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The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a
bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...
,
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
-fed
repeating rifle A repeating rifle is a single- barreled rifle capable of repeated discharges between each ammunition reloads. This is typically achieved by having multiple cartridges stored in a magazine (within or attached to the gun) and then fed individually i ...
that served as the main
firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
of the military forces of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's standard rifle from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957. The WWI versions are often referred to as the "SMLE", which is short for the common "Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield" variant. A redesign of the Lee–Metford (adopted by the British Army in 1888), the Lee–Enfield superseded the earlier Martini–Henry,
Martini–Enfield Martini–Enfield rifles were, by and large, conversions of the Zulu War era .577/450 Martini–Henry, rechambering the rifle for use with the newly introduced .303 British cartridge. Whilst most Martini–Enfields were converted rifles, a numbe ...
, and Lee-Metford rifles. It featured a ten-round box magazine which was loaded with the
.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...
manually from the top, either one round at a time or by means of five-round
chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
. The Lee–Enfield was the standard issue weapon to rifle companies of the British Army, colonial armies (such as India and parts of Africa), and other Commonwealth nations in both the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada). Although officially replaced in the UK with the
L1A1 SLR The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, officially "Rifle, 7.62mm, L1A1", also known just as the SLR (Self-Loading Rifle), by the Canadian Army designation C1A1 (C1) or in the US as the "inch pattern" FAL,Especially on the American surplus market. is a Br ...
in 1957, it remained in widespread British service until the early/mid-1960s and the
7.62 mm The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the imperial unit and customary unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for ...
L42A1 The L42A1 is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.Pegler & Bujero (2001), pp. 48-49.Pegler (2010), pp. 61-62. Used in the past by the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force RAF Regiment, the L42A1 en ...
sniper variant remained in service until the 1990s. As a standard-issue infantry rifle, it is still found in service in the armed forces of some Commonwealth nations, notably with the Bangladesh Police, which makes it the second longest-serving military bolt-action rifle still in official service, after the Mosin–Nagant (Mosin-Nagant receivers are used in the Finnish 7.62 Tkiv 85). Total production of all Lee–Enfields is estimated at over 17 million rifles. The Lee–Enfield takes its name from the designer of the rifle's bolt system— James Paris Lee—and the location where its
rifling In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pro ...
design was created—the Royal Small Arms Factory in
Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...
.


Design and history

The Lee–Enfield rifle was derived from the earlier Lee–Metford, a mechanically similar black-powder rifle, which combined James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system that had a barrel featuring rifling designed by
William Ellis Metford William Ellis Metford (4 October 1824 – 14 October 1899) was a British engineer best known for designing the Metford rifling used in the .303 calibre Lee–Metford and Martini–Metford service rifles in the late 19th century. Life He was bo ...
. The bolt has a relatively short bolt throw and features rear-mounted lugs, and the bolt operating handle places the bolt knob just rearwards of the trigger at a favourable ergonomic position close to the operator's hand. The action features helical locking surfaces (the technical term is interrupted threading). This means that final
headspace Headspace may refer to: *Headspace (company), an online healthcare company specializing in meditation *Headspace (organisation), an Australian non-profit organization for youth mental health *Headspace or ullage, the unfilled space in a container ...
is not achieved until the bolt handle is turned down all the way. The British probably used helical locking lugs to allow for chambering imperfect or dirty ammunition and that the closing cam action is distributed over the entire mating faces of both bolt and receiver lugs. This is one reason the bolt closure feels smooth. The rifle was also equipped with a detachable sheet-steel, 10-round, double-column magazine, a very modern development in its day. Originally, the concept of a detachable magazine was opposed in some
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
circles, as some feared that the private soldier might be likely to lose the magazine during field campaigns. Early models of the Lee–Metford and Lee–Enfield even used a short length of chain to secure the magazine to the rifle. To further facilitate rapid aimed fire the rifle can be cycled by most riflemen without loss of sight picture. These design features facilitate rapid cycling and fire compared to other bolt-action designs like the Mauser. The Lee bolt-action and 10-round
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
capacity enabled a well-trained rifleman to perform the "
mad minute The Mad Minute was a pre-World War I bolt-action rifle speed shooting exercise used by British Army riflemen, using the Lee–Enfield service rifle. The exercise formally known as "Practice number 22, Rapid Fire, The Musketry Regulations, Part ...
" firing 20 to 30 aimed rounds in 60 seconds, making the Lee–Enfield the fastest military bolt-action rifle of the day. The current world record for aimed bolt-action fire was set in 1914 by a musketry instructor in the British Army—Sergeant Instructor Snoxall—who placed 38 rounds into a target at in one minute. Some straight-pull bolt-action rifles were thought faster but lacked the simplicity, reliability, and generous magazine capacity of the Lee–Enfield. Several First World War accounts tell of British troops repelling German attackers who subsequently reported that they had encountered machine guns, when in fact it was simply a group of well-trained riflemen armed with SMLE Mk III rifles. The Lee–Enfield was adapted to fire the .303 British service cartridge, a rimmed, high-powered rifle round. Experiments with
smokeless powder Finnish smokeless powderSmokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder ("black powder"). The combustion products are mainly gaseous, compared t ...
in the existing Lee–Metford
cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...
seemed at first to be a simple upgrade, but the greater heat and pressure generated by the new smokeless powder wore away the shallow and rounded Metford rifling after approximately 6000 rounds. Replacing this with a new square-shaped rifling system designed at the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF)
Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...
solved the problem, and the Lee–Enfield was born.


Models/marks of Lee–Enfield rifle and service periods


Magazine Lee–Enfield

The Lee–Enfield rifle was introduced in November 1895 as the ''.303 calibre, Rifle, Magazine, Lee–Enfield'', or more commonly ''Magazine Lee–Enfield'', or ''MLE'' (sometimes spoken as "emily" instead of M, L, E). The next year, a shorter version was introduced as the ''Lee–Enfield cavalry carbine Mk I'', or LEC, with a barrel as opposed to the one in the "long" version. Both underwent a minor upgrade series in 1899 (the omission of the cleaning / clearing rod), becoming the Mk I*. Many LECs (and LMCs in smaller numbers) were converted to special patterns, namely the ''New Zealand carbine'' and the ''Royal Irish Constabulary carbine'', or NZ and RIC
carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...
s, respectively. Some of the MLEs (and MLMs) were converted to load from
chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
, and designated ''Charger Loading Lee–Enfields'', or ''CLLEs''.


Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk I

A shorter and lighter version of the original MLE—the ''Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield'' or ''SMLE'' (sometimes spoken as "Smelly", rather than "S-M-L-E")—was introduced on 1 January 1904. The barrel was now halfway in length between the original long rifle and the carbine, at 25.2 inches (640 mm). The SMLE's visual trademark was its blunt nose, with only the bayonet boss protruding a small fraction of an inch beyond the nosecap, being modelled on the Swedish Model 1894 cavalry carbine. The new rifle also incorporated a charger loading system, another innovation borrowed from the Mauser rifle and notably different from the fixed "bridge" that later became the standard: a charger clip (stripper clip) guide on the face of the bolt head. The shorter length was controversial at the time; many rifle association members and gunsmiths were concerned that the shorter barrel would not be as accurate as the longer MLE barrels, that the recoil would be much greater and the sighting radius would be too short.


Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III

The best-known Lee–Enfield rifle, the ''SMLE Mk III'', was introduced on 26 January 1907, along with a
Pattern 1907 bayonet The Pattern 1907 bayonet, officially called the Sword bayonet, pattern 1907 (Mark I), was a British bayonet designed to be used with the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) rifle. The Pattern 1907 bayonet was used by the British and Commonwealth ...
and featured a simplified rear sight arrangement and a fixed, rather than a bolt-head-mounted sliding, charger guide. The design of the handguards and the magazine were also improved and the chamber was adapted to fire the new Mk VII high velocity
spitzer Spitzer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andre Spitzer (1945–1972), Israeli fencing coach and victim of the Munich massacre * Bernard Spitzer (1924–2014), American real estate developer and philanthropist, father of Eli ...
.303 ammunition. Many early models, Magazine Lee–Enfields (MLEs), Magazine Lee–Metfords (MLMs) and SMLEs, were rebuilt to the Mk III standard. These are called "Mk IV Cond.", with various asterisks denoting subtypes. During the First World War, the SMLE Mk III was found to be too complicated to manufacture (an SMLE Mk III rifle cost the British government £3/15/– = £), and demand outstripped supply; in late 1915 the ''Mk III*'' was introduced incorporating several changes, the most prominent of which were the deletion of the magazine cut-off mechanism, which when engaged permits the feeding and extraction of single cartridges only while keeping the cartridges in the magazine in reserve, and the long-range volley sights. The windage adjustment of the rear sight was also dispensed with, and the cocking piece was changed from a round knob to a serrated slab. Rifles with some or all of these features present are found, as the changes were implemented at different times in different factories and as stocks of parts were depleted. The magazine cut-off was reinstated after the First World War ended, and not entirely dispensed with in manufacturing until 1933; some rifles with cut-offs remained into the 1960s. The inability of the principal manufacturers ( RSAF Enfield, the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited and London Small Arms Co. Ltd) to meet military production demands led to the development of the "peddled scheme", which contracted out the production of whole rifles and rifle components to several shell companies. The SMLE Mk III* (renamed Rifle No.1 Mk III* in 1926) saw extensive service throughout the Second World War, especially in the North African, Italian, Pacific and Burmese theatres in the hands of British and Commonwealth forces. Australia and India retained and manufactured the SMLE Mk III* as their standard rifle during the conflict, and the rifle remained in Australian military service through the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, until it was replaced by the
L1A1 SLR The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, officially "Rifle, 7.62mm, L1A1", also known just as the SLR (Self-Loading Rifle), by the Canadian Army designation C1A1 (C1) or in the US as the "inch pattern" FAL,Especially on the American surplus market. is a Br ...
in the late 1950s. The
Lithgow Small Arms Factory The Lithgow Small Arms Factory, or Lithgow Arms, is an Australian small arms manufacturing factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales. It was created by the Australian Government in 1912 to ease reliance on the British for the sup ...
finally ceased production of the SMLE Mk III* in 1953. The
Rifle Factory Ishapore The Rifle Factory Ishapore (also known as Ishapore Arsenal) is an Indian state-owned arms manufacturing unit located at Ichhapur in the state of West Bengal. History The first arms manufacturing facility on the site was a gunpowder factory, w ...
at Ishapore in India produced the Mk III* in .303 British, and then the model 2A, with strength increased by heat treatment of the receiver and bolt to fire 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition, retaining the 2,000-yard rear sight as the metric conversion of distance was very close to the flatter trajectory of the new ammunition. The model 2, A1 changed the rear sight to 800 m, and was manufactured until at least the 1980s; a sporting rifle based on the Mk III* action remained in production. The rifle became known simply as the "three-oh-three".


Pattern 1913 Enfield

Due to the poor performance of the
.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
cartridge during the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
from 1899 to 1902, the British attempted to replace the round and the Lee–Enfield rifle that fired it. The main deficiency of the rounds at the time was that they used heavy, round-nosed bullets that had low muzzle velocities and poor ballistic performance. The
7×57mm Mauser The 7×57mm Mauser (designated as the 7 mm Mauser or 7×57mm by the SAAMI and 7 × 57 by the C.I.P.) is a first-generation smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in ...
rounds fired from the
Mauser Model 1895 The Mauser Model 1895 is a bolt operated magazine fed rifle using the 7×57mm Mauser cartridge. It was exported to many overseas powers, including the Chilean forces which adopted as the Fusil Mauser Chileno Mo 1895. It is the first major modific ...
rifle had a higher velocity, flatter trajectory and longer range, making them superior on the open country of the South African plains. Work on a long-range replacement cartridge began in 1910 and resulted in the
.276 Enfield The .276 Enfield (7×60mm) was an experimental rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire military rifle cartridge developed in conjunction with the Pattern 1913 Enfield (P'13) rifle. Development was discontinued by the onset of World War I. Histo ...
in 1912. A new rifle based on the Mauser design was created to fire the round, called the
Pattern 1913 Enfield The Pattern 1913 Enfield (P'13) was an experimental rifle developed by the Royal Small Arms Factory for the British Army as a result of its combat experience in the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902. The weapon was to serve as a replacement for ...
. Although the .276 Enfield had better ballistics, troop trials in 1913 revealed problems including excessive recoil, muzzle flash, barrel wear and overheating. Attempts were made to find a cooler-burning propellant, but trials were halted in 1914 by the onset of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Wartime demand and the improved Mk VII loading of the .303 round caused the Lee–Enfield to be retained for service.


Inter-war period

In 1926, the British Army changed its nomenclature; the SMLE became known as the ''Rifle No. 1 Mk III'' or ''III*'', with the original MLE and LEC becoming obsolete along with the earlier SMLE models. Many Mk III and III* rifles were converted to .22 rimfire calibre training rifles, and designated ''Rifle No. 2'', of varying marks. (The Pattern 1914 became the ''Rifle No. 3''.)


Lee–Enfield No. 1 Mk V

The SMLE design was relatively expensive to manufacture, because of the many
forging Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which i ...
and
machining Machining is a process in which a material (often metal) is cut to a desired final shape and size by a controlled material-removal process. The processes that have this common theme are collectively called subtractive manufacturing, which utilizes ...
operations required. In the 1920s, a series of experiments were carried out to help with these problems, resulting in design changes which reduced the number of complex parts and refining manufacturing processes. The ''SMLE Mk V'' (later ''Rifle No. 1 Mk V''), adopted a new receiver-mounted aperture sighting system, which moved the rear sight from its former position on the barrel. The increased gap resulted in an improved sighting radius, improving sighting accuracy and the aperture improved speed of sighting over various distances. In the stowed position, a fixed distance aperture battle sight calibrated for protruded saving further precious seconds when laying the sight to a target. An alternative developed during this period was to be used on the No. 4 variant, a "battle sight" was developed that allowed for two set distances of 300 yards and 600 yards to be quickly deployed and was cheaper to produce than the "ladder sight". The magazine cutoff was also reintroduced and an additional band was added near the muzzle for additional strength during bayonet use. Long before the No. 4 Mk I, Britain had obviously settled on the rear aperture sight prior to WWI, with modifications to the SMLE being tested as early as 1911, as well as later on the No. 1 Mk III pattern rifle. These unusual rifles have something of a mysterious service history, but represent a missing link in SMLE development. The primary distinguishing feature of the No. 1 Mk V is the rear aperture sight. Like the No. 1 Mk III* it lacked a volley sight and had the wire loop in place of the sling swivel at the front of magazine well along with the simplified cocking piece. The Mk V did retain a magazine cut-off, but without a spotting hole, the piling swivel was kept attached to a forward barrel band, which was wrapped over and attached to the rear of the nose cap to reinforce the rifle for use with the standard Pattern 1907 bayonet. Other distinctive features include a nose cap screw was slotted for the width of a coin for easy removal, a safety lever on the left side of the receiver was slightly modified with a unique angular groove pattern, and the two-piece hand guard being extended from the nose cap to the receiver, omitting the barrel mounted leaf sight. The design was found to be even more complicated and expensive to manufacture than the Mk III and was not developed or issued, beyond a trial production of about 20,000 rifles between 1922 and 1924 at RSAF Enfield all of which marked with a "V". The ''No. 1 Mk VI'' also introduced a heavier "floating barrel" that was independent of the forearm, allowing the barrel to expand and contract without contacting the forearm and interfering with the "zero", the correlation between the alignment of the barrel and the sights. The floating barrel increased the accuracy of the rifle by allowing it to vibrate freely and consistently, whereas wooden forends in contact with barrels, if not properly fitted, affected the harmonic vibrations of the barrel. The receiver-mounted rear sights and magazine cutoff were also present and 1,025 units were produced in the 1930 period.


