Long Branch serial number listing

[Badger]

Skip ...

That's a very beautiful '43 ....

Thanks for posting pics ...

Regards,
Badger

[Skip]

Thanks Badger. I wish it didn't shoot so high at 100 yards with Greek ammo. I sold off a case and used my reloads.

[Trilux]

I have an NZ issue 1942 LB, Alloy buttplate, 300/600 flip sight, grooved upper wood. #17L9469.

[Donzi]

I may have already submitted my S/N(memory not so good), but I'll do/re-do it now:
1943 MK4No1*; S/N 44L6367; Dark walnut; steel buttplate; non-grooved handguard; 300/600yd flip sight; no stock S/N; Parkerized; no S/N on mag; no FTBs
Note: C.A.I. import; Overall condition is good to good-+. Hope this helps.
Donzi

[218bee]

I have several known British forestocks, and some that I suspect are Canadian...Some have faint markings, but not enough to ID them...Is there any way to tell by the forestock's basic profile or other anomoly/cut in the wood?

Thanks

218bee

[David Wile]

Hey Limpetmine,

I may have misunderstood what your intention for this thread was, but it seems to me you are requesting and recording serial numbers for Long Branch No.4 Mk1 rifles. If that is correct, I have a Long Branch rifle with serial number 91L3341. The left side of the receiver is marked as follows:

C No 4 Mk 1*
Long Branch
1949

The "o" in No and the "k" in Mk are kind of superscript with a "-" under each of the letters. The "*" after Mk 1 is not a suprerscript star. It is really a full sized star type character. The serial number 91L3341 is located on the left side of the receiver band just above the rear of the trigger guard.

It is probably obvious that I do not know much about the proper nomenclature for this and other .303 Brit rifles, but I hope my description is understandable to you all. I think I read somewhere that the Long Branch rifles were made in Canada.

I was never a great fan of the .303 Brit rifles, but I have always liked military rifles and figured I ought to buy one when they were rather cheap. I started out with one model, then bought another that I liked better and sold the first. I would guess I may have bought five or six of the various .303 Brit models until I was able to get this Long Branch model for a rather inexpensive price. I suspect I traded myself out of a few rifles that actually saw military combat, and I ended up with a rifle that was made several years after WWII. Well, I really did not want a bunch of these rifles, and the condition of the Long Branch rifle was so much better than the others, I went for pretty rather than history.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[IndianaMosin]

I have a 1942 No.4 MK 1*. It has smooth hand guards and a MK III rear site. Serial no.2L2980
There are no FTR markings and it has the early cocking part at the end of the bolt.

[deadeye-jack]

Greetings, fellow Enfield collectors!
Limpetmine here limpetmine1@gmail.com

With permission from ansleyj at Gunboards, I have been collecting and posting Long Branch serial number data for the past few years. Badger asked if I could cross post this information, and continue to add to the data base from Milsurp.Com users. The fine folks at Gunboards have agreed to this cross posting, so here goes!

Some interesting bits of information have already come to light with this survey. Long Branch started their serial number sequencing as did Savage; 0LX, 0LXX,0LXXX,0LXXXX. From 0L9999, it appears that the numbering went 1LX,1LXX,1LXXX,1LXXXX, as proven by a rifle I own, 1LXXX.
This is evidenced by other rifles of similar numbering in the 1L series, i.e. 1LXX.
It appears, however, that with the 2L series, the numbering went 2LXXXX, i.e. 2L0001. Examples of one, two or three digit 2L series rifles would be appreciated.

David1973 of Canada has provided a great number of pictures and evidence of a 96L rifle. Prior to this survey, 95L had been the understood “end of the road” sequence number, with only I. Skinnerton
making speculation of the 96L series. Hat tip to David! I continue to harass David about his rifle, and he is a good sport about it.

Given that the number of examples in the survey is well into the hundreds now, the convention of X-ing out two or three digits of the serial number is becoming a serious handicap to the survey. Therefore, submitted serial numbers with more than one X will not be included in the survey.

The minimum data I have been collecting is YEAR/MODEL/SIGHT (LES, I.S. pg 219 3d ed.).

Additional data I have been collecting from auction sites, gunshows and other sources is: WOOD SPECIES/FTR DATE/BUTT PLATE alloy, steel, brass)/GROOVED UPPER H.G./HIGH-LOW WOOD/SERIALED STOCK/NOTABLES.

Observations to this point:
Not yet seen a 1942 No. 4 Mk1 (no star).
New Zealand had a lot of early LB's, and didn't use them much!
1945 is an interesting year for LB serial numbers and sniper rifles.
LB No. 4 Mk1/2's are rare! Hat tip Lance.

You are invited to submit your serial numbers in the reply box here, or email it to me via this web site.
I do not keep a listing of who submits what number to me. If I ever find a sequential set of serial numbers, I [really] can't get you in contact with the other guy!

I update the list about 2-3 times a year, more if time allows. So without further chit chat, here is the list from the Gunboards site. You may link to it here:

Survey of Long Branch #4 serial number ranges - Page 5 - Gunboard's Forums



Here is the long awaited update. 226 serial numbers so far, and 4 date/serial number changes in this update. As you can see, having all the digits in the serial number make are a great help to narrowing the change over serial number on year changes. The '44 '45 change of date is showing some really strange stuff; numbers are all over the map, with lots of out of sequence numbers. Also interesting is a 1945 rifle with a 1950 serial number, and the "5" of the 1945 looks hand stamped. Really a neat rifle! It appears to be a 1950 all the way around, but is dated 1945.
Please keep your numbers coming, I hope this public information will continue to be a useful resource./////limpetmine, June 20, 2009


1941 Mk 1 0L244
1941 Mk 1 1L2xxx

All noted below are Mk1*'s
1942 Mk1* 2L1037
1942 Mk1* 26L9463

1943 Mk1* 22L28XX
1943 Mk1*57L4906

1944 50L66xx (this looks to be an aberration)
1944 57L6082
1944 83L842x

1945 83L38XX
1945 90L80XX sniper (T)
1945 91L9864

1949 91L085X
1949 91L51XX

1950 91L0510
1950 96L0012 (rumors of 0013 now)

I have a No.4 Mk I * dated 1949 SN:91L0353 all matching, even the mag.
It's in near mint condition and shoots like a match rifle...
Deadeye-jack

[stryker]

1943 Serial number 53L6858
Matching numbers on bolt,stock, and magazine.
Stock is walnut with grooved hand guard. Butt stock has two overlapping stamps, Circles with arrows one with "U" and the other with "5 75" under the arrows. The top stamp (5 75 with a faint number "5" and other illegible numbers above). Butt plate is brass.
Rear sight is ladder type with "B" above "CR" above "870" stamped on the right side of sliding elevation apperature.
Interesting feature is that the magazine has a small "s" in a box (savage?) on the follower, and TWO serial numbers, the matching number of the rifle and 7768414.

[skeet1]

I hope this is of use to you. I own No.4 MK1*, Long Branch Arsenal 1950, serial number 95L7177. It has a steel but plate and a Signer type rear sight marked "B". The magazine is a replacement and not original. Excellent condition but with a few assorted dings in the stock.