Britain's Last Ditch: Wartime Changes to No4 Lee Enfield
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When we think of "last-ditch" rifles, we normally think of 1945 and the very end of World War Two. For the British, however, the lowest ebb of the war was in 1941 and 42, and it is during that period that the Lee Enfield was at is crudest. British ordnance instituted a number of simplifications to maximize weapons production. In particular:
- Walnut replaced with kiln-dried birch and beech for furniture
- Two-groove barrels replacing five-groove ones
- A vastly simplified 2-position flip sight in place of the original fine micrometer style
- Simplified bolt release, designated the No4 MkI* (which was only produced in the US and Canada)
- Aluminum buttplates
- Much reduced standards of fit and finish, leading to really ugly machine marks and haphazard markings.
Most of these changes would be walked back later in the war as Britain's footing became more solid, but they make a very interesting period of changes for the collector to study.
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Kar98K in 1941: "Aw geez, that's horrible. I hope nothing like that happens to me..."
Great job thumbs up peace
Kar98k in 1945: "Oh S**t........"
Oh boy
Mr Germany, I don’t feel so good
A lot better-looking than most last-ditch firearms.
Yeah ik
In fact the same is true about the last ditch k98. Bolt action rifles are already simple enough.
French, Belgian and Dutch last ditch rifles were of excellent quality, they just didn't know they were last ditch when produced.
My no4 mk1s look better than this one.
Late Japanese rifles were so poor that with the bayonet attached they were basically a spear. Which was what they were going for.
The non-Brass buttplates were not aluminum, they were a zinc composite called ZAMAK. While they did have some aluminum in the alloy, It is much stronger than aluminum would be.
With the need for brass for shells, and Aluminum for aircraft, a zinc composite makes a lot of sense.
I think i've seen that stuff mentioned in correlation with the overseas production, so it would be a mostly US and Canadian production aspect, wouldn't it?
@@Ugly_German_Truths IIRC Canadian production often had blackened steel butt plates. Its hard to tell without looking through production records of the various manufacturers, as many (most?) wartime production rifles went through FTR after the war and ended up being rebuilt with an assortment of refurb, cannibalised and/or new production components. So you can find rifles with any combination of different style parts attached with virtually no way of knowing if they are original.
Oh great, now the hi-point guys are going to start saying their pistols have a military pedigree.
My Father shipped out to the UK in 1942 with a Canadian supplied aluminum mess kit, they when they arrived traded them in for a UK made tin mess kit, and the aluminum was recycled into the war effort. Can't verify the story, or if it's an urban legend. But that could be a fair amount of aluminum in each troop ship.
I've seen this mentioned in lower quality lathe gears as well.
“…about the bottom of the barrel when it came to British Production.”
*Sten MKIII has entered the chat.
Mark III made by the toy makers
Hey at least it isn't an L85A1!
@@jakemarchbank I'd take an L85a1 over both!
@@cryhavoc999 well I suppose it still has the benefit of modern ammunition and magazines but if we compare the guns to their contemporaries the L85 is definitely the worst
@@jakemarchbank yea I'd rather fiddle with a sten to get it cycling than a l85a1
At the next gunshow the geezer at the table will add 'last ditch' to the tag on the same grimy SMLE he's been selling for the past twenty years.
and jack the the 1500 dollar price tag up to 2000
@@jontee3437 and Still never sell
Ageism?
geezer is a term of endearment @mrmicro22
If it's the same SMLE, he obviously did never sell it :P
To be fair, simplifying the rear sight also made training easier, which may have been an issue.
In addition, in my view at least, the simple sights are just as effective in real-world applications. It isn't like soldiers are sniping targets at 1000+ metres on a regular basis so these sights work just fine for most situations.
@Lassi Kinnunen 81 you just described exactly what volley fire was used for - supressing an enemy at distance. A fortification, a copse of trees, a hillside or building... anywhere you could see a body of troops or incoming fire and needed it to be supressed.