Rifle No. 4

In the early 1930s, a batch of 2,500 No. 4 Mk. I rifles was made for trials. These were similar to the No. 1 Mk. VI but had a flat left side and did away with the chequering on the furniture. Observed examples are dated 1931 and 1933. Roughly 1,400 of these were converted to No. 4 MK. I (T) sniper rifles in 1941–1942 at RSAF Enfield. By the late 1930s, the need for new rifles grew and the ''Rifle, No. 4 Mk I'' was officially adopted in 1941. The No. 4 action was similar to the No.1 Mk VI but stronger and easier to mass-produce. Unlike the SMLE, that had a nose cap, the No 4 Lee–Enfield barrel protruded from the end of the forestock. For easier machining, the charger bridge was no longer rounded. The iron sight line was redesigned and featured a rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and was calibrated for in increments. This sight, like other aperture sights, proved to be faster and more accurate than the typical mid-barrel open rear sight elements sight lines offered by Mauser, previous Lee–Enfields or the Buffington battle sight of the
M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first ...
. The No. 4 rifle was heavier than the No. 1 Mk. III, largely due to its heavier barrel. A new bayonet was designed to go with the rifle: a
spike bayonet A spike bayonet, also known as a ''pigsticker'' in informal contexts, is a blade attachment for a firearm taking the form of a pointed spike rather than a knife. Description Most early musket bayonets were of this type. Beginning in the early 1 ...
the No. 4 bayonet, essentially a steel rod with a sharp point, nicknamed "pigsticker" by soldiers. Towards the end of the Second World War, a bladed bayonet was developed for the No.5 Mk.I rifle ("jungle carbine"). Post-war versions were made that would fit No. 4 rifles and were designated No. 7 and No. 9 blade bayonets. During the course of the Second World War, the No. 4 rifle was further simplified for mass-production with the creation of the ''No. 4 Mk I*'' in 1942, with the bolt release catch replaced by a simpler notch on the bolt track of the rifle's receiver. It was produced only by Small Arms Limited at Long Branch in Canada, and Stevens-Savage Firearms in the US. The No.4 rifle was primarily produced for the United Kingdom, Canada and some other Commonwealth countries including New Zealand. In 1943 it cost £7 15s (£) to produce By comparison, a
Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost ...
Mk II submachine gun cost £2 10s (£). In the years after the Second World War, the British produced the ''No. 4 Mk 2'' (Arabic numerals replaced Roman numerals in official names in 1944) rifle, a refined and improved No. 4 rifle with the trigger hung forward from the butt collar and not from the trigger guard, beech wood stocks (with the original reinforcing strap and centre piece of wood in the rear of the forestock on the No.4 Mk I/Mk I* being removed in favour of a tie screw and nut) and brass "gunmetal" buttplates (during the war the British, Americans and Canadians replaced the brass buttplates on the No.4 rifles with a zinc alloy (
Zamak ZAMAK (or Zamac, formerly trademarked as MAZAK) is a family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminium, magnesium, and copper. Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminium alloy family; they are distinguished from the ...
) type to reduce costs and speed production). Near the end of the war and after, Canada made blued steel buttplates. With the introduction of the No. 4 Mk 2 rifle, the British refurbished many of their No. 4 rifles and brought them up to the same standard as the No. 4 Mk 2. The No. 4 Mk 1 rifles were renamed ''No. 4 Mk I/2'', while No. 4 Mk I* rifles that were brought up to Mk 2 standard were renamed ''No. 4 Mk I/3''.


Rifle No. 5 Mk I—the "jungle carbine"

Later in the war, the need for a shorter, lighter rifle forced the development of the ''Rifle, No. 5 Mk I'' (the "
jungle carbine The Rifle No. 5 Mk I, was a derivative of the British Lee–Enfield No. 4 Mk I,Wilson (2006) Following experience of jungle fighting in the Pacific War, the British came to "the conclusion that a rifle shorter and lighter than the standard issu ...
"). With a cut-down stock, a prominent
flash hider A flash suppressor, also known as a flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, or flash cone, is a muzzle device attached to the muzzle of a rifle that reduces its visible signature while firing by cooling or dispersing the burning gases that ...
, and a "lightening-cut" receiver machined to remove all unnecessary metal, reduced barrel length of the No. 5 was shorter and lighter. Despite a rubber butt-pad, the .303 round produced excessive recoil due to the shorter barrel. It was unsuitable for general issue and production ceased in 1947, due to an "inherent fault in the design", often claimed to be a " wandering zero" and accuracy problems. The No. 5 iron sight line was similar to the No. 4 Mark I and featured a rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and was calibrated for in increments. The No. 5 Mk I was popular with soldiers owing to its light weight, portability and shorter length than a standard Lee–Enfield rifle. The No. 5 was first issued to the British 1st Airborne Division and used during its liberation of Denmark and Norway in 1945. BSA-Shirley, Birmingham produced 81,329 rifles and ROF Fazakerley, Liverpool 169,807 rifles. It was equipped with a No. 5 Mk. I blade bayonet which had a large muzzle ring to fit over the flash hider. The No. 7 Mk. I/L bayonet, which has a rotating handle and a large ring on the cross-guard was not for the No. 5 Mk. I rifle as many collectors believe. An Australian experimental version of the No. 5 Mk I, designated ''Rifle, No. 6, Mk I'' was also developed, using an SMLE MK III* as a starting point (as opposed to the No. 4 Mk I used to develop the No. 5 Mk I). The Australian military was not permitted to manufacture the No. 4 Mk I, because the
Lithgow Small Arms Factory The Lithgow Small Arms Factory, or Lithgow Arms, is an Australian small arms manufacturing factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales. It was created by the Australian Government in 1912 to ease reliance on the British for the sup ...
was producing the SMLE Mk III. The No. 6 Mk I never entered full production and examples are rare and valuable to collectors. A "shortened and lightened" version of the SMLE Mk III* rifle was also tested by the Australian military and a very small number were manufactured at SAF Lithgow during the course of the Second World War. The term "jungle carbine" was popularised in the 1950s by the
Santa Fe Arms Corporation Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...
, a U.S. importer which refurbished many surplus rifles, converting many of the No. 4 marks, in the hope of increasing sales of a rifle that had little U.S. market penetration. It was never an official military designation but British and Commonwealth troops serving in the Burmese and Pacific theatres during World War II had been known to unofficially refer to the No. 5 Mk I as a "jungle carbine". The No. 4 and No. 5 rifles served in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
(as did the No.1 Mk III* SMLE and sniper "T" variants, mostly with Australian troops).


