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Purpose of 1950 Longbranch
Last edited by skeet1; 05-11-2014 at 01:49 PM.
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05-11-2014 01:40 PM
# ADS
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They were the standard service rifle of the Canadian Forces at the time. Production was ramped up again for the Korean War as Canada was involved along with other UN forces. Many were also supplied to countries in Europe until the 1960's under the Marshall Plan with the Communist threat of the cold war.
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Originally Posted by
skeet1
Can someone tell me about the 1950 Longbranch No.4 MK1* rifles? Were these rifles made for
Canadian use or for export to other nation's such as Grease?
Ken
Production restarted in 1949 with an order for 50,000 rifles. About 5,000 were assembled in 1949, and (I'd estimate) about 15,000 of the 1950 dated actions have 1951 dated barrels.
As Brian points out, 1949 was a very interesting year in international relations.
Last edited by Lee Enfield; 05-12-2014 at 02:00 PM.
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Thank you both for the information.
Ken
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I'll add that the quality of the rifles produced at CAL Long Branch in '49-'50 was outstanding and I've never had a bad one. If you get the opportunity to grab one, definitely do so.
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Yep, I have a 1949 rifle fitted with a six groove barrel also dated '49. Absolutely beautiful rifle. My 1950 Longbranch has been turned into a DCRA rifle.
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Were these un-used late ww2 or 1946 receivers never used but put in storage, or were new receivers made in 49~51? From what Ive read it would be the latter?
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They were new production.
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Originally Posted by
ssj
Were these un-used late ww2 or 1946 receivers never used but put in storage, or were new receivers made in 49~51? From what Ive read it would be the latter?
Long Branch 1949 serial numbers started at 91L0000 and continued thru to 96L0012 (highest observed) in 1951 (receiver is dated 1950, barrel is dated 1951).
The first 1949 dated receivers were left over stored "black actions" from 1945 production and dated "194_" which then had the "9" hand-stamped and a "C" hand-stamped in front of the roll-stamped "No4MkI*" designation.
By serial number 91L2500 the designation "C.No4MkI*" was part of the roll stamp as was the 1949 date.
Last edited by Lee Enfield; 05-13-2014 at 06:05 PM.
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Canada had in the late '40s disposed of most of its accumulated WW2 war reserve stores, either by selling them or giving them away as military aid, to save the cost of storing them. No sooner had this foolish decision been completed than the Korean War broke out, and more of the stuff had to be procured.
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