One of the arguments against reduced battle rifles was from WW1 experience where the enemy might be easily seen on the other side of a valley but out of range of lesser weapons than the "full rifle".
SMLE can reach out and touch the enemy at 1000 yards with a good marksman. Other users can certainly harrass which has tactical value in most circumstances.
And most iron sights of the 2nd world war were far too complex for their actual most common use cases, a sight like this is just as good for 90% of the time
@@BerndFelsche The problem is that it comes at a cost. The more complicated sights require additional training, additional maintenance, and are probably going to be useless in actual combat anyway. You're not really going to be click-adjusting for the exact range while being shot at. The simpler sights are just as good under 500 meters, and engagements beyond that are a tiny minority and the soldiers probably won't hit even if the sights are perfect.
The Lee Enfield never gets old. Even in its most basic form it's a beauty.
Yep. Wish I had bought one in the 80's for $99, when they were plentiful.
@@joelspringman7748 yep.
@@joelspringman7748 I know right. A friend of mine in the Pyrenees was recently given a no4 mk1 from a ww2 supply drop to the resistance, by an old resistance member. It still shoots perfectly. I saw it just the other day. A cracking piece of kit.
@@gunner678
Nice.
I found one of these in a pawn shop for 100 bucks. It's dated 1943 and is a No4 MK1. Strangely it has a second date ENGLAND 1983 underneath the first date. Best 100 bucks ever spent!
Update: That was my mistake. The 1983 is actually the serial number on mine. And it has all matching parts which is cool.
Cuts to Mounty Pylon No.4 Mk1 "They turned me into a last ditch rifle!"......." Eh.....Ah?" "But I got better"
Back in the 90s I was in the Canadian army RCEME. Enfields were still in service (Canadian Rangers, cadets) and we still had parts and service manuals for them. I never actually saw any come through the shop for service, but we could have done the work if they did. I do remember reading through the manuals and found that if any rifle with two groove rifling was found it was to be scrapped.
Interesting, I wonder why.
@@turbografx16 I have seen in several places that in practice two groove rifling is as good. My guess is that that position was never officially accepted and they thought it was inferior. It could also be that by the time the war ended there was no shortage of rifles so the worst of those available weren't needed, and two grove rifling was one of the best identifying features of those worst rifles.
The No.4 Lee Enfield would go on to see Canadian Ranger use into the 2010s. I love the No.4 and was REALLY hoping the Canadian Armed Forces would adopt the Australian AIA new-production Lee Enfields they were making in .308/7.62 Nato. That was among the biggest issues it seemed, along with parts becoming scarce, is that it would be much more convenient to keep 7.62 standard instead of having the Rangers using .303. Seemed like a perfect fit! But nah, went with a Finnish rifle. I'm sure it's fantastic, but I was still left feeling a bit saddened. The No.4 Lee Enfield is even on the badge of the Canadian Rangers! Tsk... oh well.
Regardless, it's thanks to the Canadian Rangers that the Lee bolt might technically be the longest-serving bolt design to be used to some extent as a standard-issue rifle in a Military branch in firearm history. 1888-2015 or so. Legendary... I love .303 but I really wanna get one of those .308 AIA Lee Enfields, and their 7.62x39 copy of the No.5 that uses AK mags is pretty darn cool as well! Aussie Aussie Aussie!
@@turbografx16 presuably 2 groove barrels wear out faster as each grove is taking 2.5 times the friction induced wear
@@minuteman4199
Yeah, saw that video a while back, says the action is like glass. I wouldn't be surprised if it were inherently more accurate than Lee Enfields too, though I can't imagine being more accurate by much. It's just... "Muh Enfield." Unironically, "Muh Enfield." Wanted the legacy to carry on...
Saw a last ditch Enfield at the LGS and didn’t know why it looked that way. Thanks for the video.
ROF is Royal Ordnance Factory, both Maltby and Fazackerly were ROF’s. There were about 100 ROF’s, but only Maltby and Fazackerly in the ROF system made No4’s.
