BSA Very Early SMLE No.1 Mk.III

[Enfield-Stuff]

Standard (pre WW2) UK markings used by the Chief Examiner of Small Arms

Item 14 on the attached :

"Serviceable rifle suitable for competition shooting for sale to the public"

The attachment looks very familiar but I can't place it. What is the source document, please?

Enfield-Stuff

[Alan de Enfield]

The attachment looks very familiar but I can't place it. What is the source document, please?

Enfield-Stuff

Sorry I don't know.

I have a fair few Enfield related documents, both in PDfs and on paper, but unfortunateley in many instances I did not reference, (or list the source of) odd 'extracts' to the original documents, we live and learn.

[bravo2zero]

Thanks for your comments so far

[Lance]

The attachment looks very familiar but I can't place it. What is the source document, please?

Enfield-Stuff

This is out of Reynolds I do believe. The Lee Enfield Rifle

[Homer]

So e with a no2 type magazine would this rifle be sighted for Mk6 ammo?

[bravo2zero]

Yes it would be for the earlier Mk VI round head ammunition

[Alan de Enfield]

MkVI ammunituion is still manufactured by Kynamco (Kynoch) for 'Big-Game' hunters.

Kynoch .303 British



The original MKVI specification was :

Ball Cordite Mark VI

"Cartridge S.A. Ball .303 inch Cordite Mark VI" was approved in January 1904 to design RL 10781 and shown in LoC Paragraph 12411 dated October 1904. The design number was later changed to DD/L/14006 and "Cordite" was dropped from the title in 1907..

Like its predecessor Mark II, the Ball Mark VI had a round nosed 215 grain bullet but with a thinner cupto-nickel envelope to increase lethality. The core was an alloy of 98/2% lead antimony.

The propellant charge was 31 grains of Cordite size 3 3/4 with a single glazeboard wad to give a muzzle velocity of 1,970 feet per second at a pressure of 17.5 to 18 tsi.

Initially the case bore the letter "C" for Cordite but this was omitted from future manufacture from April 1907. At the same time, two further changes took place in the headstamp. The last two digits of the manufacturing year were added (this being the Financial Year from 1st April to 31st March) and for ammunition supplied by commercial contractors two Broad Arrows were added to the headstamp on acceptance by government inspectors.

The army supported the National Rifle Association matches at Bisley with a free issue of ammunition and specially selected lots of Mark VI were supplied as Match ammunition. These were identified by parts of the case being blackened and in some cases by an overstamp of "NRA" on the headstamp.

[Surpmil]

Superb, and it seems to have avoided being conscripted after Dunkirk.