Lee–Enfield conversions and training models


Sniper rifles

During both World Wars and the Korean War, a number of Lee–Enfield rifles were modified for use as
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...
s. The
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
modified 1,612 Lithgow SMLE No. 1 Mk. III* rifles by adding a heavy target barrel, cheek-piece, and a World War I era Pattern 1918 telescope, creating the ''SMLE No. 1 Mk. III* (HT)''. (HT standing for "heavy barrel, telescopic sight), which saw service in the Second World War, Korea, and Malaya and was used for sniper training through to the late 1970s. During the Second World War, standard No. 4 rifles, selected for their accuracy during factory tests, were modified by the addition of a wooden cheek rising-piece, and telescopic sight mounts designed to accept a No. 32 3.5× telescopic sight. The telescopic sight had a field of view of 8 degrees 20 minutes and featured a bullet drop compensation range drum on top of the sight graduated in increments from 0 to . Side adjustments in 2
MOA Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...
increments were made by the drum mounted at the side of the sight. These rifles were designated as the No. 4 Mk. I (T). The accuracy requirement was ability to place seven of seven shots in a circle at and six of seven shots in a circle at . The wooden cheek-piece was attached with two screws. The rear "battle sight" was ground off to make room to attach the No. 32 telescope sight to the left side of the receiver. Each No. 32 and its bracket (mount) were matched and serial numbered to a specific rifle. In British service, the No. 32 telescope progressed through three marks with the Mk. I introduced in 1942, the Mk. II in 1943 which offered side adjustments in finer 1 MOA increments, and finally the Mk. III (Mk. 3) in 1944 which had an improved field of view of 8 degrees 30 minutes. A transitional model the No. 32 Mk. 2/1 was also made. The Canadian scopes made by Research Enterprises Limited and were prefixed with a letter ''C'' and went through C No. 32 Mk. I, Mk. I A (a transitional model), Mk. II and Mk. 3. Many Mk. 3s and Mk. 2/1s (Mk. 2s Modified to Mk. 3 standard) were later modified for use with the 7.62×51mm NATO
L42A1 The L42A1 is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.Pegler & Bujero (2001), pp. 48-49.Pegler (2010), pp. 61-62. Used in the past by the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force RAF Regiment, the L42A1 en ...
sniper rifle. They were then known by the designation ''Telescope Straight, Sighting L1A1''. Initial production was 1,403 conversions of 1931–1933 troop trials No. 4 Mk. I rifles at RSAF Enfield and a few others including Stevens-Savage No. 4s. These were converted in late 1941 and into the later part of 1942. Then, the work was assigned to
Holland & Holland Holland & Holland is a British gunmaker and clothing retailer based in London, England, which offers handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two royal warrants. History Holland & Holland was founded by Harris Holland (1806 ...
, the famous British sporting gun manufacturers, which converted about 23,000 No. 4 Mk. I (T) and No. 4 Mk. I* (T) sniper rifles. The Holland & Holland conversions usually have the contractor code "S51" on the underside of the buttstock. BSA Shirley undertook 100 conversions to .22". James Purdey and Sons fitted special buttstocks later in the war. About 3,000 rifles, mostly Stevens-Savage, appear to have been partially converted by Holland & Holland but never received brackets, scopes of the final "T" mark. Canada converted about 1,588 rifles at Small Arms Limited (to the end of 1945) and, in 1946, at Canadian Arsenals Limited. Both were located at Long Branch, Ontario. Most of the Canadian made No.4 Mk.I* (T) sniper equipments went into British service. The No.4 (T) rifles were extensively employed in various conflicts until the late 1960s. The British military switched over to the 7.62×51mm NATO round in the 1950s; starting in 1970, over 1,000 of the No. 4 Mk I (T) and No. 4 Mk. I* (T) sniper rifles were converted to this new calibre and designated ''
L42A1 The L42A1 is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.Pegler & Bujero (2001), pp. 48-49.Pegler (2010), pp. 61-62. Used in the past by the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force RAF Regiment, the L42A1 en ...
''. The L42A1 sniper rifle continued as the British Army's standard sniper weapon being phased out by 1993, and replaced by Accuracy International's L96.


.22 training rifles

Numbers of Lee–Enfield rifles were converted to
.22 calibre .22 caliber, or 5.6 mm caliber, refers to a common firearms bore diameter of 0.22 inch (5.6 mm). Cartridges in this caliber include the very widely used .22 Long Rifle and .223 Remington / 5.56×45mm NATO. .22 inch is also a popular ...
training rifles, in order to teach cadets and new recruits the various aspects of shooting, firearms safety, and marksmanship at a markedly reduced cost per round. Initially, rifles were converted from obsolete Magazine Lee–Metford and Magazine Lee–Enfield rifles but from the First World War onwards SMLE rifles were used instead. These were known as ''.22 Pattern 1914 short rifles'' during The First World War and ''Rifle, No. 2 Mk. IV'' from 1921 onwards. They were generally single-shot affairs, originally using Morris tubes chambered for the cheap .22L cartridge and some larger types, circa 1907. Some were later modified with special adaptors to enable magazine loading. In 1914, Enfield produced complete .22 barrels and bolts specifically for converting .303 units, and these soon became the most common conversion. A five-round .22 cal Parker-Hiscock magazine was also developed and in service for a relatively short period during the later period of the First World War, but was subsequently withdrawn from issue due to reliability problems with its quite complicated loading and feeding mechanisms. No. 2 Mk. IV rifles are externally identical to .303 calibre SMLE Mk III* rifles, the only difference being the .22 calibre barrel, empty magazine case, bolthead and extractor which have been modified to fire .22 calibre rimfire cartridges. After the Second World War, the ''Rifle, No. 7'', '' Rifle, No. 8'' and ''Rifle, No. 9'', all .22 rimfire trainers and target rifles based on the Lee action, were adopted or in use with cadet units and target shooters throughout the Commonwealth, the No.8 as of 2017 has been replaced among cadet forces due to obsolescence. In Britain, a .22RF version of the No.5 rifle was prototyped by BSA and trialled with a view to it becoming the British Service training rifle when the .303" CF No.5 was initially mooted as being a potential replacement for the No.4 rifle. The ''C No.7 22" MK.I rifle'' is a .22 single-shot, manually fed, training version of the No.4 Mk I* rifle manufactured at Long Branch. Production of this model was 1944–1946 and a few in 1950 to 1953.


Muskets and shotguns

Conversion of rifles to smoothbore guns was carried out in several locations, at various times, for varying reasons. SAF Lithgow, in Australia, produced shotguns based on the MkIII action under the "Slazenger" name, chambering the common commercial .410 shotgun shell. Commercial gunsmiths in Australia and Britain converted both MkIII and No. 4 rifles to .410 shotguns. These conversions were prompted by firearms legislation that made possession of a rifle chambered in a military cartridge both difficult and expensive. Smoothbore shotguns could be legally held with far less trouble. RFI, in India, converted a large number of MkIII rifles to single-shot muskets, chambered for the .410 Indian musket cartridge. These conversions were for issue to police and prison guards, to provide a firearm with a much-reduced power and range in comparison to the .303 cartridge. A further likely consideration was the difficulty of obtaining replacement ammunition in the event of the rifle's theft or the carrier's desertion. While British and Australian conversions were to the standard commercially available .410 shotgun cartridge (though of varying chamber lengths) the Indian conversions have been the source of considerable confusion. The Indian conversions were originally chambered for the .410 Indian musket cartridge, which is based on the .303 British cartridge, and will not chamber the common .410 shotgun cartridge. Many of these muskets were rechambered, after being sold as surplus, and can now be used with commercially available ammunition. Unmodified muskets require handloading of ammunition, as the .410 Indian Musket cartridge was not commercially distributed and does not appear to have been manufactured since the 1950s. Numerous attempts have been made to convert the various single-shot .410 shotgun models to a bolt-action repeating model by removing the wooden magazine plug and replacing it with a standard 10-round SMLE magazine. None of these is known to have been successful, though some owners have adapted three-round magazines for Savage and Stevens shotguns to function in a converted SMLE shotgun, or even placing such a magazine inside a gutted SMLE magazine.


Civilian conversions and variants

From the late 1940s, legislation in New South Wales, Australia, heavily restricted .303 British calibre (and other "military calibre") rifles, so large numbers of SMLEs were converted to "wildcat" calibres such as .303/25, .303/22, .303/270 and the popular 7.7×54mm round. 303/25 calibre sporterised SMLEs are very common in Australia today, although ammunition for them has been very scarce since the 1980s. The restrictions placed on "military calibre" rifles in New South Wales were lifted in 1975, and many people who had converted their Lee–Enfields to the "wildcat" rounds converted their rifles back to .303 British. Post-Second World War, SAF Lithgow converted a number of SMLE rifles to commercial sporting rifles- notably the .22 Hornet model- under the "Slazenger" brand. In the early 1950s Essential Agencies Ltd. (E.A.L.), of Toronto, Ontario, produced a run of several thousand survival rifles based on the No. 4 action, but lightened and shortened, chambered in .303 British. Serial numbers below 6000 were for civilian sale, serial numbers 6000 and higher were built under contract to the Canadian government. The Royal Canadian Air Force also used these as a survival rifle in the remote parts of Canada.


