L42A1 Sniper Overview: The Last Lee Enfield

[DanL96a1]

Interesting L42A1 Video

Information

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[snipershot1944]

A rather tired example just sold on GunBroker for $8,000 US.

[Peter Laidler]

My opinion is that the last Lee Enfield must be the L59A1 or A2. Certainly it is numerically.

[Thunderbox]

Presumably the last manufactured action body must be one of the UF A 3xxxx rifles?

[Peter Laidler]

Or the late no cut-off block unnumbered, left-in-white bodies that remained at Fazakerley (and later sent to Enfield) that were used on the first L39's!

Exactly WHAT constitutes the last Enfield would make an interesting thread...... LEE Enfield, MADE at Enfield, Numerically Enfield or......... what? Where does the L85 fit in?

[CINDERS]

Any chance the Lee Enfield pattern room having collared the last enfield for posterity! unless the example is privately owned.

[Gil Boyd]

Ahhhhhhhh The Holy Grail me thinks??

[Sentryduty]

Exactly WHAT constitutes the last Enfield would make an interesting thread...... LEE Enfield, MADE at Enfield, Numerically Enfield or......... what? Where does the L85 fit in?

Exactly, I am pretty sure there are L-E versions that have been built in the last decade by the talented shops of the Khyber Pass, how does one exactly judge the "last" one?

[Peter Laidler]

The PR has the FIRST production SA80, UE85A00001 and we had UE85A00002. These were retained as examples of how NOT to produce weapons that were not ready for service! The UK Military also has the very LAST full bore Lee Enfield in documented UK Military service. We had to specify 'full bore' in this case because zillions of the little No8's are still out there with Cadet Forces and units that have a requirement for them.

[Sentryduty]

Peter, as an aside, or perhaps a separate thread entirely, what can you share about he SA80 rifle and it's actual development/production shortcomings?

As a (formerly) modern soldier I was always professionally interested in what toys everyone was bringing to the sandbox. Is all I have heard, is the basics, generic gripes and outsourcing to H&K for production.

I did have the opportunity to handle one in Helmand province, overall it was short and handy, although a bit weighty for the size. The SUSAT was nice and crisp but I did find the pickett did eat a lot of the sight picture. The main thing I found was loaded, and readied, the rifle balanced perfectly over the strong hand pistol grip, it could be easily pointed with one hand, and transitioned well between targets in the shoulder. However due to the operational setting at the time, I didn't have a chance to shoot it, I do remember the fellow seemed to be almost envious of our Diemaco C7A2 and C8A3's.

This may sound unusual, but even knowing the "stigma" behind the rifle my non-shooting overall impressions were positive.