You have a very fine rifle there therno. I have a 11/18 Eddystone M1917 in pristine condition.
Printable View
You have a very fine rifle there therno. I have a 11/18 Eddystone M1917 in pristine condition.
Does Stratton say when the * upgrade occurred, during the war or post war?
i would consider this collectible but im not inclined to keep the stock with the DP holes in it , just me
Which rifle are you referring to, the one posted originally?
yes , i know what the DP holes are , the others are very nice rifles , this has been a fun thread for the discussions and the photos , we don't often see these nice rifles
my pattern 14 is also an eddystone and yes both of the volleys are intact
As I understand it, the Mk1 rifles were not upgraded to Mk1*. The * modification was incorporated during manufacture. The envisaged limited use and issue of the P14 would have mitigated against a large modification programme.
The only "up-grade" process I am aware of was the Weedon repair scheme, and modification to Mk1* status would have been outside the remit of that.
My own rifle is an unstarred model (Remington, ser 69395) and it does get used quite regularly. If there is a premium attached to these, what kind of value are we talking about?
it is still in complete form , but we cannot say from these photos if it went thru weedon or not - still a fine rifle , congrats
Brigadier J.A. Barlow comments:-
" Later, it was found necessary, owing to the cartridges on rising from the magazine, and going forward, not engaging or being engaged by, the left lug, to modify the bolt by lengthening that component. This necessitated deepening the recess on the rear barrel face to receive the longer lug. Rifles having had their barrels so altered are stamped Mk.I*; should the bolt be of the later pattern it is marked with a "star" on the lever.
Note. Unless the barrel has been modified, the "star" bolt will not function with it. It is unlikely that you will encounter any unmodified rifles or bolts in these days. All rifles should by now be Mk. I* "
It was done just before WWII as part of a programme to "upgrade" the rifles to Weedon Repair Standard (seems to be a sort of Factory Thorough Repair, basically). With it fairly obvious the British were going to get roped into whatever was going on in the Continent before too long, they realised they were going to need every rifle they could get their hands on - so they pulled the Pattern 1914s from storage and gave them a going-over to make sure they were handy when they would inevitably be needed.Quote:
Originally Posted by therno
Skennerton's British Small Arms Of World War 2 says the Weedon Repair Standard programme was carried out in 1939 and "largely consisted of unpacking and degreasing the rifles, removing the dial sight pointer assembly and long range aperture sight, and replacement of any defective or broken parts". He further notes 677,324 rifles went through the programme from its commencement on June 24, 1939.
Personally I am leaning towards the * modification being done during manufacture or just after the war. I have a 1916 Remington manufactured P14* which still has the volley sights intact, so the * upgrade wouldn't have been done as part of the Weedon Repair Standard as if it was mine would be missing the volley sights.