In searching recently for my first No1 MkIII*, I ended up deciding to look for an LSA made version, primarily as they apparently made so few MkIII*s (1918 only) and also as I have an LSA made MkI***.

Judging from its serial number (O97601) I have acquired what I believe is a very early example of an LSA made MkIII*.

From my reading (e.g. Skennertonicon, Stratton, Lance's recent most excellent SMLE book) and researches online it appears that the changeover from the MkIII to the III* occurred somewhere between serial O91520 (the latest 1918 MkIII serial I've found so far, an example sold at auction in the US in 2021) and my rifle O97601. On the assumption that LSA stopped making the MkIII at a certain serial and commenced the III* thereafter that's only 6081 of a difference.

This also got me wondering when the 1918 serials began as its often stated that LSA began making the MkIII* in the second half of 1918. The latest 1917 and earliest 1918 examples I have found so far are:

1917 MkIII - serial O888xx (as shown on the old EFD rifles website)
1918 MkIII - serial O89822 (DP example with the Imperial War Museum London)

so the first 1918 rifle must lie somewhere between those two.

If we split the difference and assume around O89000 was the first 1918 rifle, that would mean my rifle is 8600 after that. Skennerton reports that LSA made 89,990 rifles in 1918, an average of 7500 a month.

Therefore it could well be possible that my MkIII* was made in early 1918 rather than the second half of the year. If that's the case and as LSA made 89,990 rifles that year it got me wondering if LSA made more than the 50,000 MkIII*s as stated elsewhere? However the latest serialed MkIII* I've found online was P448xx so it looks like the 50,000 is correct.

I think I'm wrong in assuming that LSA switched from III to III* at a certain point in time and more probably they continued to make the MkIII while starting to make the MkIII*. All I need to do now is find some 1918 MkIII examples with 'P prefix serials to back that up!

Anyhow enough hypothesising and rambling on my part so here's some pictures of my MkIII*. It's all matching numbers on the body, barrel, bolt, nose cap and rear sight with LSA "X" inspectors marks on the key parts. It's clearly spent some time in South Africa judging from the 'arrowed U' mark, lost the ears on the front top wood and sadly the butt has been sanded to within an inch of its life before a liberal coating of coffin varnish was applied at some point in its history. I'm not sure yet whether to leave alone or to try and remove it.

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