History of SMLE to Iraq

[Gil Boyd]

The amount of weapons that would have been laying around in the desert with dead soldiers and vehicles during the war, would have been perloined by bedoiun tribesmen too, so the amount of Commonwealth weaponry held, on top of that given under a Government handout, means that there must be hundreds of thousands of weapons in Arab hands right across the region.

[Peter Laidler]

As a general rule, the condition of their rifles and weaponry in general was dire to the point of fit only for scrap. The best you could say in fairness was that it worked - just! We saw loads and loads of it. Even the chromed stuff used by the palace guards was dire when seen from a foot away! What they lacked most of in those middle eastern climes was oil...... well, certainly for when it came to cleaning their kit!

[bigduke6]

The Mudjahadeen were supplied with a lot of rifles and ammunition during there visit from Russia. I've mentioned it in a previous post but these arms arrived without the shipping label or the original shipper's address.........and I very much doubt you will find any info on the subject in the national archives.

[PeteVermont]

I agree, but i'm having trouble finding a good working example. The Iraq contract rifle that spurred my question above got sold under me, which was a shame, as it's history was so interesting. It seems many don't have the original woodwork. I don't mind the rifle having some non-matching numbers - that seems just like part of its journey - but if it has 1950's stock and so on, it detracts a little from the sense of history you get from holding a weapon that was used in the !st world war. My grandfather died in 1917 in the trenches. I have many letters home from him, but it would be incredible to be able to learn to shoot the same model rifle he learned on.

[browningautorifle]

it would be incredible to be able to learn to shoot the same model rifle he learned on.

They're available...

[Surpmil]

Almost looks like the forend was cut just past the band and then grafted back together later with that small strap that passes under the band.

[PeteVermont]

thanks for this direction. I hadn't thought of this as a source. I have an old second edition volume of the 7 Pillars of wisdom that i read eons ago, and now will pull down and re-read. Do you think it fair to say that all or the vast majority of smles produced during the Great War years would have remained in Britsih servicemen's hands (either in the middle east, Africa, or the Western Front) until the end of the war, or would some have been sent drect from manufacture toward the arab uprising?

[Daan Kemp]

I suggest that old reserve stock was issued, the newest went to the fighting troops in the trenches.