L59A1 Drill Rifle

The L59A1 was a conversion of the No. 4 rifle (all marks) to a drill purpose rifle that was incapable of being restored to a firing configuration. It was introduced in service in the 1970s. A conversion specification of No. 1 rifles to L59A2 drill purpose was also prepared but was abandoned due to the greater difficulty of machining involved and the negligible numbers still in the hands of cadet units. The L59A1 arose from British government concerns over the vulnerability of the Army Cadet Force and school Combined Cadet Forces' (CCF) stocks of small arms to theft by terrorists, in particular the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...
following raids on CCF armouries in the 1950s and 1960s. Previous conversions to drill purpose (DP) of otherwise serviceable rifles were not considered to be sufficiently incapable of restoration to fireable state and were a potential source of reconversion spares. L59A1 drill rifles were rendered incapable of being fired, and of being restored to a fireable form, by extensive modifications that included the welding of the barrel to the receiver, modifications to the receiver that removed the supporting structures for the bolt's locking lugs and blocking the installation of an unaltered bolt, the removal of the striker's tip, the blocking of the striker's hole in the bolt head and the removal of most of the bolt body's locking lugs. Most bolts were copper plated for identification. A plug was welded in place forward of the chamber, and a window was cut in the side of the barrel. The stock and fore end were marked with broad white painted bands (often with red bands, and also rarely seen blue bands or stripes) and the letters ''DP'' for easy identification.


Special service Lee–Enfields: Commando and automatic models


De Lisle commando carbine

The
commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
units of the British military requested a suppressed rifle for killing sentries, guard dogs and other clandestine operational uses during the Second World War. The resulting weapon, designed by Godfray de Lisle, was effectively an SMLE Mk III* receiver redesigned to take a
.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
cartridge and associated magazine, with a barrel from a
Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...
and an integrated suppressor. It was produced in very limited numbers and an experimental folding stock version was made.


Ekins automatic rifle

The Ekins automatic rifle was one of the numerous attempts to convert a Lee–Enfield SMLE to an automatic rifle.Ian Skennerton ''Special Service Lee Enfields: Commando and Auto Models'' Published by Ian D Skennerton, PO Box 80, Labrador 4215, Australia, 2001. . Paperback, 48 pp, 50 plus b & w drawings and photos, 210 × 274 mm Similar developments were the South African
Rieder automatic rifle The Rieder automatic rifle was a fully automatic Lee–Enfield SMLE rifle conversion of South African origin. The Rieder device could be installed quickly with the use of simple tools. A similar weapon of New Zealand origin was the Charlton autom ...
and the New Zealand and Australian Charlton automatic rifles.


Howard Francis carbine

The Howard Francis self-loading carbine was a conversion of a No. 1 Mk III to the
7.63×25mm Mauser The 7.63×25mm Mauser (.30 Mauser Automatic) round was the original cartridge for the Mauser C96 service pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p.247. Plantersville, SC: Smal ...
pistol cartridge. It fired in semi-automatic only and suffered some feeding and extraction problems and, despite meeting accuracy and soundness of design concept, never made it past the prototype stage.


Howell automatic rifle

The Howell automatic rifle was the first attempt to convert the Lee–Enfield SMLE into a semi-automatic rifle. The weapon was reliable but unergonomic for the user as the force of the recoiling bolt interfered with handling.


Rieder automatic rifle

The Rieder automatic rifle was an automatic (full automatic only) Lee–Enfield SMLE rifle of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n origin. The Rieder device could be installed straight away without the use of tools.


Conversion to 7.62×51mm NATO

In 1954, the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
adopted the 7.62×51mm NATO-calibre L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle for use by frontline infantry units. While it was intended that rear-echelon and reserve units would continue to use the Lee-Enfield No. 4 in order to avoid the expense of rearming those units with the L1A1 as well, Britain's commitments as a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
member meant that the .303in cartridge could no longer be used; thus, the early 1960s saw the approval of a plan to convert the Lee–Enfield No. 4 to the newer NATO cartridge. Rifles that were thus converted were re-designated as the ''L8'' series of rifles and refitted with 7.62×51mm NATO barrels, new bolt faces and extractor claws, new rear sights, and 7.62×51mm NATO magazines. The appearance of the L8 series rifles was no different from the original No. 4 rifles, except for the new barrel (which still retained the original No. 4 rifle bayonet lugs) and magazine. The L8 series of rifles consisted of ''L8A1'' rifles (converted No. 4 Mk2 rifles), ''L8A1 (T)'' rifles (converted No .4 Mk 1 (T) rifles), ''L8A2'' rifles (converted No. 4 Mk1/2 rifles), ''L8A3'' rifles (converted No. 4 Mk1/3 rifles), ''L8A4'' rifles (converted No. 4 Mk1 rifles), and ''L8A5'' rifles (converted No. 4 Mk1* rifles). The results of the trials that were conducted on the L8 series rifles were mixed; the L8A1 (T) rifles fired test groups that bore no relation to those fired while they were still No. 4 Mk 1 (T) rifles nor was there any consistent accuracy between those rifles that had been chosen for conversion, while the regular L8 rifles gave a better performance but with little or no improvement over .303in weapons; consequently, the conversion programme was abandoned and what was now known as the Ministry of Defence was forced to expand the issue of L1A1 rifles to non-frontline units. However, experience from the programme, including the magazine design, was used to aid the later
L42A1 The L42A1 is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.Pegler & Bujero (2001), pp. 48-49.Pegler (2010), pp. 61-62. Used in the past by the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force RAF Regiment, the L42A1 en ...
conversion programme. In the late 1960s, RSAF Enfield entered the commercial market by producing No. 4-based 7.62×51mm rifles for sale. The products were marketed under alliterative names e.g. Enfield Envoy, a rifle intended for civilian competition target shooting and Enfield Enforcer, a rifle fitted with a Pecar telescopic sight to suit the requirements of police firearms teams. Sterling Armaments of Dagenham, Essex. produced a conversion kit comprising a new 7.62 mm barrel, magazine, extractor and ejector for commercial sale. The main difference between the two conversions was in the cartridge ejection arrangement; the Enfield magazine carried a hardened steel projection that struck the rim of the extracted case to eject it, the Sterling system employed a spring-loaded plunger inserted into the receiver wall.


Ishapore 2A/2A1

At some point just after the
Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...
of 1962, the Rifle Factory Ishapore in India began producing a new type of rifle known as the ''Rifle 7.62 mm 2A'', which was based on the SMLE Mk III* and was slightly redesigned to use the 7.62×51mm NATO round. Externally the new rifle is very similar to the classic Mk III*, with the exception of the buttplate (the buttplate from the 1A SLR is fitted) and magazine, which is more "square" than the SMLE magazine, and usually carries twelve rounds instead of ten, although a number of 2A1s have been noted with 10-round magazines. Ishapore 2A and Ishapore 2A1 receivers are made with improved (EN) steel (to handle the increased pressures of the 7.62×51mm round) and the extractor is redesigned to suit the rimless cartridge. From 1965 to 1975 (when production is believed to have been discontinued), the sight ranging graduations were changed from 2,000 to 800, and the rifle re-designated ''Rifle 7.62 mm 2A1''. The original rear sight arm was found to be suitable for the ballistics of the 7.62×51mm, which is around 10% more powerful and equates to a flatter trajectory than that of the .303 British MkVII ammunition, so it was a simple matter to think of the ''2,000'' as representing metres rather than yards. It was then decided that the limit of the effective range was a more realistic proposition at 800 m. The Ishapore 2A and 2A1 rifles are often incorrectly described as ".308 conversions". The 2A/2A1 rifles are not conversions of .303 calibre SMLE Mk III* rifles. Rather, they are newly manufactured firearms and are not technically chambered for commercial .308 Winchester ammunition. However, many 2A/2A1 owners shoot such ammunition in their rifles with no problems, although some factory loaded .308 Winchester cartridges may appear to generate higher pressures than 7.62×51mm NATO, even though the rounds are otherwise interchangeable – this is due to the different systems of pressure measurement used for NATO and commercial cartridges.


