite a bit lower.
I vaguely remember the Australian entrepreneur that brought these thousands of SMLEs into the States said he was prohibited from selling them in his own country. As I recall, the Australian government was going to destroy all these weapons, but finally allowed him to export them. The fellow toured the retail establishments he was selling them through and gave talks on the weapon as well as touching on the state of affairs concerning firearms in Australia. I remember him as being very charismatic. A born salesman.
Thanks for the love Manikin, geo26e, racer4four and vetraio50.
Yeah Chris, I'm here but it's getting real late & low on Corona. Been wading thru the garage sale waiting for you. Hey, a few good items! So, is this a 2 groove or 4 groove rifling and is it a standard or gain twist? How deep is the rifling? Just kidding with you. Is the magazine "cut-off" for firing single shot? The 303 was a great performer in such rifles but the rim was a trouble maker for machinegun feeding & the Brits fought the change for way too long. A'demain.
The rifling is five groove standard twist, left hand turn, one turn in ten inches. The groove depth is .00575 at the breach and .0065 at the muzzle, wise guy! Ha! Two and four groove sounds like you are thinking of the American '03 Springfield.
Yes, the magazine cutoff appears on a number of rifles from this era, including our original American Krags and '03s. As the rusty gears of military thinking had to change when soldiers went from single shot rifles to repeaters, and planners originally thought that soldiers would use their rifles just like their old single shots, holding the magazines in reserve for the attack.
The .303 cartridge was a very good performer except for the rim, which was a common feature in ammo when it was first used with the British Lee Metford Rifle in the 1880s. (another rifle I want in my collection). But you are right, the British military establishment didn't give it up I think until they switched to the standard NATO round.
Ever open an old British Army surplus .303 round? The cordite they used looks like case length strands of spaghetti inside.
Yes, I was comparing to the '03 & yes, I have opened them up & seen the tiny pipe-lets. As I remember, looked looked like they has a semi-liquid in them.
Get back to you. Haven't picked up that case of Corona yet!
These are truly desperate times! I forgot about "Carnival" on the dutch side & had to find a Chinie bootlegger who "scalped" me at $18.50 for a case of Corona. Either that or pull some industrial strength brownies out of the freezer!
Bet you had to mic those measurements to come up with them. Did they chamber the wrong end of the barrel as it is a reverse of a choked barrel?
When I 1st pulled a slug from 1 of those old cases, I was guessing at nitro-cellulose in those tubes. Do you know?
Nice piece. I like a military rifle that looks military.
Er...um....I actually took a shortcut in coming up with those specs. I still had a copy of Charles Stratton's "British Enfield Rifles, Vol. 1" next to my computer from when I was fact-checking my original post (I don't trust my memory any more), so I just looked them up. I have slugged this barrel - I slug all my barrels because I'm a bit nerdy that way, but I would never have caught the two different rifling depths. No idea why they are that way.
Those tubes are called Cordite, but it occurred to me in writing this post that I don't know what the ingredients of cordite are, so I looked it up. It's nitroglycerine, guncotton and petroleum jelly. So basically you are right, nitro-cellulose.
I like the 19th century military look, fortapache. I accept the superiority of synthetics, but I have a thing about old hardwood wood stocks. I also love a nice blued or plumb brown metal surface.
Thanks for the love fortapache, blunder, officialfuel, and Roycroftbooksfromme1