No.3 Mk I*(T) sniper rifles
I thought I replied on this thread before but can't see it posted. Maybe I clicket the wrong button.
Yes, the 2/2nd Ind. Coy. had a number of designated snipers in their 4 companies (A, B C and D). Possibly as many as one for each section. I have seen at least three different men with the Patt.14 sniper rifles, their issue was likely more than a dozen sniper units on East Timor.
Ian
Pattern 1914 Mk I* - Rifle No.3 Mk I* (T)
Gents and Ladies,
Probably premature in posting this before I've taken any photos, but thought it might be of interest.
In my collection is the rifle listed in the title. Chances are it has seen service under both designations. It is a Winchester, serial 191511, wearing a Periscopic Prism Company Ltd. Model 1918 scope, bearing the barred-out serial number 165730. The bolt is mismatched, and, somewhere along the way, it has received an Eddystone barrel. In past correspondence, Ian has kindly revealed that when these rifles went to disposal, the rifles were in one pile, some with bolts removed, while the scopes were in another pile, so it would appear that mismatches are more common than not.
Original condition being a lost cause, two of our more esteemed Milsurps members were instrumental in getting the old girl back into original trim, as Brian Dick supplied a fine-adjustment rear sight that he had found in New Zealand, (replacing the standard rear sight it had), and Peter Laidler, through Brian, supplied the heavy-duty, excellent quality, leather scope covers he had made.
As these rifles saw service right through the Korean War, who can say how many of these replaced parts actually occurred during its service life? The better condition of the scope's finish leads me to suspect it is a post-service mating, but I'll never know for sure. The woodwork, receiver and rest of the rifle certainly have a "been-there, done-that" look about them, but the mismatched parts could possibly be post-service. Doesn't matter, I'll never sell it.
Assemblage or not, it is one of my favorite Brit sniping rifles, and what makes it so is what is stamped on the right-rear sight ear. Appearing to have been stamped about the same time as the relocated serial number, and, to the left and just above it, is "D /l\ D", with a "2" stamped just above the small broad arrow between the two "D"s, and "2 4 7 " stamped directly below the government ownership mark. If this marking indicates Second AIF, 2/47 Bn., according to Osprey Publishing's, Elite No. 153, "The Australian Army in World War II" by Mark Johnston, this rifle may very well have served on Bougainville at Wau-Salamaua.
Don't think I have any other WW II British arm that is unit marked, other than the more general "RAF" marked handguns, and, this rifle is obviously in poorer condition than any of my other sniping rifles, but, I have the impression that this rifle actually did what it was intended to do, something its pristine safe-mates can't attest to. I just love this old warrior.
Terry