SMLE Rifle MkII**Cond Navy

This rifle from my hoard, sorry collection, was saved from de-activation or destruction, much the same thing in my book, by the fitting of a replacement barrel as the original was so far gone it would not have passed UK proof.
The description, and I quote with greatful thanks to Ian Skennerton "The Lee Enfield" :-
"This conversion was made from the MkII Converted rifle and so the right side of the butt socket bears the original Lee-Metford or Lee-Enfield designation. The first conversion, to Mark II, was effected at Enfield and these markings are located on the left side of the butt socket.
The next modifaction to Mark II** was done at one of the Royal Naval Ordnance Depots, this conversion having been approved in the Naval Orders on the 25th of June 1908 for it to conform with the original Mark I** specifications. This conversion date was not marked, merely involving the extra stars or asterisks being placed after the original designation.
From 1912, further improvements were carried out at Enfield in order that the rifle resemble the Mark III more closely, so the foresight wings were straightened and shortened and a charger bridge fitted to replace the Mark I style charger guides. This later conversion was not indicated in the receiver markings."
This particular rifle is a conversion from an L.S.A. Co Ltd 1897 LE I, its conversion date was 1904 which can be seen from the LH side of the butt socket and the date stamped in the butt. The bolt although numbered to the rifle has been ground and renumbered at some point in its life but then given the various conversions it has under gone that is hardly surprising. As can be seen from the pictures the woodwork as been around a bit but the rifle has a very good action and is as smooth as the day it was made, not bad for a rifle that started life 118 years ago.....

Not all SMLE Mk I**, Cond Mk II** & II ***, were upgraded, at Enfield from 1912. Enfie!d supplied jigs, drills and gauges, for fitting charger bridges and the other modifications, to the 3 Naval Ordnance depots. Those rifles modified at the Naval depot's are identifiable by the special charger bridge which has a longer base which surrounds the ejector screw, instead of finishing just above it.
Your rifle is as above, modified at one of the RN depots, possibly at the beginning of WW1, when some RN long Lee's were also fitted with bridge guides, and remarked as CLLE MkI.
The butt on your rifle, is a Long Lee replacement, it should have the clearance on the left ,for the safety catch, this would have been done on the original conversion in 1904.
For the record, RSAF modified 2,000 SMLE's for the Royal Navy in 1913-14, 1,050 Mk I**, 945 Cond II**, 5 Cond II***.

Superb rifle, thanks for posting the pics.

Were you able to keep the original barrel? (stamps on it would be interesting, well to some of us anyway...)

Superb indeed! Thanks for posting it.

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Originally Posted by Charlie303

Were you able to keep the original barrel? (stamps on it would be interesting, well to some of us anyway...)

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I did not change the barrel myself but I have been intouch with the gunsmith who did the work and he assures me that there were no markings of any real interest on the original barrel other than the ones you would normally expect to see, he does not remember seeing a date stamp.

My Lee Enfield dated 1907 and marked ConD 11* also has a '07 dated barrel, the serial number is 6446 over x. It could have been a early Mark 1 action body from the information
made available to me from the late Skip Stratton. The butt plate is also from a long Lee rifle but has the later swivel. Some photos:Attachment 64901Attachment 64902Attachment 64903Attachment 64904Attachment 64905Attachment 64906Attachment 64907