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Looks to be one of the BSA rifles made prior to dispersal of machinery. Just finished giving it a very big drink of BLO.
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Cold Zero: Wow- beautiful rifle. Can you help a neophyte (me) understand the markings on this gun? Was the barrel supplied by Enfield (I see, among other marks, the famous D6 E that everyone looks for on their No. 4 T's)? It surprises me that BSA was still installing magazine cutoffs in 1940. Thanks,
Ridolpho
The Majority are Inspectors Marks and some Proof Marks along with the acceptance into service and year of manufacture.
The “BB”, large “E”, “F”, “TO” and the “X” over stamping one of the inspectors marks are a mystery to me.
The majority of Inspectors marks contain the factory code “E”, possibly an Enfield made barrel?
Quick Scan of some references regarding Proof and Inspector Marks
Books:
An Armours Perspective – Pg. 118
S.I.A.S #22 – Pg. 47
The Lee-Enfield(The big book) – Pg. 587
Web pages:
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Dating%20your%20rifle.htm
British_Enfield_Oiler_Makers
Posts:
No1 Inspection Marks
Enfield inspectors and inspection marks
1944 Maltby No.4 Mk1
The barrel is a BSA commercial item. Normally this would never appear on a military rifle, but your rifle is quite unusual - its one of the very last fullspec military MkIII rifles made by BSA before they switched to MkIII* Dispersal production. The commercial barrels must have been specially authorised to be taken into service and used to finish off the last batch of "proper" rifles.
The rifle probably as an extra helping of inspection marks, because i imagine military examiners were busy "accepting for service" the commercial barrels and other components.
The cut-off was part of the standard inter-war military standard rifle specification - eg a MkIII rifle without volley sights but with cut-off and narrow pattern piling swivel.
Wow! That is one handsome MkIII. :bow:
I assume that dispersal occured post Sept 1940? so I also assume that BSA would be using any stock of parts they could, to replenish guns lost at Dunkirque. Or even that the demand was so great, that the WD would take any commercial parts/ assembled guns prior to Dunkirque?
The "Dispersal" occurred after the third or forth bombing raid on the rifle plant in November 1940, long after Dunkirk in may/June 1940. The Dispersal wasn't just confined to rifle production - BSA was a large conglomeration of companies and factories producing all sorts of weapons, components and vehicles. The Dispersal was part of the UK war production plan to dilute the engineering pool with conscripted and mobilised labour to increase war production. BSA "Dispersal" eventually led to nearly 70 separate factories, of which No1 (and later No4) rifle production was only a small part. Technically, all BSA's wartime production items are "Dispersal".
Contrary to popular belief, Britain wasn't critically short of rifles for the regular army after Dunkirk - there were well over a million available (in fact the entire material losses in France - including tanks and artillery - were replaced by war production in just three months). The weapons shortage was really in the LDV/Home Guard, which had mustered 1.5 million by the time of the fall of France. Although there was a rush to try and produce or buy arms (via Lend Lease) for the Home Guard, by September 1940 it was clear that a German invasion would not happen, and the urgency fell away. It is most likely that BSA was simply ordered to clear up all its remaining stocks of commercial and military No1 parts in order to clear the decks for the forthcoming No4 production starting in 1941.
Fairly common to find commercial BSA parts in these 1939 & 1940 L-prefix ones.
Geez that's a lovely rifle. Something about 1940 dates that I like and this ones a beauty..
Is the barrel unusually shy of the correct protrusion through the nosecap?
It is.....and the timber fit looks okay, crown looks factory, so maybe not the original forewood.