No5 Age question

[Daan Kemp]

The serial number is strange for an SA action. Only seen six figure serial numbers.

[Bindi2]

I would speculate that this was a post service civilian conversion given the OP mentioned it has South African ordnance broad arrow mark from when it was a No.4.

That only proves that they had it from new or at some point in time before Malaya. Did SA have the same issue with the No5 and convert No4s to No5s. Need a SA armourer from that time period.

[Daan Kemp]

I haven't ever seen or heard of any No5 in SA service; it's not impossible but highly unlikely. More photos showing numbers, etc, would help.

None of the armourers I knew in my time in the military knew about any either.

Only seen No5s in civilian hands in SA, very rarely too.

[GeeRam]

That only proves that they had it from new or at some point in time before Malaya.

Exactly my point.

SA had their own procurement system, and unlikely to have got interchanged with rest of British/Canadian/Aus kit, so wouldn't have ended up in Far East as they were not involved.

[Alan de Enfield]

That is a very good question.
As PL said it was a case of X number in the door X number out the door.

---------- Post added at 02:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 PM ----------

A d E you are the man top find. There was also a bit about the forends not being available as well.

That was in a different thread - I remember that but cannot locate the post at the moment.

From memory he did say that the channel left in the 'cut-down' No4 forend was filled and shaped, not just left open.


He also explained about fitting ('adjusting') a different Butt to suit :

Yes, the little No5 rifle. As I said, we still had some in Malaya in the mid 60’s plus I’d say, a thousand or so+ that came through our huge Base Workshops in Singapore where from Australia, New Zealand, Malaya, Hong Kong Vietnam and occasionally Fiji Armourers would regularly congregate for various reasons. And a week or so exploring the bustling sights and sounds of night-time Singapore was probably top of the list. But being a young, celibate, church-going, teetotal young lad, I stayed in and knitted scarves and darned socks for the needy. But I digress.

Some of you will by now have noticed that there are TWO shapes inside top surface, inside the No4 rifle butt socket. The OLD ex SMLE shape with a rounded step on the right and a tapered step on the left and the post 1942 (?, but that’s what we called them …..) shape of two rounded steps.
Officially, and according to our EMER’s, you CAN fit a double rounded stepped butt to a single round/taper step body after adjusting the wood accordingly. But you CANNOT fit a single rounded/taper step butt to a double rounded butt socket. This is because, try as you might, you’ll never truly get it tight ….., or if you do, it won’t last!
That’s the OFFICIAL party line. But if you think that any old, wise and weary old Armourer Sergeant would allow you to wait until a stock of double rounded butts arrived, from stores in England to Korea or Aden or Malaya or wherever you were, you’re WRONG. It was quite common practice to simply dovetail, glue, patch, peg and make off the butts to get to the type you need. Simple isn’t it.

---------- Post added at 10:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 AM ----------

I haven't ever seen or heard of any No5 in SA service; it's not impossible but highly unlikely. More photos showing numbers, etc, would help.

None of the armourers I knew in my time in the military knew about any either.

Only seen No5s in civilian hands in SA, very rarely too.

But, A number 4 in SA Service, sold out of service, arrived in the UK and Civilian converted to a No5 clone would 'stack up'.

[Daan Kemp]

But, a number 4 in SA Service, sold out of service, arrived in the UK and Civilian converted to a No5 clone would 'stack up'.

Quite so.