2A Rifle, Ishapore, India

History

1969 Ishapore Rifle Factory (India) 2A1. Images courtesy of Deborah Peel

India, one of the last countries to retain the Lee-Enfield as a front line service rifle, discovered in the early 60's that the bolt action rifle was no match for modern self-loading assault rifles. With this in mind India set out to replace the aging SMLE with the more modern 7.62 x 51mm FN FAL, designated by India as the 1A rifle. Cost conscious, India resolved to issue the new 1A rifle to its front line troops while retaining the No1 for its reserve forces, the Territorial Army. Understanding supply and logistics, what was desired was to re-chamber the No1 for the 7.62mm round, unfortunately chamber pressures for the 7.62mm was beyond the acceptable limits of the No1 receiver.

In the interest of economy the Indian government decided to retain the production facilities for the No1 rifle located at the Ishapore plant and embark on an ingenious program of re-vitalizing the No1 design. Using high-grade steel and advanced heat treating, brand new receivers and barrels were manufactured capable of safely chambering and firing the 7.62mm round. Changes were also made to the magazine; bolthead extractor; ejector and buttstock, all combined to produce a brand new rifle. Officially designated the 2A Rifle and quickly followed by the 2A1 Rifle which incorporated only a change in the range scale of its rear sight with no other alterations. The Ishapore 2A and 2A1 was never intended as a front line service rifle but as a reserve and training weapon, the training part suggests any found on the surplus market may well have indeed been well used.

Fact Fiction and Safety

The 2A and 2A1 having been new manufactured using high strength EN steel, specifically engineered by the Indian government for the 7.62 x 51mm round, I would assume that it is safe to fire the 7.62mm NATO cartridge. However, there is enough controversy found within collector’s circles and on the internet suggesting that some, perhaps all of these rifles are not stronger than the original No1 rifles and that their use may be hazardous. Enough controversy that I feel it is worthy to note but not enough to say with any authority who is right. I would lean towards the safe camp as it was built and issued by a recognized government and having been on the surplus market since around 1995, I have not heard of a rash of catastrophic failures. Given this debate I should point out that there IS a difference between 7.62 x 51mm cartridge and its civilian counterpart the 308 Winchester cartridge. The most important of which is chamber pressure maximums, to understand this difference I would suggest reading Steve Redgwell’s excellent article on the subject here. With this in mind I would not recommend using commercial 308 Win ammunition, but instead stick to military surplus or 7.62mm service rifle handloads. Controversies aside, the Ishapore 2A/2A1 rifle is certainly worth notice as an interesting variant of the Lee-Enfield.