Where did this 69 Enfield barrel come from?

[Simon P]

Old advert from the 1980s

Attachment 15322

[bigduke6]

Having a clear out and thought I,d post these pics of more numbers, first is a P14 barreled action, the other was on a No4 action

[Peter Laidler]

I can't seem to recognise the BB xxx steel batch number on the commercial Enfield barrels. The FB mixer is the common one plus a few of the others that we had record of but BB is missing from my books. Any ideas Enfield Lock?

[enscien]

According to the drawing DD(E)24720/SK/392 Issue 'O' the markings required were:-
1. Manufacturer's Code Mark (The ED logo for RSAF Enfield)
2. Year of Manufacture (Last 2 digits)
3. Batch Mark (The steel producer, eg BB306)
4. DD(E)24720/SK/392/O
5. Flaw detection mark (A small triangle to denote that the barrel had passed crack detection, added after drawing issue 'O')

Comments in brackets above are my own.
DD(E) stands for Design Department (Enfield), SK for 'Sketch', and 392 is the 'parent number' which would have been applied to all of the drawings appertaining to the L39, L42, and Envoy 7.62mm conversions. The designer's drawings were subject to numerous minor revisions, denoted by issue in alphabetical order: that at 4 above being 'O'. The '392/K' subscript on the original barrel in the thread is no doubt because they ran out of room above! On later production barrels the part number, CR 1470 was marked instead.
Not sure what 'BB' stands for; I believe that 'FB' is for 'Firth Brown'. The steel batch number is more usually stamped on the barrel in front of the knox form.
The raised scimitar is of course the London Proof Mark and the '19 Tons' the Highest Mean Service Pressure measured by the obsolete British base copper crusher method.

RSAF advertised and produced conversion barrels for No.4, P14, and Mauser 98 from 1969 into the 1970s, marketing them mainly through Fultons at Bisley. After a lull of several years a final batch of special 1 in 14 twist blanks was commissioned by Arthur Clarke: as in the advert above.

[Surpmil]

Very good to have your expertise with us Enscien. Can I ask if you know what became of the machinery these barrels were made on after the sale of RSAF(E) to H&K?

From what I've heard they had an unequalled reputation for durability. Can you comment from the technical viewpoint?

[rgg_7]

enscien....very good info. Do you know the manufacturing dates ranges for Envoy and Enforcer? I'm trying to purchase a correct barrel for a 1973 dated Enforcer and not having any luck locating one. Thanks, Ron

[Peter Laidler]

The old 7.62mm barrelling machines and anythign else that was newish was removed by BAe prior to the closedown of Enfield. Incidentally, it was sold to BAe systems and not H&K. These barrelling machines weren't ever used again, certainly afterwards. Only the L86/86 stuff was reused later and not all of that either

If you want to know what happened to the big barrelling machines, you'll need to ask BAe.............. but don't hold your breath waiting for their letter!

According to the old Enfield Armourer/engineering apprentices that I've just spoken to on another matter, the L39/42/enforcer/envoy/commercial/spares etc etc barrels were done on a batch by batch - as required basis

[enscien]

As I recall, tapered barrels with the 'Snakeskin' finish as above were produced on a vertical GFM cold swaging machine which was capable of hammering a tapered blank. These barrels then only required machining at the muzzle and breech ends.
Later barrels were produced on a horizontal 'Fritz Werner' machine which could only hammer a parallel blank. The barrels therefore had to be turned full length and have a normal machined finish, plus usually a stight step in the centre where they were supported by a lathe 'steady'. Some may also have polygonal 'Chordal' rifling rather than the traditional Enfield form but I do not have the dates.
All surplus machinery from RSAF was sold on-site by auctioneers Henry Butcher Ltd on the 16th and 17th November 1988. This was after shipping what was needed to the new Nottingham Small Arms Factory, and selling some items to RSAF employees who had bid for them. I believe that the GFM machine was bought by Geoff Lonsdale, a former shop manager of the barrel mill. The FW probably went to Nottingham and was disposed of when that factory was closed by BAE in 2002.
Properly looked after the barrels should, I believe, have an accurate life of over 4,000 rounds but others may have more detailed figures. As has been mentioned by others, used barrels should be available from scrapped first generation target rifles: try Fultons or English Armourie.

[enscien]

I can't seem to recognise the BB xxx steel batch number on the commercial Enfield barrels. The FB mixer is the common one plus a few of the others that we had record of but BB is missing from my books. Any ideas Enfield Lock?

Peter: After looking on the Internet I would hazard a guess that BB stands for 'Brown Bayley'. They were in business in Sheffield in the 1960s-70s, their Hecla works later being taken over by Hadfields who had much defence business. There is also a link with Harry Brearley, the inventor and developer of stainless steel and improved steel for gun barrels: he was manager of Brown Bayley 1914-1925. Prior to that he worked for Thomas Firth Ltd and John Brown Ltd.... who became Firth Brown!

[enscien]

enscien....very good info. Do you know the manufacturing dates ranges for Envoy and Enforcer? I'm trying to purchase a correct barrel for a 1973 dated Enforcer and not having any luck locating one. Thanks, Ron

Sorry, I don't have any records of dates. Try the L42 collector's information thread above, and index.htm for Enforcer info.
See also #28.