Production and manufacturers

In total, over 16 million Lee–Enfields had been produced in several factories on different continents when production in Britain shut down in 1956, at the Royal Ordnance Factory
ROF Fazakerley ROF Fazakerley was a Royal Ordnance Factory rifle manufacturing plant in Fazakerley, Liverpool, which manufactured small arms such as the Sten and Sterling submachine guns and Lee–Enfield rifle during and after World War II. ROF Fazakerley ...
in Liverpool after that factory had been plagued with industrial unrest. The machinery from ROF Fazakerley was sold to Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in
Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
where production and repair of the No.4 Mk I started from 1952 till 1957 and then production changed over to No.4 Mk II from 1957. Also contributing to the total was the Rifle Factory Ishapore (RFI) at
Ishapore Ichapore or Ichhapur is a locality in North Barrackpur Municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Ichhapur Defence Estat ...
in India, which continued to produce the SMLE in both .303 and 7.62×51mm NATO until the 1980s, and is still manufacturing a sporting rifle based on the SMLE Mk III action, chambered for a .315 calibre cartridge, the
Birmingham Small Arms Company The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand tool, hand, po ...
factory at Shirley near
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, and SAF Lithgow in Australia, who finally discontinued production of the SMLE Mk III* with a final 'machinery proving' batch of 1000 rifles in early 1956, using 1953-dated receivers. During the First World War alone, 3.8 million SMLE rifles were produced in the UK by RSAF Enfield, BSA, and LSA.


List of manufacturers

"SSA" and "NRF" markings are sometimes encountered on First World War-dated SMLE Mk III* rifles. These stand for "Standard Small Arms" and "National Rifle Factory", respectively. Rifles so marked were assembled using parts from various other manufacturers, as part of a scheme during the First World War to boost rifle production in the UK. Only SMLE Mk III* rifles are known to have been assembled under this program. GRI stands for "Georgius Rex, Imperator" (Latin for 'King George, Emperor (of India)', denoting a rifle made during the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. RFI stands for "Rifle Factory, Ishapore", denoting a rifle made after the
Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947. Second World War UK production rifles had manufacturer codes for security reasons. For example, BSA Shirley is denoted by M47C, ROF(M) is often simply stamped "M", and BSA is simply stamped "B". Savage-made Lee–Enfield No. 4 Mk I and No. 4 Mk I* rifles are all stamped "US property". They were supplied to the UK under the Lend-Lease programme during the Second World War. No Savage Lee–Enfields were ever issued to the US military; the markings existed solely to maintain the pretense that American equipment was being lent to the UK rather than permanently sold to them.


Australian International Arms No. 4 Mk IV

The Brisbane-based Australian International Arms also manufactured a modern reproduction of the No. 4 Mk II rifle, which they marketed as the ''AIA No. 4 Mk IV''. The rifles were manufactured by parts outsourcing and were assembled and finished in Australia, chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO and fed from modified M14 magazines. The No. 4 Mk IV was designed with the modern shooter in mind, and has the ability to mount a telescopic sight without drilling and tapping the receiver. AIA also offered the ''AIA M10-A1'' rifle, a jungle carbine-styled version chambered in
7.62×39mm The 7.62×39mm (aka 7.62 Soviet, formerly .30 Russian Short) round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as ...
Russian, which uses
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
magazines. Magazine supply and importation (M14 and AK 10 single stack mag) whilst legal in Australia, has been spasmodically curtailed by Australian Federal Customs (for more information, see
Gun politics in Australia Gun laws in Australia are predominantly within the jurisdiction of Australian states and territories, with the importation of guns regulated by the federal government. In the last two decades of the 20th century, following several high-profile k ...
). It is possible to obtain a 10-round (the maximum allowed by law) M14 magazines for the M10-B2 match rifles in particular, provided an import permit from the appropriate licensing services division can be obtained in some states, yet Australian Federal Customs may still refuse importation on no valid grounds.


Khyber Pass copies

A number of British Service Rifles, predominantly the Martini–Henry and
Martini–Enfield Martini–Enfield rifles were, by and large, conversions of the Zulu War era .577/450 Martini–Henry, rechambering the rifle for use with the newly introduced .303 British cartridge. Whilst most Martini–Enfields were converted rifles, a numbe ...
, but also the various Lee–Enfield rifles, have been produced by small manufacturers in the Khyber Pass region of the Pakistani-Afghan border. " Khyber Pass copies", as they are known, tend to be copied exactly from a "master" rifle, which may itself be a Khyber Pass copy, markings and all, which is why it's not uncommon to see Khyber Pass rifles with the ''N'' in "Enfield" reversed, amongst other things. The quality on such rifles varies from "as good as a factory-produced example" to "dangerously unsafe", tending towards the latter end of the scale. Khyber Pass copy rifles cannot generally stand up to the pressures generated by modern commercial ammunition, and are generally considered unsafe to fire under any circumstances. Khyber Pass copies can be recognised by a number of factors, notably: * Spelling errors in the markings; as noted the most common of which is a reversed "N" in "Enfield") * V.R. (Victoria Regina) cyphers dated after 1901; Queen Victoria died in 1901, so any rifles made after 1901 should be stamped "E.R" (''Edwardius Rex''—
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
or
King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...
) or "G.R" (''Georgius Rex''—
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
or King George VI). * Generally inferior workmanship, including weak or soft metal, poorly finished wood, and badly struck markings.


Armalon

British company Armalon Ltd developed a number of rifles based on the Lee Enfield No. 4. The PC gallery rifle is a carbine in pistol and revolver calibres, the AL42 is a 5.56 mm rifle and the AL30C, a carbine in
.30 Carbine The .30 Carbine (7.62×33mm) is a rimless carbine/rifle cartridge used in the M1 carbine introduced in the 1940s. It is a light rifle round designed to be fired from the M1 carbine's 18-inch (458 mm) barrel. History Shortly before World W ...
.