It’s still a Fazackerly based on serial number.
I can not find a picture or video or anything that looks like my Enfield. R.O.F.M No.4 MK.1.1941 in my opinion it's in very good condition considering what I see in pictures of other Enfields. Wish I knew what I have.
@@travisstorbakken1737 I have the same problem, I own a Longbranch 1943 No. 4 Mk1* that is very unique. what is different about yours? Mine has a recoil reducer/muzzle brake similar to a Russian SVT 40.
I love last ditch stuff. It's "back to essential funtions" that's why I love the Sten guns. Some pipes, some roundstock, bit of plate. A barrel. Bend, weld and rivet together, et voila!
"Gentlemen, how do we get wood?"-Blackadder V, probably
"From Witches!" - Monty Python(probably)
Just to add - if you have the square cocking piece on your SMLE, it's not necessarily wrong. That design was first introduced in 1916 on the SMLE and reintroduced for the No. 4.
Also, we also tested a fibreglass stock for the No. 4. It's ridiculous.
What happened with the fibreglass stock?
@@bigblockman11 I have not seen any trials reports but it's so big and bulky I can't imagine it (or the metal one Ian mentions) being seriously considered by the military for very long at all.
@@jonathanferguson1211 you got any pictures of it I have yet to find it so far
@@bigblockman11 No, sorry. I'll see if we can cover these on our channel at some point and/or get them catalogued properly. It's chonky and green, with visible glassfibre fabric impregnated with a resin. It *could* be part of postwar trials rather than the wartime one Ian's talking about. I need to check.
@@jonathanferguson1211 yea this sounds like one of the ways to keep the rifle relevant postwar around the same time when A.I was making its rife
February 65 two months short of my 16th birthday at hms St Vincent I qualified as a Royal Navy marksman with a Lee Enfield.
300 yards, 3ft Square target with a 9in bull. 10 shots prone freehand. I scored 78. The highest score in my mess.
Wow. First on a Lee-Enfield video!
Hello from England.
We used these as drill rifles back when I was in the Sea Cadets. They had the micrometer sight fitted, so guessing they were later production, together with a brass buttplate complete with cleaning kit hatch.
Me waiting for a review on the North American Enfields: Getting closer
Just goto Connecticut if you a North American Enfield
I to would like a review on North American pattern ones more specificity the Canadian ranger ones
I have a no.4mk1 longbranch that was sporterized by globe firearms….would love to see a vid specific to North American Enfield
As a Army cadet in the early 70s we used these rifles for drill and on the ranges, let me tell you they weighed a ton at that age(13), still remember the bruises and also throwing them into the back of a 4 tonner and I mean throwing going to and from the ranges at Altcar, great video though, really bought back the memories.
Brought back memories for me as well. I was in the cadets at school in the sixties and went to Altcar every year for shooting training. we also drilled with the Lee Enfield, shot with it and also with the FAL and yes, the Lee was heavy.
@@exileinderby51 Always K range for us, loved being in the BUTTS
@@chyza2012 Got a funny feeling you have made up for it now :)
And yet we Cadets never suffered a rim lock…or Garland thumb…despite dropping the 303s barrel first in the mud or on the parade ground.
Same memories for me 1970's happy days.
Last ditch Lee? Sounds like a good 1960s Western character.
Stealing this
Or a Bruce Lee movie
Spaghetti western character.
That is a very corny joke, pilgrim.
Holy crap thats the model lee enfield I have. It has brass on it tho
Lucky, lol
As he said it could pretty much be any kind of metal. "Butt plate is butt plate!" meme here :P
Great video, as a Brit I love finding out details about our production rifles I'd never even heard of .. as a wee boy all Lee Enfields were the same to me and it's with delight and interest that I'm finding variants and sub-variants all with the most confusing nomenclature!
Once again GJ has enlightened me ... blessed be his name ;-)
Was interesting to know more history behind this and how the various changes occurred. Cool basically seeing a clone of my #4 there with the savage gun. Great video as always sir!
