Lee Enfield SMLE Morse Code Signal Shutter Panel, Seen on eBayUK
I've never heard of one of these before today when I noticed it on eBayUK and there doesn't seem to be much on the net about them. Perhaps someone here knows about them? It does seem a fair amount of "faffing about" in no-mans land "erecting" this thing and attempting to send morse code by way of "pulling strings", while you're being machine gunned and shelled.
If you decide to look on eBay for it you may wish to sit down before looking at the price.
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Last edited by Flying10uk; 12-06-2022 at 09:31 PM.
A rifle signalling panel, also known as a shutter panel. These were designed to attach to a rifle, and by pulling on the lower string, Morse signals or pre-arranged codes could be flashed
A couple of pictures from one sold some time ago.
Last edited by Alan de Enfield; 12-07-2022 at 03:56 AM.
Mine are not the best, but they are not too bad. I can think of lots of Enfields I'd rather have but instead of constantly striving for more, sometimes it's good to be satisfied with what one has...
Indeed, no doubt quite rare. However, I too needed my smelling salts when I saw the vendor's expected sale price. This sale reminds me of a hard learned lesson from many years ago, when an older dealer pal & mentor of mine taught me that rarity in itself does not always walk hand in hand with high value. An item has to be both rare & DESIRABLE, to achieve a high sale price. Lugers are only moderately scarce in the big scheme of things, yet they are quite valuable because there are many people who like them & want to possess them - it's that combination of rarity & desirability that matters. I just can't see there being that many people saying 'I'll pay whatever it takes to get that', no matter how few there are left on the planet!!
But then I'm often wrong...........just ask my wife.
Last edited by Roger Payne; 12-07-2022 at 03:33 PM.
Reason: grammar
I was told by an old acquaintance over 60 years ago, that the true price of anything is the SECOND highest bid at the auction sale.
I was always told the same - if more than two folks want it it is under market price, when there are two bidders that is the market price & the last (winning) bid is the one that is 'over market price'.
Mine are not the best, but they are not too bad. I can think of lots of Enfields I'd rather have but instead of constantly striving for more, sometimes it's good to be satisfied with what one has...
For me it's the thought of lying face down in the mud, in no-man's-land, and actually trying to use the thing. After struggling to assemble and set the thing up, you're then expected to send a coherent message, in morse code, by way of pulling strings. I would imagine that they were found to be totally impractical.
The designer thought of that by giving the reverse side an early, primitive, form of "DPM camouflage".......more like putting up a flag with "here I am".
Gives some useful perspective on pigeons doesn't it? And the other good thing about them was their roosts could be at whichever chateau or distant battery C.P. the message was intended for; avoiding all the usual problems of passing messages along through different levels in a formation. In fact when one thinks about the security problems of electronic warfare today, the homing pigeon may not have seen the end of war!
Lamps were handicapped by the low intensity bulbs of those days I suppose, not to mention their fragility and the difficulty of the receiver locating them in mist, smoke or blast. The need to stick one's head over the parapet or peer about with a periscope can't have helped either, nor the need for both parties to know Morse code. Though of course in those days Boy Scouts learned it in their tens of thousands.
Runners and wires...
Last edited by Surpmil; 12-09-2022 at 12:00 PM.
“There are invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions. It is not generally realized to what extent the words and actions of our most influential public men are dictated by shrewd persons operating behind the scenes.”
PM
Originally Posted by Warren
And the other good thing about them was their roosts could be at whichever chateau or distant battery C.P. the message was intended for; avoiding all the usual problems of passing messages along through different levels in a formation. In fact when one thinks about the security problems of electronic warfare today, the homing pigeon may not have seen the end of war! 