Contemporary service

The Lee–Enfield family of rifles is the second oldest bolt-action rifle design still in official service, after the Mosin–Nagant. Lee–Enfield rifles are used by reserve forces and police forces in many Commonwealth countries, including
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
. In Canada the .303 and .22 models were being phased out between 2016 and 2019. The Indian Army phased them out in 1990–92, replacing them with AKM-type rifles (see
Indo-Russia Rifles Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) is a rifle-manufacturing facility in Korwa, Amethi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The factory will manufacture the AK-200 variant of the Kalashnikov family of rifles. The factory is a ...
). Indian police officers carrying SMLE Mk III* and Ishapore 2A1 rifles were a familiar sight throughout railway stations in India after Mumbai train bombings of 2006 and the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, ...
. They are also still seen in the hands of Pakistani and
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
i second-line police units. However, the Lee–Enfield was mainly replaced in main-line service in the Pakistani Police in the mid-1980s by the AK 47, in response to increasing proliferation of the Kalashnikov in the black market and civilian use. In
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, the Lee–Enfield was in use with the Police and Gendarmerie until 1971, and with the Armed Forces until 1965. In
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and Egypt, the Lee–Enfield was replaced by the Kalashnikov as the standard issue rifle in the Armed Forces by the late 1950s, and in Police Forces by the late 1970s. In the UK, the single-shot .22 calibre Rifle No. 8 is in regular use with UK Cadet Forces as a light target rifle. Enfields continue to be used as drill weapons by the National Ceremonial Guard of the
South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...
(SANDF) as well as the
Australian Defence Force Cadets The Australian Defence Force Cadets (ADFC) (also known as the Australian Service Cadet Scheme until 2001) consists of three Australian Defence Force affiliated, community-based, youth development organisations of approximately 22,000 cadets and 2, ...
. Many Afghans resisting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan were armed with Lee–Enfields. The CIA's
Operation Cyclone Operation Cyclone was the code name for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) program to arm and finance the Afghan mujahideen in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1992, prior to and during the military intervention by the USSR in suppor ...
provided hundreds of thousands of Enfields to the Afghan mujahideen, funneling them through Pakistan's ISI. CIA officer
Gust Avrakotos Gustav Lascaris Avrakotos (January 14, 1938 – December 1, 2005) was an American case officer and the Afghan Task Force Chief for the Central Intelligence Agency. Avrakotos joined the CIA in August 1962 and was posted to Greece in 1963. Followi ...
later arranged for the Egyptian Ministry of Defence to set up production lines of Enfield .303 ammunition specifically for the conflict. Later on when Avrakotos asked Michael Vickers to revamp their strategy, he stopped the Enfield system and, with the large amounts of money available thanks to Charlie Wilson, replaced them with a mix of modern weapons like
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
s and mortars. Khyber Pass Copies patterned after the Lee–Enfield are still manufactured in the Khyber Pass region, as bolt-action rifles remain effective weapons in desert and mountain environments where long-range accuracy is more important than rate of fire. Lee–Enfield rifles are still popular in the region, despite the presence and ready availability of more modern weapons such as the SKS-45, the
AKM The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior. Introduc ...
, the Chinese Type 56 assault rifle, and the
AK-74 The AK-74 ( Russian: , tr. ''Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda'', lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974) is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974. While primarily associated with the Soviet ...
. , Lee–Enfield rifles are still being used by the Taliban insurgents against NATO/Allied forces in Afghanistan. During the recent civil war in Nepal, the government troops were issued Lee–Enfield rifles to fight the
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
rebels, and the Maoists were also armed with SMLE rifles, amongst other weapons. Nepalese Police
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
s may also be usually seen equipped with SMLE rifles. Lee–Enfield rifles have also been seen in the hands of both the Naxalites and the Indian police in the ongoing Maoist insurgency in rural India. Police forces in both the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
and
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
continue to operate and maintain stocks of No.4 rifles. The Tongan security forces also retain a substantial number of No.4 rifles donated from New Zealand's reserve stocks. Lee Enfield rifles are used by the Jamaica Constabulary force for training recruits during field-craft exercises and drills.


Civilian use

Lee–Enfields are very popular as hunting rifles and target shooting rifles. Many surplus Lee–Enfield rifles were sold in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States after the Second World War, and a fair number have been '
sporterised Sporterising, sporterisation or sporterization is the practice of modifying military-type firearms either to make them suitable for civilian sporting use or to make them legal under the law. Modifying for sporting use Modifying for sporting use c ...
', having had the front furniture reduced or removed and a scope fitted so that they resemble a bolt-action sporting rifle. Top-notch accuracy is difficult to achieve with the Lee–Enfield design, as it was intended to be a battle rifle rather than a sharpshooter's weapon, and thus the Enfield is nowadays overshadowed by derivatives of Paul Mauser's design as a target shooting arm. They did, however, continue to be used at Bisley up into the 1970s with some success, and continue to perform extremely well at Military Service Rifle Competitions throughout the world. Many people still hunt with as-issued Lee–Enfield rifles, with commercial .303 British ammunition proving especially effective on medium-sized game. Soft-point .303 ammunition is widely available for hunting purposes, though the Mark 7 military cartridge design often proves adequate because its tail-heavy design makes the bullet yaw violently and deform after hitting the target. The Lee–Enfield rifle is a popular gun for historic rifle enthusiasts and those who find the 10-round magazine, loading by charger clips, and the rapid bolt-action useful for Practical Rifle events. Since formation in 1998, organisations such as the Lee Enfield Rifle Association have assisted in not just preserving rifles in shooting condition (many Lee–Enfields are being deactivated and sold as "wall-hangers" to collectors who do not hold a Firearms Licence in countries where they are required), but holding events and competitions. Lee–Enfields are also popular with competitors in service rifle competitions in many Commonwealth countries. The Lee–Enfield series is very popular for service rifle shooting competitions in the UK and Australia due to the prohibitions on the legal ownership of semi-automatic centrefire rifles in Great Britain and restrictions on the legal ownership of semi-automatic centrefire rifles in Australia. (For more information see
Gun politics in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, access by the general public to firearms is subject to some of the strictest control measures in the world. However, fulfilment of the criteria and requirements as laid out by the laws results in the vast majority of fir ...
and
Gun politics in Australia Gun laws in Australia are predominantly within the jurisdiction of Australian states and territories, with the importation of guns regulated by the federal government. In the last two decades of the 20th century, following several high-profile k ...
.) Rhineland Arms produces
.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
conversion kits for the Lee–Enfield action using
M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
magazines. The Lee–Speed Sporter was a higher quality British made version of the Lee–Enfield. Rifle Factory Ishapore of India still manufactures a sporting/hunting rifle chambered in .315 with a Lee–Enfield action.


Variants

* Magazine Lee–Enfield (MLE), .303, introduced 1895. * Lee–Enfield Cavalry Carbine Mk I (LEC), .303, introduced 1896. * Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk I*, .303, introduced 1899. * Lee–Enfield Cavalry Carbine Mk I*, .303, introduced 1899. * New Zealand Carbine, .303 * Royal Irish Constabulary Carbine, .303 * Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk I (SMLE), .303, introduced 1904. * Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk II, .303, introduced 1906. * Charger Loading Lee–Enfield (CLLE), .303, introduced 1906. * No. 1 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III, .303, introduced 1907. * No. 1 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III*, .303, introduced 1915. * No. 1 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III* (HT), .303, "Heavy Barrel, Telescopic Sight" Australian sniper rifle. * No. 1 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk V, .303, introduced 1922. * No. 1 Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk VI, .303, introduced 1930. * No. 2, .22, converted from .303 SMLE Mk III and Mk III*. * No. 2 Mk IV, .22 * No. 2 Mk IV*, .22 * No. 4 Mk I, .303, introduced 1931. * No. 4 Mk I (T), .303, sniper rifle converted from No. 4 Mk I, introduced 1941. * No. 4 Mk I*, .303, introduced 1941. * No. 4 Mk I* (T), .303, Sniper rifle converted from No. 4 Mk I*, introduced 1941. * No. 4 Mk 2, .303, introduced 1949. * No. 4 Mk I/2, .303, converted from No. 4 Mk I to No. 4 Mk 2 standard. * No. 4 Mk I/3, .303, converted from No. 4 Mk I* to No. 4 Mk 2 standard. * No. 5 Mk I, Jungle Carbine, .303, introduced 1944. * No. 6 Mk I, .303, Australian experimental version of the No. 5 Mk I. * No. 7, .22 * No. 8 Mk I, .22 * No. 9, .22 * RCAF Survival rifle * L8A1, 7.62mm, converted from No. 4 Mk 2 * L8A2, 7.62mm, converted from No. 4 Mk I/3 * L8A3, 7.62mm, converted from No. 4 Mk I/3 * L8A4, 7.62mm, converted from No. 4 Mk I * L8A5, 7.62mm, converted from No. 4 Mk I* * L39A1, 7.62mm * L42A1, 7.62mm * L59A1, Drill Rifle, converted from No. 4. * E.A.L. Rifle, built by Essential Agencies Limited (E.A.L.) * BA 93, a rifle grenade launcher made from surplus Lee–Enfield parts, which consist of stocks and receiver with a rifle grenade launcher in the chamber and a sheet metal buttstock while attaching a G3-type pistol grip.