ROF Fazakerley! This gun was made about a mile away from my house.
Just searched the locatio. Just opposite Aintree hospital. Houses there now. Had no idea an ROF was there. Though makes sense given Liverpool was an important industrial and maritime location during WW2 and was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe
And he nailed the pronunciation too!!
@@ermfwp yep. Better than locals who tend to sau Fazak-ly and not Fazak-er-ly. Including me.
...and probably haunted by the ghosts of Enfields past....
Several of the SLR's I was issued with came with a scouce accent too!!!!
I personally own a US property marked savage lee- Enfield No.4 Mk.1* from 1942, I got it a couple of years ago as a graduation gift, but unfortunately the receiver rail towards the front is cracked and missing.
I always worry about that with mine....but I guess, It made it through the war. Lives an easy life now so to speak. Range and farm whacking steel. I bought it from a fella here who restores enfields. Out of about 12 to pick from, the original wood was in excellent shape and matching. I love maltbys and faz, but I have a soft spot for savages made ones for some reason...even over long branch, and I'm canadian!
@@tays8306 Well I’m American and prefer Long Branches. So…. Yeah.
@@hansgruber9685
You heard it here first folks!
Have you ever shot a Lee- Enfield imported from India? They are actually not that bad and have some cool armory marks.
@@TheSmsawyer
Id like an ishapore made no1. Just waiting for a time when I decide I need another one..ha. they run about 700 to 900$ canadian.
It's funny 1942 to an American is early on in the war. 1939 Canada 🇨🇦was fighting so what Ian meant to say was almost half way through the war.
Not to mention Japan invaded China in 1937!
Provincial attitude. Through the Commonwealth and colonies, and similar colonial interest of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are part of the reason that the rest of the world show are marked tendency to place the start of the war in 1939. The differences in date occur along similar lines. For example, Russian sources place the beginning of the war at the start of Barbarossa. Chinese sources, Communist or Nationalist, place the start at the invasion of Manchuria. You can guess the nationality of the single source that I have found that places the beginning of the war at the invasion of Ethiopia.
@@chuckhainsworth4801 I was definitely coming from the British colonial outlook being Canadian. I do realize it was basically still ongoing from the aftermath of ww1 and probably even before.
Good insight, I guess every country sees the war differently
@@zopEnglandzip good guess! You have my permission to go buy yourself a shot of the good stuff. You are still wrong, but it was a good guess. As well, you earn my thanks and the right to buy yourself another shot. You did this with answer that was both plausible and implausible.
My compliments to you.
I think for a conscript army with little experience with firearms, the simplified No4 Lee Enfield was a good decision. I think the sights are better and more user-friendly.
Run in,
yell “Rim lock!”
Run out.
The last ditch in the UK is the Channel.... best A/T ditch so far used in warfare.
Oddly, those who used Lee Enfields seldom had this problem. Military-spec .303 British ammo has a double taper on the rim that is missing on most modern ammo. Check out Bloke on the Range's video for more details.
@@jfess1911 I've put thousands of rounds through various SMLE's over the past 45 years.
Never once had that issue, despite being self trained on the rifle (my service issue was an L1A1).
@@GARDENER42 As near as I can tell, the rim lock issue stems mainly from some ammo companies not following the British spec for rim shape.
@@GARDENER42 Me too. Never heard of it till CZcams where it is a huge problem for arm chair WW weapons "experts".
@@baobo67 ... most of whom seem to be American .... !
