Dispersal rifle?

[MJ1]

Or what?





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Information

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[Steve H. in N.Y.]

Yup. Nice lookin' one.

[krinko]

A 1943 with a broken, flat-top "3", which can be mistaken for a "5".
Is it an "N" prefix rifle?
-----krinko

[Bill Hollinger]

Can one of you explain dispersal rifle?

[krinko]

"Can one of you explain dispersal rifle?"

OK.
Roughly, after the 1940 bombing of the Small Heath BSA plant, SMLE production was "dispersed" to smaller facilities in the Birmingham area.
BSA was the only producer of rifles in the UK at the time, No4 production hadn't even started, so this was mildly important.

From personal observation, the rifles continued the BSA pre-war serial number letter prefixes through L,M and N from 1940-43. Receivers were MkIII (to 1941)and MkIII* from BSA stock, barrels were new made and carry Enfield inspection marks. Furniture can be Walnut or Beech, salvaged or new.
In 1944, salvaged receivers outside of the L-M-N series were built up into rifles with barrels that were also reused---in one case, a barrel from a 1941 Dispersal rifle was renumbered to match a '44 receiver.
The 1944 rifles also have an "FTR" mark at the bottom of the roll stamp marking on the buttsocket---I have not seen a '44 (8 examples) without this yet, but it is possible there are such rifles.

Dispersal rifles I have found in three states of preservation---
1.Matching numbered, well used to unused.
2.BSA 1953 FTR rebuilds.
3.Third World refugees with crudely remarked bolts and nosecaps.

Here is a photo of three 1944 rifles in each of those three conditions.
-----krinko

[Bill Hollinger]

Thanks for the information. Interesting.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

I would recommend going to www.skennerton.com and picking up a copy of "British Small Arms of WW2"

Among other things, there is a complete list of wartime manufacturers codes
That will tell you just who made all those parts on the rifle and all the other weapons. It also lists the makers of bits for any one firearm

[goo]

No1 MkIII* Dispersal Factory Rifle - Chris Cone Collection
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http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=132046842
...

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[MJ1]

Yes an N and the nose cap and barrel match. MM bolt.




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