Users

* * * : No.1 MkIII/MkIII* manufactured at Lithgow Arsenal in Lithgow, New South WalesHogg, Ian (2002). ''Jane's Guns Recognition Guide''. Jane's Information Group. . * : used post-war by the
Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
. * : Extensively used during
1971 war The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...
. Used by
Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
, Ansar and BNCC personnel for several years. No longer in active service. * : post-WW2 British and Canadian donations were used by Belgian soldiers in the Korean War until 1952. post WW2 used by the Belgian "Gendarmerie" until the 1980s, when it was replaced by the FN FAL. * * : used by the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps * : used by the
Royal Brunei Armed Forces The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF); ms, Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei, (ABDB), is the collective term for the military forces of the sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. They consist of the Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF), the Royal Brunei ...
and
Royal Brunei Police Force The Royal Brunei Police Force, RBPF ( ms, Polis Diraja Brunei (PDB) is in charge of keeping law and order in Brunei. The RBPF has been one of the 190 members of INTERPOL, an intergovernmental organisation worldwide since 1984. With a force of ...
during the early days, replaced by M16 series. * * : The No.4 rifle was manufactured starting in 1941 by Small Arms Limited and later by Canadian Arsenals Limited, in Long Branch, Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Militia received the MK. I Long Lee Enfield rifle in 1896. They used this rifle in the Boer War 1899 to 1902. They used the MK.III & MK.III* in WWI as well as the No.4 Lee Enfield in WWII, the Korean War and into the late 1950s in general is due. The No.4 rifle is still used for drill and was used for range shooting by the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets and the
Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...
. Most units are stripped of the mechanism that fires the round but at many Cadet Training Centres the rifles are in full working order, the rifle is used at the Vernon Summer Training Center for Feu du joix. The No.4 was being phased out by the
Canadian Rangers , colors =Red and green , march = , mascot = , battles = Second World WarCold War , anniversaries = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol_2_label = , current_commander = Lieutenant-General Jean-Marc Lanthier, Commander of th ...
as a service rifle starting in 2016. * : used by the Royal Khmer Army. * *
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
ian
FROLINAT FROLINAT (french: Front de libération nationale du Tchad; en, National Liberation Front of Chad) was an insurgent rebel group active in Chad between 1966 and 1993. Origins The organization was a result of the political union between the left ...
* : used during Warlord Era. Some Chinese soldiers in Burma also received British Lee–Enfield No. 4 Mk Is. * * : used as Rifle M/45E by the Danish brigade in occupied Germany from 1945, eventually replaced by the US M1 rifle as Rifle M/50 in 1950. * * : acquired after World War I. * : some stored in depots after the
Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
* * : **
Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...
and
French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
used it during WW2. ** Some captured from the Resistance were used by the pro-Nazi French militia
Milice française The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy regime (with German aid) to help fight against the Fr ...
(see picture). ** Some were used in
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
. * * : some captured No. 1 Mk. III* Lee–Enfields were used by the ''
Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...
'' in 1944 and 1945 The German designation was ''Gewehr 281 (e)''. * : replaced in the 1960s by L1A1s. * : Used by Hellenic armed forces during World War II and post-World War II period. Greece used the Lee–Enfield and British small arms until they were replaced by the
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World War ...
and American small arms. * * : Used by the Hong Kong Defence Force. * * : * : In service with
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
throughout First and Second World Wars. * : In service during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
. Now made under licence by
Rifle Factory Ishapore The Rifle Factory Ishapore (also known as Ishapore Arsenal) is an Indian state-owned arms manufacturing unit located at Ichhapur in the state of West Bengal. History The first arms manufacturing facility on the site was a gunpowder factory, w ...
as the Ishapore 2A1 rifle, the rifle is still used by the Indian police * : Used by republicans in
Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...
; some were handed from the Dutch after they left Indonesia. * : post-World War II Italian Army and Navy *
Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...
. Still used in small numbers in 2004 by Iraqi insurgents. * : No1 MkIII/III* used as the service rifle by the National Army during the Civil War and later by
Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces * Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army * Australian Defen ...
, replaced by No4 Lee–Enfields in 1950's until replaced by the FN FAL in 1961. Also captured from British forces etc. and used by
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...
during
War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...
. Lee–Enfield rifles were still in the arsenal of the
Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
at the outset of
The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and were reportedly used in at least one INLA sniper attack as late as 1989. * : used during the first few years of independence. * : still used by the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Correctional Services and Jamaica Combined Cadet Force * : Captured from British Army during World War II. * :
Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 195 ...
used Mk III and No. 4 variants * : bought for police force but also used by army * * * * * : used by the Luxembourg detachment in the Korean War * * also used by the
Malayan National Liberation Army The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), often mistranslated as the Malayan Races Liberation Army, was a communist guerrilla army that fought for Malayan independence from the British Empire during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and l ...
* * * : used by the
Myanmar Army The Myanmar Army ( my, တပ်မတော်(ကြည်း), ) is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw, Armed Forces (''Tatmadaw'') of Myanmar (Burma) and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The My ...
after the Burmese Independence and also by the
Myanmar Police Force The Myanmar Police Force ( my, မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့), formerly the People's Police Force (), is the law enforcement agency of Myanmar. It was established in 1964 as an independent department under ...
for ceremonial purposes * : Non-governmental armed groups * * : Both the Lee–Enfield No. 1 Mark III and No. 4 Mark I would be adopted in 1941 and serve until 1952, until replaced by the M1 Garand. * * : Used by the
Nigeria Regiment The Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force, was formed by the amalgamation of the Northern Nigeria Regiment and the Southern Nigeria Regiment on 1 January 1914. At that time, the regiment consisted of five battalions: *1st Batta ...
and then by
Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...
. :* : Used by militias and Army * : Received from Allied airdrops to the resistance during WW2 and given by Britain to the Norwegian Brigade during the occupation of Germany in 1947. Returned to Britain in 1952 in exchange for P-17 rifles. A total of 24992 .303 rifles were in Norwegian inventory at the time. Replaced by M-1 Garand and M-1 Carbines. * * : Captured rifles, used as reserve weapons. * * * : used by the
Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; th ...
* : used by the
Portuguese Expeditionary Corps The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...
, during the First World War The SMLE Mk III was still in service as ''m/917'' during the 1940s. * * * * : reserve units until the late 1960s. Still used by
Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command The Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command (SAF Military Police Command), previously known as the Singapore Armed Forces Provost Unit (SAFPU), is the military police formation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). They perform policing ...
for ceremonial purposes. * : used by the
Royal Solomon Islands Police Force The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) is the national police force of Solomon Islands and in January 2015 had an establishment of approximately 1,153 officers and 43 police stations across the country. Solomon Islands has no military o ...
. * * * * * * * : Phased out in the late 1960s with the arrival of the
L1A1 SLR The L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, officially "Rifle, 7.62mm, L1A1", also known just as the SLR (Self-Loading Rifle), by the Canadian Army designation C1A1 (C1) or in the US as the "inch pattern" FAL,Especially on the American surplus market. is a Br ...
. * * * * : (the contract was concluded on 10 December 1920 when the king received shipment of 10,000 rifles.) * * : Trinidad & Tobago Cadet Force * : converted Ottoman-captured rifles to 7.92×57mm Mauser. * * * Miller, David (2001). ''The Illustrated Directory of 20th century Guns''. Salamander Books Ltd. . * : Used by units of the
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
attached to British and Australian units during the First World War. No.4 MkI/MkI* rifles manufactured by Savage-Stevens Firearms under Lend-Lease for the British and Commonwealth forces during WWII. Some US Army units attached to British Commonwealth units in Burma during WWII were issued Lee–Enfield rifles on logistics grounds. * * :
Việt Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
captured Lee–Enfields from French forces * * *
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
* * : Used by ISIL insurgents in 2019


See also

*
Table of handgun and rifle cartridges This is a table of selected pistol/ submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the sa ...

Videos on Lee-Enfield rifles


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee-Enfield 7.62 mm rifles .303 British rifles Bolt-action rifles of the United Kingdom History of the London Borough of Enfield Police weapons Sniper rifles of the United Kingdom Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom World War I British infantry weapons World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom Rifles of the Cold War World War II rifles