Maltby No4 MkI* ???

[Ridolpho]

Edwards (Indias Enfields, 2000) makes the comment: " So many Savage manufactured weapons eventually entered Indian service that many Indian soldiers refer to all Rifles No. 4 as "American Enfields"". Could it be some that Indian armourers simply called every No. 4 they worked on Mk I*? Much like the similar No.4 Mk I" that are discussed frequently, we'll probably never know.

Ridolpho

[Peter Laidler]

Yes. BLR = Beyond Local Repair.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with that assumption Ridolpho because Indian Armourers and their complete small-arms system was and probably still is, run along the old Imperial lines. Indeed, until the mid 50's, they were still trained in the UK or by the UK and certainly, their top Artificers were trained at Bordon until the early 60's.

Their EMER's are virtually a direct copy of ours and their VAOS system, such as the B1/C1/C3 etc etc grouping categories remain the same! Nope, an Enfield was an Enfield

[Simon P]

I recently had a tour around Bordon with The Worshipful Company of Gunmakers to give us an overview of the Armourers course they hold there, very interesting place.

[Peter Laidler]

They're not even called Armourers any more. What a shame. The senior trade in the Army. The only trade that '.......in keeping with its historical and primary status, the term Armourer will precede the rank, ie., Armourer L/Corporal or Armourer Sergeant'. Not a lot of people know that and long forgotten even among Armourers. No long 3 year apprentices now PLUS a further 2 years on the job learning experience any more..................

[Simon P]

From memory I think it was a 16 week course, 12 weeks general Engineering Principles & a 6 Week Armourers Course and the 5.56MM MINIMI LIGHT MACHINE GUN was not even covered on the Course.

[Seaspriter]

I too recently purchased a Maltby No.4 MKI*
Here are pics:





The gun seems to have been through an Arsenal Refurbish, as the furniture is virtually undinged -- appears to all be replaced -- but no dates of Arsenal Repair or overstamps.

What does the * indicate? I've read through this earlier post, but did not get clear about the "*star." Note: The star is "six pointed" (the LB & SS MKI* are "eight pointed"). Was * added to indicate a refurbishment or was it original to the date of manufacture? Any new thoughts?
Thanks, Robert

[Peter Laidler]

We've seen quite a few of the Maltby supposedly Mk1* rifles. All I can think is that when this designation was being introduced as one of these '.....all further production rifles will be designated....... blah blah......' the message got to the production managers floor at Maltby who instigated it. Only to learn that this information instruction was just that, an information that told of Mk1* ( Mk1* is just a simplified way of advancing the original old numbering system of Mk1/1, 1/2 and 1/3 and so on) was the new designation for US/Canadian production only.

Saw one such 1* Maltby last Saturday that had been advanced to 1/2 in the usual way

[Brian Dick]

Check the forearm especially on your rifle Seaspriter. A ton of that South African replacement wood was imported/sold in the past 20 years through commercial channels here in the USA including myself and it may have been fitted up incorrectly if not done "in service".

[Seaspriter]

Check the forearm especially on your rifle Seaspriter. A ton of that South African replacement wood was imported/sold in the past 20 years through commercial channels here in the USA including myself and it may have been fitted up incorrectly if not done "in service".

Thanks Brian, I will take the fore-end and hand-guards off and check interior stamps, etc. when I get back home this weekend and report back. The Butt Stock is English Walnut. The hand-guards are beech. Not sure of the fore-end wood -- looks more like maple (no flecks) than beech, but seems a bit softer than most maple. I'll also check to see if the trigger has been converted to a MkII trigger. Would the barrel be always be replaced with a MKII upgrade?

Thanks for the insights

[Brian Dick]

The forend is beech. I get a gut feeling it was a sporter that someone purchased the new wood for a restoration but I could be wrong. I wouldn't worry so much about the markings inside as I'd be looking at the fit in the draws and other bearings. It can't be a Mk.2 conversion because the Mk.1 forend wouldn't fit if it was. It doesn't sport the usual ROF(Fazakerley), conversion markings either.

PS, It needs a new rear trigger guard screw!