I like the great examples of fírearms that you get to handle. Me personally I would be buying all of them if I could. Back when I made more money it allowed me to collect M1 carbines. I had all 9 manufacturers and enough parts to build 5 or 6 more. Most of them I built with correct parts for the manufacturer. I only had 5 original rifles including a M2 and ME but I didn't have the battery packs and backpack. Those are truly hard to come by. I started doing the same thing with the Enfield rifles. I had 5 of them 2 being a Ishapore A2 one was cut down by the importer to make the quasi tanker rifle like the M1 Garand tanker. That Ishapore .308 cutdown was a bit too short on the stock and every 6 rounds or so the wood would fall apart and the front pieces of the stock would end up on the ground. Me being a psudo gunsmithing I put a half inch dowl rod in stock and ended up epoxying one end in and made it so it could come apart and I had to remove a 1/6 of a inch of the duffle cut to make the front band grab more of the rear upper wood of the stock. Now it's as solid as can be. My dad loved that rifle and could whack the buffalo at the Whittington center. That was our monthly camping trip when I lived in Denver for a few years before he passed away. He passed his love of milsurp firearms down to me. He was very proud of my M1 carbine collection. When I got my class 3 FFL and the tax stamp for the M2 my dad just fell in love with full automatic fírearms I had 4 of them in a trust and he was on it so he wanted a 1928 Thompson so I found a really nice one and ended up with it. My dad was able to shoot it 2 times before he passed away. I'm looking forward to expanding my collection on the Enfield rifles. I had to sell some of my fírearms about 18 years ago. I was a professional musician and made a incredible amount of money from the age of 23 to 34. I wanted to rebuild my collection but it's not going to happen. I'm happy with what I have now. I realized that I went overboard but every firearm. Was a great investment. Almost every firearm that I bought was worth 4 times as much as what I payed for them. I still have a very decent collection of fírearms but I don't have the FFL any more. I still like and want to collect the Enfield rifles and I'm getting into the k-98 rifles. Happy Safe Shooting 🇺🇸💪
God I love the way Enfield's look. They're just so damn pretty! Great vid, thanks Ian!!!
I was waiting for no4 video in a while! Thank you
Highly informative. Thank you. Just found out more about the BSA Mk1/2 I've recently acquired.
My very 1st rifle was/is a No4 Mk1*, out of Long Branch, Canada in 1943. Was just working on it a little this weekend, as the trigger-lever/bolt-catch had gotten a little sticky, & was leaving the trigger flopping.
All these years later, & this is still one of my favorites. Thanks for the history lesson on this beautiful bit of British elegance. I don't know that it constitutes being "last ditch," as it's pretty slick, but I enjoyed learning about all the differences it's got with the other variants.
Ian always knows my favorite rifles and makes great videos about them. Thank you.
Excellent video really appreciate all the different examples
My favorite WWII Bolt Gun ! I've always had one in my collection.
Just love your videos about the Lee Enfields, I have my grandfather's sporterized rifle that he gave me when I was 12 and started hunting. Awesome rifle. It's a #1 mk 3 .
I had a 1943 No. 4... even as a semi last ditch it was a beauty.
People forget how much Britain sacrificed in the war.
They lost basically the same amount of military dead as the US. UK 380k vs US 400k. And with a population of only 47 million (UK) versus 131 million (US), Britain proportionally sacrificed significantly more blood than the US. Britain also had significantly more civilian casualties and destruction of their home cities.
However, both the UK and US are not very significant when compared to the Soviets or the Polish in terms of sacrifice.
@@gfarrell80 we did everything we could, we were just lucky to be an island
@@gfarrell80
Seems pretty spot-on, and yeah, the Soviets and Poles got railed hard. I regard the Eastern Front as the bloodiest front of the bloodiest war in human history.
Historical note: My range instructor (U.K. back in the 90s) took part in the official burial of the last military SMLE.
Excellent presentation! Thank you for sharing and please keep up the great effort
I have a Savage built version. 2 groove rifling and it is a tack driver. I would rather have the folding peep than the micrometer also. The disdain of the "last ditch" term and the imagery it lends itself to is hardly deserved.
