lee enfield trainer

[Woody99]

hey, i was able to buy a lee enfield trainer no1 mk 3 from a friend but there are lots of proofmarks that i cant decifer and would like to know a little more about the rifle. it is a no1 mk 3 but on the sideplate it says iv*. ftr factory to repair in 1954 and made in rfi rifle factory ischnapore. thats all i was able to decipher. here some pics, i am gratefull for every bit of info. thx Attachment 69693Attachment 69702Attachment 69701Attachment 69700Attachment 69699Attachment 69698Attachment 69697Attachment 69696Attachment 69695Attachment 69694Attachment 69703

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Peter Laidler]

Made at Ishapore in ? as a Mk3 and FTR'd there in 194? (photo 6). Made its way to BSA for another FTR in 1954 (photos 7 and 9). Sometime it was converted to .22" calibre and as such the designation was changed from .303" No1 Mk3 to .22" No2 Mk4/1. Proof mark in photo 3 is a standard UK commercial proof.

Some decent photos of the butt socket might make life easier and others will add more info. Marks on the wood are simply examiners marks

[Brian Dick]

It looks like a legit RFI conversion to Mk.IV*. I would have thought it saw BSA FTR in 1954 while still in .303 caliber. Could it have been converted to .22 at RFI after 1954. Seems strange when the RFI FTR date is 1942 meaning it was obviously already in India? I wonder if it was FTR at BSA as a .22 Mk.IV* after being surplused? The .22 markings look distinctly Indian to me but I could be wrong.

[newcastle]

I have a couple of BSA.22 FTRs from 1954 - the stamping looks very simiilar to this. My assumption was that both were actually converted to .22 at BSA as the barrel has the BSA stacked rifles stamped on it and it is not sleeved but a .22 barrel. If you look closely at the above pictures on of them appears to show that too.

[Brian Dick]

Yep, I see the crossed rifles on top of the chamber now. It was likely a rifle still in stock from the 50's FTR program that was pulled and converted to .22 No.2Mk.iV*.

[Woody99]

So if i understand this right ,it must have been made in india, in stock or just gone to FTR in england and pulled from there to be changed to .22? Also what happends or is changed when it goes from mk lll to lV* ?

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---------- Post added at 03:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:16 PM ----------

So if i understand this right ,it must have been made in india, in stock or just gone to FTR in england and pulled from there to be changed to .22? Also what happends or is changed when it goes from mk lll to lV* ?

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Big thx guys already for the info

[Peter Laidler]

The Mk3 or 111 is the .303" designation. The MklV is the designation when it goes from .303" to .22"

So, RIFLE, .303" No1 Mk3 or 3/1 converted to a .22" trainer becomes a
RIFLE, .22" No2 Mk4* (or lV*)

For your information, a star in the rifle designation is simply an early method is indicating a small but significant change in specification. Later the * was changed to a /. So a No4 Mk1* was a changed Mk1 rifle but when that was modified later, it became NOT a Mk1** or a Mk1*** but a No4 Mk1/3