Never made snipers?

[Promo]

No Paul, this can't be. What the picture posted here doesn't show, the drawing is dated 25-5-40. Since according to the MKL entry of the No. 4 T trials rifle says the first rifles were converted in May 1940 at RSAF Enfield this exactly fits to the date of this drawing. So possibly a last-day decision in favor of the No. 4 rifle instead of the P.14?

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[Lee Enfield]

No Paul, this can't be. What the picture posted here doesn't show, the drawing is dated 25-5-40. Since according to the MKL entry of the No. 4 T trials rifle says the first rifles were converted in May 1940 at RSAF Enfield this exactly fits to the date of this drawing. So possibly a last-day decision in favor of the No. 4 rifle instead of the P.14?

Actually the truth is probably that this P14 No32 project was only shelved once the No4 rifle production began to come on stream in mid 1941.

We have to remember that in May 1940 the only No4 rifles in existence were stored trials rifles and salvaged/unassembled receivers, maybe 3,000-5,000?? total.

They were desperately scrambling to get the No4 rifles factories into production, not succeeding until 1941, and many of the 1941 dated actions are actually pre-war manufactured trials rifle receivers which were assembled into complete guns in 1941.

At the same time, they had approx. 1 million P14/No3 rifles in stores.

approx. 421- P14/No3 snipers were assembled with all the available salvaged stored WW1 scopes and commercial mounts early in the war https://www.milsurps.com/content.php...A-Sniper-Rifle)
https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=63983
plus the approx. 100? P14/No3 rifles assembled with Warner & Swasey Ross MkIII take off scopes.

A bird in the hand if you will, if there had been a longer delay in No4 production, I'm sure that we would see more P14/No3 snipers