LEE'S OF THE 19TH CENTURY
History
Lee-Metford MkI
The genesis of the Lee-Enfield began in 1879, when England first began trials on a new service rifle. The change would result in Britain's dropping of the Martini-Henry (a falling block, single shot) rifle to the, then modern, bolt action repeating rifle. It would also cement James Paris Lee (1831-1904) into mainstream firearm history. It was his receiver action and box magazine being tested by Great Britain. The other early player in these trials was William Ellis Metford (1824-1899) who had developed the rifles barrel suitable for firing the .30 caliber bullet also on trial. After nine years of development Britain adopted the Magazine Rifle MkI in December 1888, more commonly referred to as the Magazine Lee-Metford (MLM).
The method Great Britain used at the time to designate Crown firearms was to marry the action type with the barrel type, hence Lee-Metford. Following this was the combined rifles Mark (Mk). The mark signified major modifications to a particular rifle; MkI was ordinarily used to signify a first production as adopted. A second mark (MkII) would signify a major change to the original characteristic of the particular rifle; each subsequent major change would result in a MkII or MkIII etc. Minor changes would be signified by a Star (*), each subsequent minor change would result in additional stars MkI* or MkI** etc. This system of identification remained until 1926 when it was replaced by a numbering scheme (Rifle No1, Rifle No2 etc.), the Mark system remained however (i.e.: Rifle No1 MkIII). This system in turn, remained in place until 1957 when it was changed to a system that denoted the arms use, succession and subsequent modification (i.e.: L1A1 or Land, first rifle adopted, alterations one). Knowing these systems of nomenclature greatly assists in understanding the who, what and where's of the Lee-Enfield rifles.
The MLM incorporated the Lee action with a Metford rifled barrel; it's over all length 49-1/2 inches, firing the new .303 British cartridge. The cartridge itself was a .30 caliber (.311), 215-grain lead round nose bullet, propelled by a black powder charge held in a rimmed metallic case. Between 1888 and 1895 the MLM seen a number of changes that resulted in the MLM MkI* (1892, the MLM MkII (1893 and the MLM MkII* (1895). A new development in gunpowder, "smokeless powder", resulted in drastic ballistic changes to the .303 British cartridge. The most significant were the speed at which it propelled the bullet and the heat that was generated in doing so. The Metford barrels quickly began showing unacceptable wear and throat erosion. RSAF Enfield undertook to resolve this problem, which resulted in the Enfield pattern rifling. In 1895 the Magazine Lee-Enfield MkI was introduced. This rifle in addition to the Enfield barrel, incorporated changes to the sighting system to compensate for the altered exterior ballistics of the cordite loaded cartridges.
Concurrent to the approval of the MLM's and the MLE's often referred to as Long Lee's was the approval of Carbine versions of these rifles, for use by the Cavalry and Artillery regiments. All of these rifles were short lived because of rapidly changing technologies. Rapid-fire advancement in ammunition, metallurgy and manufacturing techniques combined with poor results reported from the Boer War resulted in forcing a change. Yet again, the British War Office sought to modernize and streamline its arsenal. Starting in 1902 trials began on a "shortened rifle" that could be used to supply all branches of the Armed Services. This resulted in the adoption of the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE), which replaced the Magazine Lee-Metford, Magazine Lee-Enfield and the Lee-Enfield Carbine. Information on this rifle can be found on the SMLE page. With the adoption of the SMLE, large numbers of Long Lee's were converted to the new pattern rifle. The "ConD" stamped on their buttsocket will distinguish these rifles. Though many were converted, many also survived and can still be found in original condition today.
The Martini-Henry or sometimes referred to as the Martini-Enfield as it was RSAF Enfield that produced them, would be replaced as Great Britain's service rifle by the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifles. For in-depth information on the Martini-Henry, check out the Martini-Henry web page.