I have a savage and a long branch. Both 2 groove tack drivers
I'm going to look at a No. 4 MK1 * in a few days, came back to this video to know what to look for. Love having a wealth of knowledge to look back on
We had a few No. 4*’ s in our CCF. Armoury when I was at school (1984-‘89)
Love your videos!!!im waiting on my second lee enfield in mail.I’ve always wanted one since I was in my 20s n that’s 20 years ago so the bug has bit me lol but love your info on everything especially the cocking rod working very interesting!!!
I commented more about the No 4 Mk I rifle I have in your video last week, but this example is actually closer to my Artifact. It had the 100/300 yards peep flip sight, but I replaced that with a ladder sight. Also has the grooved flat-style cocking tab, and the same bolt-release detent catch. Brass buttplate. The color of wood is very light, blonde almost. Issues I have with the mismatched bolt, I detailed last week. Stamped M/1944 [Broad Arrow] on the shoulder stock socket.
Home guard had pitch forks and broom handles with carving knives tied to the end...and they were the anti-tank weapons 😂
This made me dig out my No4 Mk1 to watch along. So cool! I was surprised to find my last ditch isn't so bad at all! It's a 1942, with the simplified front sight and 2 groove barrel, as well as the slotted cocking grip, but the finish and weld on the receiver are quite nice and it's got the old style rear sight (I reckon it was probably installed later).
A whole video about L-E No. 4 sights? Man, almost as pointy-headed as I am!
Keep them coming, Ian! Top material!
Hey Ian thanks for another video on Forgotten Weapons
Of course the last Ditch was literally the English Channel !!! ( luckily it was full of water )!
Wish I would have started a collection of the Lee Enfield rifles.
Another great video. Thanks!
God bless all here.
I wish I had the sense to start collecting Enfields when they had them in barrels every fall at Sears and hardware stores. Could have packed away cases of .303 as well.
i have around 30 of the cloth bandoliers dated 1949,50&51. Paid a buck each for them. The places to shoot were all closed down years ago so i still have the ammo.
Thank you for all you do
My great grandfather was producing these in the factories during the war in Enfield a borough of London were they were mass produced i still travel through there now and used to live in Enfield as a child
The Canadian factory was at a place called Long Branch. It's now just a stop on the west Toronto streetcar line. I bet very few who travel that line now know what it once was.
I have a June '43 Fazakerley that is still a bit rough, but absolutely refined in comparison to a buddy's '42 Maltby, which is unbelievably crude.
I wonder how much some of the poor finishing was just inexperienced workers doing the work and it being deemed good enough (looking at the markings and stripper clip bridge weld)
Maybe...Q.C. would be experienced, though. Maybe a couple of shoddily-made rifles led then to move toward a more simplified rifle.
No the quality required for acceptance was reduced to remove additional fine finishing processing on the stocks after the blanks are cut to speed up production and also reduce reject rate
Probably a good point! Probably welded by some lass who had been pulled in off the streets given a day welding course and told " war effort....go!"
Thanks for the video. You bring great light into my savage No4.
Always in the mood for enfields. Love them.
Clairified some points for me, thank you Ian.
Thanks for this video Ian! I had been wondering about the rear sight, most info I could find about no4s showed the early ones, but my 1945 lacked the micrometer and I was wondering why. Just wish it were easier to feed my no4, why I also have an Ishapore 2a.
From the days when Hitler was still licking his wounds after Dunkirk (Capt George Mainwaring - Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard - Paraphrased)
Here goes the Meme: "Huh?...."
From Dad's Army?
That's right! We really kicked the blighters toosh at Dunkirk, didnt we?
@@Jayhawkga Indeed. Not as good as my favourite bit.
Mainwaring: "I could have sworn they'd never break through the Maginot line".
Wilson: "You're quite right sir. They didn't. They went round the side".
Mainwaring: "That's a typical shabby Nazi trick!"
They don’t like it up them , the Germans couldn’t knockoff the skin off a rice pudding , lance corporal Jones 😂
That explains why I looked like an idiot trying to figure out how to remove the bolt on my father's No4 mk1, his was from England and mine was a Longbranch.
Shows that I got a goodie. Thanks for showing us the nuances.
