No1 Inspection Marks

[garra]

I am looking over my No1 MKIII* made in 1942 trying to figure out who made it. I took off the cover just in front of the receiver and the inspection marks have a crown with either an E pointing down or an E pointing up rather than being in a normal position. This doesn't match any of the books or the Broad Arrow book I have, is this a mark of an inspector just being lazy, in a hurry or just getting the mark on there no matter which direction it is in? I am having a problem trying to figure out who made the rifle as all I have by the date stamp by the bolt is a partial letter which could be the bottom of a B (which it look like ) or an L or E, nothing else on that line The number 1 on the serial is funny looking as at the top it has a leg going off to the left and at the bottom a leg going off to the right. The serial has a N prefix which is on a seperate line.

Have an NO4 MK1 on the way will give you a report as to what I receive.

regards,

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[krinko]

Only three choices for No1 rifles in 1942----Lithgow, Ishapore and BSA's Dispersal program.
You have one of the BSA rifles.

Is the buttsocket marked similar to this 1944 example, with just a "B" where the maker's name should be?
-----krinko

[Alan de Enfield]

What markings are on the butt socket ?
They would normaly be on the right hand side (beneath the bolt 'knob'), however if it has been FR'd at ishapore they will have scrbbed all the original markings and re-marked it on the left hand side of the butt-socket.

If it has been Ishapore'd then it may look like this :

[Brian Dick]

I just submitted a similar rifle for export to England for a client and I have to agree with Krinko. It's most likely of Dispersal manufacture with a partially scrubbed BSA receiver/body. The owner of the one I have here declared it as Enfield manufacture on his puirchase letter and it does have Enfield examiner's and proof marks so that's what I ran with on the export paperwork.

[garra]

Yes the butstock band must be the letter B, hard to tell as only the very bottom is left, rest of the info is very clear and complete. So far all the numbers match on the old girl, checked the wood on top and both pieces match the serial, bolt has no serial. The serial on the barrel is very clear and the 1 is definitely an L so the prefix is first line N, 2nd line L49XX. I am finding E s on the inspection marks, was that common for a rifle asembled at BSA. I imagine there was all sorts of cross work going on during the war.


thanks,

[krinko]

The use of Enfield view and inspection marks predates wartime Dispersal rifle production at BSA. I have a 1939 dated BSA contract rifle, with the civilian "BM" proof, which has "E"s all over it.
I don't know why the script "B" mark wasn't used for WW2 production, but perhaps it was thought to be a bit stupid to use a mark pointing to Small Heath, when the BSA name had been excised from the buttsocket?
Or perhaps, like Webley, BSA had been kicked out of bed by the government?
-----krinko