Lee Enfield at War

[browningautorifle]

Interesting point about the pic top of the last set. Two UK and one US troop...the young man with his hands on the muzzle has no piling swivel and the protective wood on each side of the rear sight are gone. I always thought that happened after the war when they were sporterized . Apparently that wood wasn't as important as originally intended. We had a posting a while back showing some of these things being authorized and this is the picture proof...neat.

[Seaspriter]

young man with his hands on the muzzle has no piling swivel and the protective wood on each side of the rear sight are gone.

Good observation Jim. In fact, none of the detail pics of the Sicily invasion show piling swivels on either the No.1 or No.4 Enfields, including the Canadian troops (who I'm assuming might be carrying Long Branches). Wonder how they stacked the guns in field?

[browningautorifle]

Canadians have never stacked arms as far as I know. I've been involved in the army since I was 17 and that's more than 40 years ago. The books never showed any such drill movement or instruction. I've looked at old books also... The #4s don't have those and the #1s had it deleted from production in some cases. It's non essential. The small wood fingers are a neat point though. Never noticed that before.

[Seaspriter]

the #1s had it deleted from production in some cases. It's non essential

Just bought a 1918 Lithgow that had an Arsenal Repair/Return to Stores for FTR upgrade in 2/46. The 1946 nose cap has an untapped stud where the stacking swivel would have been in the 1918 model. This supports your observation and that the Aussies had also abandoned the stacking swivel.

Thanks for your insights and observations.

[Beerhunter]

Using the SLR/L1A1 left handed was perfectly acceptable and no problems. Or am I missing something? There was a shooting competition where you HAD to fire a series of shots around cover, alien to your usual way

If you are missing something Peter, then so am I. Shooting from the left shoulder was a common technique in FIBUA, for example, for firing around cover.

Load and cock in the normal fashion but shoot off the left shoulder.

It just struck me that FIBUA is probably not used any more; fighting being such a nasty non-PC word. They probably call it: "not being very nice in an urban environment" these days.

[browningautorifle]

That's how I taught my guys FN C1 also. All drills done right handed but then change to the left before the selector changed. We did allow left handed shooting though...

[Peter Laidler]

FIBUA or Fighting In A Built-Up Area. There is another set of words used with the initials but not in the Officers mess.........! FIBUA. The most knackering form of physical exercise that can be undertaken - bar nothing. The 1st minute is knackering, the 2nd minute is mind numbing, the 3rd minute you're dead on your feet and the next 5 minutes you don't know whether you are punched., bored or countersunk............

Added later. Re Beerie, thread 25! FIBUA has now probably changed to DaWNISH in the PC army. For Dealing With Naughtiness In Social Housing*. The broken windows and door frames add a touch of realism

* someone will need to explain this concept to befuddled non English looking on. But in short: Where you give someone homeless/without a home a house. So they can smash it up

[browningautorifle]

We called it houseclearing in the beginning...

[Surpmil]

Some one beat me to it with the left-handed T-Gewehr.

I wonder how/why do many T-Gewehrs have post their bipods.

At 36lbs they were heavy enough already and if you were a Jerry trying to fire one and survive, you would rest it on the parapet and get as low as possible, for which a bipod was not convenient at all.

[rayg]

Picture #2, photos #1 and #4 in it are trials rifles as you can see the cut off's.

Oops, sorry #4 is a No1 Mk3. I guess I only noticed/focused on the cutoff, sorry, Ray