I just checked my 1943 manufactured No4Mk1 and it has the simplified front shroud and a adjustable rear sight that appears to have been put on later due to the wear difference. The SN is a little weird as one number is double stamped. And it is a two band rifling. Thanks, Ian for the info.
I have a very rough Mosin-Nagant and Arisaka that show even more crude finish. But I can barely make out the Chrysanthemum indicating it must have been a captured gun.
I really like the look of Lee Enfield rifles.
Love my mk 4 1950 long branch, my 1906 Springfield and my k 98 converted too 264 win mag all keepers , many thanks buddy
Thank you. I had one of those "property of the United States" Enfield's. I haven't seen it in almost 30 years but I remember all the details you mentioned. I appreciate you sharing the history of these Enfield's and other weapons.
There are also some 1903 Springfield's that had 2 groove rifling.
I have one of these No 4’s. I’ll have to check if it’s a 2 groove barrel too I can’t remember now. Mine’s a 1943 Fazerkerly. The stock is a little beat up she’s definitely seen some use but it’s in great shape otherwise and shoots straight.
Thank you , Ian .
Jokes about the quality aside, I have a 1942 No.4 MKI* and even with the two-position flip sight, and 2 groove barrel, it shoots like a dream. I took out the Milsurp rifle competition in January in Australia firing a combination of deliberate and snap serials at 300 and 500 yards, perfect with that flip sight.
Great video. Minor correction, ROF is Royal Ordnance FACTORY / FACTORIES, of which Fazakarley was one.
I have this very beat-up, bruised and poorly finished old Lee Enfield with a crude rear sight that I have never seen on any other Enfield. If looks could kill this thing would be harmless.
But It shoots great. I never knew it was a last-ditch weapon made in Maltby in 1941.
Thanks so much, Ian for the info.
3:45 there is also an even cheaper war expedient sight protector, made out of stamped metal which can be found. Its fairly rare now as it was one of the first things discarded and replaced when many No4s were put through FTR after the war. Further to this there are several other slightly simplified war production parts. The barrel bands (both front and back) were made out of cheaper, thinner metal rather than the more rounded, finished items. Trigger guards can also be found in a squarer slightly thicker form, which have had less machining and finishing. Butt plates were also made in blackened steel besides the pot metal type and brass. I've also noted slightly different end caps on the stock and finger guards, which use less metal at the front, but I'm not sure if this is a wartime measure.
My No4 Mk1* Savage rifle still has the stamped front sight ears, rifle was definitely in the hands of a small armory at one point becuase the buttsock and both handguards don't match, buttstock is also marked FR (pretty faint tho) and the barrel is dated F51 and a 5 groove. Probably spent time in Korea or was lightly overhauled for Korea but never sent.
Stock still has cosmoline in it and the wood is ww2 wartime so the buttstock and main stock have shrunk a little which is gonna make bedding it a issue. (Rifle has no downward pressure on the barrel and is also missing the split washer for the king screw and the new bolt needs to have the locking lugs fitted or forcefully mated with a special proof round that evidently expanded the metal, charge was 33 grains of No3 Cordite for final bolt fitting according to online forums)
I really like this content, i learn so much and it is very interesting. Thank you!
Mine has the smooth sided cocking piece and 2 groove barrel. For being cranked out of the factory a couple weeks before D-day, that's all the shortcuts they needed to take.
I have a slightly less-crude one of these, also Fazakerley, 1942. I guess it might be a little bit earlier, it has a 5- groove barrel, grooves on the striker and doesn't have that super-ugly weld on the charger bridge. It shoots really well.
I have a mid war Savage Lee Enfield Mk. 4 with the two grooves. Alas, when I got it, it had been "sporterized," (an early form of psychological torture.) It shoots very well.
Just in time haha, just picked up (literally today) a January of 42 Fazakerley. Showing some of these features. Early rear sight.
Hi, Ian, I owned a Long Branch dated 1953 marked "T" very very well crafted...
