thompson submachine gun serial number lookup

These are designated Mk IV Cond., with various asterisks denoting subtypes. 27 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 315) and demand was outstripping supply, so in late 1915 the Mk III was introduced, which incorporated 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. 25 27 28 29 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. 29 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 existing parts were used. 30 The magazine cut-off was reinstated after the First World War ended and not entirely dispensed with in manufacturing until 1933 and some cut-offs remained on rifles so-equipped into the 1960s. 29 The inability of the principal manufacturers (RSAF Enfield, The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited and London Small Arms Co.

MAGAZINE LEE RIFLES CARBINES Lee-Metford Lee-Enfield Note: Charger loaders and conversions are family.

Please record original details from right side of butt socket (left side for carbines) below the royal cypher (crown, V.R.

Redirected from Lee-Enfield) LeeEnfield Short Magazine LeeEnfield Mk I (1903), Swedish Army Museum, Stockholm.

Type Bolt-action rifle Place of origin United Kingdom Service history In service MLE: 18951926 SMLE: 1904present Used by See Users Wars Mau Mau Uprising 1 Cypriot intercommunal violence 2 The Troubles 3 Sino-Indian War 4 Dhofar Rebellion 5 Zanzibar Revolution 6 Turkish invasion of Cyprus 7 UgandaTanzania War 6 Production history Designer James Paris Lee, RSAF Enfield Produced MLE: 18951904 SMLE: 1904present No.

Fixed and adjustable aperture sights incorporated onto later variants.

The LeeEnfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle that served as the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century.

It was the British Armys 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 LeeEnfield variant.

A redesign of the LeeMetford (adopted by the British Army in 1888), the LeeEnfield superseded the earlier MartiniHenry, MartiniEnfield, and LeeMetford rifles.

It featured a ten-round box magazine which was loaded with the.303 Britishcartridge manually from the top, either one round at a time or by means of five-round chargers.

The LeeEnfield was the standard issue weapon to rifle companies of the British Army and other Commonwealth nations in both the First and Second World Wars (these Commonwealth nations included Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa, among others).

Although officially replaced in the UK with the L1A1 SLR in 1957, it remained in widespread British service until the earlymid-1960s and the 7.62 mmL42A1 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, 13 notably with the Bangladesh Police, which makes it the second longest-serving military bolt-action rifle still in official service, after the MosinNagant.

The Canadian Rangers unit still use Enfield rifles, with plans to replace the weapons sometime in 20172018 with the new Sako-designed Colt Canada C19.

Total production of all LeeEnfields is estimated at over 17 million rifles.

The LeeEnfield takes its name from the designer of the rifles bolt systemJames Paris Leeand the factory in which it was designedthe Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield.

Design and history 4 Short Magazine LeeEnfield Mk III 10 LeeEnfield conversions and training models 11 Special service LeeEnfields: Commando and automatic models 12 Conversion to 7.6251mm NATO 13 Production and manufacturers 13.1 List of manufacturers Design and history edit The LeeEnfield rifle was derived from the earlier LeeMetford, a mechanically similar black-powder rifle, which combined James Paris Lees rear-locking bolt system that had a barrel featuring rifling designed by William Ellis Metford.

The Lee action cocked the striker on the closing stroke of the bolt, making the initial opening much faster and easier compared to the cock on opening (i.e., the firing pin cocks upon opening the bolt) of the Mauser Gewehr 98 design.

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 operators hand.

The action features helical locking surfaces (the technical term is interrupted threading).

This means that final head space 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.

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 circles, as some feared that the private soldier might be likely to lose the magazine during field campaigns.

Early models of the LeeMetford and LeeEnfield 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 capacity enabled a well-trained rifleman to perform the mad minute firing 20 to 30 aimed rounds in 60 seconds, making the LeeEnfield the fastest military bolt-action rifle of the day.

Some straight-pull bolt-action rifles were thought faster, but lacked the simplicity, reliability, and generous magazine capacity of the LeeEnfield.

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.

Standard Mk VII.303 inch cartridge for LeeEnfield rifle The LeeEnfield was adapted to fire the.303 British service cartridge, a rimmed, high-powered rifle round.

The new rifle also incorporated a charger loading system, 24 another innovation borrowed from the Mauser rifle 25 and is notably different from the fixed bridge that later became the standard, being 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.

Mk. III Israeli female soldiers equipped with the SMLE Mk III during the 1948 ArabIsraeli War.

The iconic LeeEnfield rifle, the SMLE Mk III, was introduced on 26 January 1907, along with a Pattern 1907 bayonet 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.303 ammunition.

Many early model rifles, of Magazine LeeEnfield (MLE), Magazine LeeMetford (MLM), and SMLE type, were upgraded to the Mk III standard.

These are designated 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 315) and demand was outstripping supply, so in late 1915 the Mk III was introduced, which incorporated 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 existing parts were used.

The magazine cut-off was reinstated after the First World War ended and not entirely dispensed with in manufacturing until 1933 and some cut-offs remained on rifles so-equipped into the 1960s.

The inability of the principal manufacturers (RSAF Enfield, The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited and London Small Arms Co.

Thompson Submachine Gun Serial Number Lookup