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Linley co 20 round magazine
Hello, this is my first post on these forums so I apologise if I make any mistakes. I have, for some time now, been fascinated by the linley co 20 round Lee Enfield magazines, and have wondered what happened to the remaining stock of them after the first world war. I have heard many people say they went to India after being purchased by Vickers for use in the Vickers berthier lmg development, which seems plausible. I have also heard they went to Canada for inter war machine gun development. To date I have seen one picture of one in a lmg that I don't recognize as it is likely a prototype. Does anyone have any idea what happened to them wherever they went? Many have said they were likely destroyed after the failure of the Vickers berthier lmg, but is it possible they were instead converted to 10 round magazines? Is it possible that somewhere in India or Canada or elsewhere there is a pile of 20 round Lee Enfield magazines waiting to be discovered? Anyways does anyone have any ideas where they ended up? It amazes me how often relatively commanly issued accessories for the Lee Enfield disappear into obscurity like the WWI night sights, the Flanders flap, and countless other bits and bobs. Anyways thanks for any info you may have.
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03-27-2020 04:22 PM
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When I visited Warminster PL showed me one on a Indian made LMG.
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Originally Posted by
Bindi2
When I visited Warminster PL showed me one on a Indian made LMG.
Do you know what model of LMG it was, or was it a prototype?
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Originally Posted by
lithgow1918
Is it possible that somewhere in India or
Canada or elsewhere there is a pile of 20 round Lee Enfield magazines waiting to be discovered?
Maybe in India but I'd bet the bottom dollar they never came to Canada. If they did, we've long since sent them to STELCO steel for smelting. My money is on India if anyone.
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Originally Posted by
lithgow1918
Do you know what model of LMG it was, or was it a prototype?
Not a prototype. The discussion was on the magazine being too small for that application and where they came from and why. There was a leather pouch that held 2 or 3 as well.
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The other possibility is the contract was issued but never executed, so the magazines exist in very small quantities.
Given the UK practice of never wasting anything, that is a real possibility.
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Maybe in India but I'd bet the bottom dollar they never came to
Canada. If they did, we've long since sent them to STELCO steel for smelting. My money is on India if anyone.
I was fairly certain Canada never got them, I've just heard it out out there before. If they ever left England, my money is on India, or the bottom of the ocean along side all the other stuff they chucked. I also think I heard about one popping up in Australia, but I could be mistaken. I suspect many of the survivors not in government collections are bringbacks. I heard about one that got into Canada that way, although it could just be a rumor.
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Last edited by Alan de Enfield; 03-27-2020 at 06:41 PM.
Mine are not the best, but they are not too bad. I can think of lots of Enfields I'd rather have but instead of constantly striving for more, sometimes it's good to be satisfied with what one has...
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Originally Posted by
Alan de Enfield
That's the magazine I'm talking about, I've seen that slide show a few times and wonder where they got the picture.
---------- Post added at 06:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:12 PM ----------
Originally Posted by
Frederick303
The other possibility is the contract was issued but never executed, so the magazines exist in very small quantities.
Given the
UK practice of never wasting anything, that is a real possibility.
That is another likely possiblity.
---------- Post added at 06:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:19 PM ----------
Originally Posted by
Bindi2
Not a prototype. The discussion was on the magazine being too small for that application and where they came from and why. There was a leather pouch that held 2 or 3 as well.
Did they give anymore information on what happened to them? And who made the lmg, was it based on the Vickers berthier, or some other system? Also do you have any pictures? Thanks alot for the info, it's the most I've ever really gotten on their post WWI fate. If they were deemed too small, I guess it's quite likely they got scraped.
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The picture is mine. I posted that picture of one of my No.1 MkIs and the 20 round mag either here or on the gunboards forum several years ago. The late tony Edwards used it in a lecture he gave, The SMLE (Short Magazine Lee Enfield) .303 Infantry Rifle
I wrote to Tony to ask that he give a photo credit on the slide, but sadly he had entered the final stages of his illness. Since then I have seen the photo circulating on the web a fair bit. My understanding is that about 120,000 were made. Some were used in some of the experimental semi-auto SMLEs, probably in the low double digits, if that many. Some were used in a few other experimental weapons, again I would guess in very low numbers. Most were scrapped. When I got mine I asked Ian Skennerton about them. He told me he knew of about 10 in private collections and maybe a few more than that in various museums. I know of one other one in the US.
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