Another odd No.1 MkIII, RAF marked commercial rifle

[breakeyp]

Looking through some stuff trying to remember why I bought it, this odd ball caught my attention and someone out there may be interested in it and what it may represent.

It is a commercial BSA rifle with an April 1936 identity disc. The numbered barrel also has a 3/8 inch size U broad arrow marking for the Union of South Africa. The matching numbered rear sight is windage adjustable. As we know that BSA was not manufacturing rifles until the Iraqi contract this must have been assembled out of parts. Possibly an RAF buttstock was added at some point???

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[Peter Laidler]

I don't know anything abiout the RAF except that my dad said that it stood for 'Rare As Fairies' but that's another story from France in 1940! But I just think that the RAF and a date would be just too general. I feel that for the RAF it'd be a Squadron marking. After all, simply marked RAF could be RAF....., er......., where? Can you imagine a rifle marked ARMY or RASC?

[Thunderbox]

From the chips on the disk socket, I'd guess that the disk was a later addition by someone.

We see hundreds of SA commercial No1s in UK at the moment, but I don't recall any with British military unit markings.

[MVolkJ]

RAF marking looks similar to the one on my P'14, I'd say it's a legit RAF disc.

Mine is just marked with the RAF base it was assigned to (RAF Leuchars, Scotland) and not any specific unit.

Whether or not it belongs on this rifle is another question.

[Beerhunter]

I agree with Thunderbox. What you have is a bog-standard between the wars BSA "Commercial" made for South Africa to which someone has added a spurious disc. I have one just like it and have seen many more and so BSA were making rifles between the wars other than for Iraq .

It should have Birmingham "Military" Proof marks - Crowned BM plus the crossed sceptres. (They are normally under the hand-guard.) The latter should give you the date of Proof code. From my experience, I would expect it to be around 1936.