Ian has mentioned “T” Enfields in the past as being the sniper variant, perhaps that was yours.
That is one durty Lee Enfield!
Hairy Mary! 🐶
My brother bought a British Enfield 303 rifle several years ago and that thing was a beast of a gun. So loud when shot.
Thanks for the info.
The Lee Enfield •303 S&LMLE will never be a forgotten rifle.the •303 and the •22 conversion was the FIRST rifle I ever fired with the Air Training Corps (ATC),40 Years ago.
Absolutely fantastic and very informative thank you very much 😮
This explains my No4 MK3 From 43 SOOOOO much.
I actually have one of these I bought that came outta Ethiopia. It was beat to all hell (lovingly used) but noticed how rather crude it was. I should have figured it was a last ditch. It shoots beautifully and accurately and is solid as hell.
All those years blaming the Ethiopians for not taking care of the rifle and it turns out that's how they got it.
I remember picking up one of these at Big 5 sporting goods about 15 years ago. They where still good shooting rifles
I like the leaf sights but... i guess that could be because my time with the CETME-L.
How many of these things did they give you?!
You got like five of them there.
Lee-Enfields used to be thick as fleas around here. They've thinned out quite a bit in recent years.
Excuse me, Ian has *ALL* the guns.
I don't think these were "last ditch" at all. Britain had an extremely well developed war production plan, and the No4 (and other weapons) had been designed so that the parts could be sub-contracted out to all levels of manufacturing capability. Thats why there are many variations in bands, woodwork, foresight protectors, et al. The "rough finish" guns are mostly just confined to Maltby production - it was a new factory - and some Fazakerley batches. Typical ROF teething issues. At BSA, by contrast, quality remained very high throughout.
Parts an rifles could be made across the empire, places like India an Canada where makeing enough guns to meet there own needs.
Add in the millions strong stock of ww1 Lee Enfields and see why more effort was in Bern and Sten production.
That is the first time I've ever seen a Savage built #4 & the first time seeing that design feature for simplification.
"Last-ditch" might also apply to the dispersal pattern No. 1 Mk. III's...I have a 1942 BSA example and it is a bit rough
Those dispersal no1s are really neat. I had to pick between a 41 lithgow and a dispersal. I picked the aussie. man does it shoot well. Ftr in 49 probably helps.
My friend recently bought a N4 Mk1, it was such a pain trying to figure out whether it was wartime or pre war production. Your videos help but I wish I had these about a month ago lol
I have a NO 4 MK 2 with blonde stock. Assigned to the RAF but never issued. It has a A.J. Parker rear sight and it's very accurate (about an inch 5 shots at 50 yards with my handloads).
I have had 2 No 4 Mk I* rifles. One was sporterized long before I purchased it with a rubber buttpad that hardened over time, and the forend was cut down to resemble a No 5. I didn't look too closely, but it was not expensive. The other one which I still have was not sporterized, but the previous owner, my buddy, really tried to perform "mad minutes" with it. Both were Savage-production, BTW. The rail on the one I still own is damaged at the cut out for removing the bolt, and as a result, the bolt head will rotate while cycling the bolt. It is not fun to shoot when you have to check the bolt head is in its track after each round cycled. I surmise the original extractor spring was ejected during one of his mad minute sessions, where the bolt head had rotated out of alignment, but he ran the bolt home into the breech face. I haven't the heart to sell it, since I don't want to curse someone with a damaged rifle, that also had Iraqi and British surplus fired through it, and not cleaned properly afterwards.
Got one.... love it.... rear locking lugs is the way to go for a mad minute
Anything Lee-Enfield is a great subject for a video. Great job!
I had an Australian MkIII* SMLE - made in 1942, it had a number of the features of this No 4 rifle - no release tab for the bolt, for instance, the rectangular cocking handle. Did the SAF incorporate No 4 design elements or was it an old school design?In particular I have always considered the cocking handle as defining WW!/WW2 manufacture. Cheers.