Early 3 digit Longbranch

[Chris7171]

I was looking in the back of my gun room and came across this Longbranch that I had forgotten about, it’s in great condition, all parts are marked LB and it has an early bolt and trigger (with LB markings as well) and low cut wood. The receiver does not have the milling in front of the Longbranch markings & the wood and mag also matching, also has the NZ rack number.
Unusual to have only 3 digits on the serial number 3L852

Information

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[newbieDAN]

Beautiful rifle, fantastic photos.

I also wish I had a 'gun room', and rifles I had forgotten about

[browningautorifle]

Isn't that nice !

[limpetmine]

Fantastic rifle. This may well be the latest 1942 3 digit rifle I've got in the data base. I have speculated that after 3L the numbering sequence went to 4 digits instead of 1L1 to 1L123.
Very early parts and bits, and the flip sight would be correct. I have a 1941 with a flip sight.
The button knob, of course, as you mentioned, the low wood, the serial number on the fore stock are all early bits. And a New Zealand to boot!
Thanks for sharing.

[Surpmil]

Fantastic rifle. This may well be the latest 1942 3 digit rifle I've got in the data base. I have speculated that after 3L the numbering sequence went to 4 digits instead of 1L1 to 1L123.
Very early parts and bits, and the flip sight would be correct. I have a 1941 with a flip sight.
The button knob, of course, as you mentioned, the low wood, the serial number on the fore stock are all early bits. And a New Zealand to boot!
Thanks for sharing.

Enough four digit 0L and 1L rifles around to show that it was 0L0001 to 0L9999 and so on right from the start.

Nice to see what early features such as the MkI cocking piece and fluted trigger were still being fitted at this stage, while the bolt knob had already gone to solid with a flat, and the sights to the two position flip. Early safety lever as well. The mag numbering was not done at Long Branch AFAWK. Wood appears to be Birch which is also interesting in a MkI forend.

[limpetmine]

I would have to disagree.

Enough four digit 0L and L rifles around to show that it was 0L0001 to 0L9999 and so on right from the start.

His picture would prove otherwise, as would this one, and many others.
I speculate that starting at 4L, they went to 4L0001.
I have the following in my database, and own 1 of these.
0L244 (picture)
1L25 (picture)
1L384 (picture)
1L882 (picture)
3L373
3L391 (picture)
3L748 (CNo.4Mk1*)
No 1,2 or 3 digit 4L's yet!

[Lee Enfield]

Enough four digit 0L and 1L rifles around to show that it was 0L0001 to 0L9999 and so on right from the start.

Nice to see what early features such as the MkI cocking piece and fluted trigger were still being fitted at this stage, while the bolt knob had already gone to solid with a flat, and the sights to the two position flip. Early safety lever as well. The mag numbering was not done at Long Branch AFAWK. Wood appears to be Birch which is also interesting in a MkI forend.

I believe that from the serial survey & documented serial intention evidence, this is rifle number 30,852.

I believe that Limpetmine will share this opinion...

[limpetmine]

Lee Enfield, I guess we both take lunch at the same time!

And, yes, I concur with your opinion of this being the 30,852th Long Branch rifle.

[krinko]

A note of speculation about the Mk2 "flip sight" on early Long Branch rifles---
About three or four years ago, AIM had a special deal going on Mk1 backsights @ $17.50 each and people were buying one or two at a time, occasionally reporting Long Branch or Savage sights being received.
So I bought twenty sights, eleven of which turned out to be Long Branch Mk1s.
Every one of those LB sights looked like a take-off to me.
They came in square cardboard boxes with wax paper wrapping and this kind of label----
Attachment 19681

The tally was: 8 Fazakerley (serif F, new), 1 Savage (used, worn), 1 Long Branch (used, worn) and 10 Long Branch (slight scuffing).

"Slight scuffing" would be finish wear from the top of the combat aperture and finish wear from the base where the axis pin goes through. The latter being the kind of thing that would happen when the sight was fipped up and down---while on a rifle.

Any possibility these were pulled off deliberately on orders? Maybe somebody though the Mk1 was too fussy for combat?
-----krinko

[Peter Laidler]

I think that these were taken off scrapped or condemned rifles that had been returned to Ordnance. What happens is that these things get returned to an RSSD (a Returned Stores Sub Depot) where the stuff is examined/inspected and sent for a) scrap b) salvage/spares or c) to the Command workshops where it'll be refurbished and returned to the Ordnance depot ready for re-issue.

Rifles would undergo a similar thing. Some, such as the ZF's would be stripped for spares, the parts inspected and rebuilt into assemblies, re-packed, relabelled and returned to Ordnance for reissue. Sometimes these re-issued/salvaged parts had the initials PW (for Part Worn) on the stores label or another label, called an '80/61' attached (after the issue label number AF-G8061)

These parts were RSSD re-issues, stored in an Ordnance depot somewhere until disposed of and lucky you bought them. These were re labelled before the 'new' MoS (Ministry of Supply) B1/CR-1234 A type numbering was allocated as they carry the 'old' war and immediate post war Ordnance type part numbers of B1/BB-1234 number. These Ordnance part numbers didn't carry the 'indent' or 'greater' suffix code of A or SA or GA that indicated that the part hidden and invisible in the wrapping, such as yours was a simple ASSEMBLY (such as your BACKSIGHT assembly) or a Sub Assembly or a General assembly.

There, another off the wall lesson on the identification of parts and the peculiarities of the system explained. Please bear with me if I'm slightly wrong here or there's an Ordnance Blanket stacker out there who's clued up better than me on the vagaries of the Ordnance system.