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99-450: The PDR is one of the few personal defense weapons designed to use a standard caliber to simplify the logistics. The method of operation is a short stroke gas piston . It is striker-fired, features an ambidextrous ejection system, and ambidextrous controls. The PDR-C (Compact) features an FN P90 -style pistol grip and ergonomics offering a more compact weapon, while the PDR-D (Direct) uses

198-468: A NATO request as a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum submachine guns. The PDW is a compact automatic weapon that can defeat enemy body armor and which can be used conveniently by non-combatant and support troops, as well as a close quarters battle weapon for special forces and counter-terrorist groups. Introduced in 1991, the FN P90 features a bullpup design with a futuristic appearance. It has

297-577: A Sten Mk II submachine gun cost £2 10s (£2.50). 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

396-402: 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

495-471: 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

594-446: A 50-round magazine housed horizontally above the barrel, an integrated reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls. A simple blow-back automatic weapon, it was designed to fire the FN 5.7×28mm cartridge which can penetrate soft body armor. The P90 was designed to have a length no greater than a man's shoulder width, to allow it to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces, such as

693-453: A NATO CRISAT vest or an NIJ IIIA soft Kevlar armor at up to 200 m (220 yd)), PDWs have also been used by special forces , paramilitaries , heavily armed tactical police , and bodyguards . In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shortened versions of the infantry rifle were issued as " carbines " for cavalry troops and gun crews. This designation was dropped as infantry rifle designs became shortened overall, such as in

792-474: 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 50 yards (45.7 m) increments from 0 to 1,000 yards (914 m). Side adjustments in 2 MOA 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

891-523: 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

990-599: A few examples kept by Ordnance Department . In 1918, Ribeyrolles, Sutter and Chauchat designed the Chauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gun . This weapon was meant to be used for close-range protection for the French tank crews. The weapon is based on the RSC Mle. 1917 semi-automatic rifle mechanism. The first trials used a Mannlicher–Berthier clip holding eight cartridges. The trials continued until 1919 with

1089-512: 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 , 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

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1188-449: 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

1287-415: 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 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

1386-571: A magazine inside a gutted SMLE magazine. 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

1485-692: 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 carbines , respectively. Some of the MLEs (and MLMs) were converted to load from chargers , and designated Charger Loading Lee–Enfields , or CLLEs . A shorter and lighter version of

1584-455: A more conventional pistol grip with vertical grip (similar to a Steyr TMP ) and safety nub to keep users from injuring themselves. This article relating to rifles is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Personal defense weapon Personal defense weapons ( PDWs ) are a class of compact, magazine -fed automatic firearms that are typically submachine guns designed to fire rifle-like cartridges . Most PDWs fire

1683-606: A proprietary cartridge, such as the 5.7×28mm cartridge for the FN P90 or the 4.6×30mm for the H&;K MP7, neither of which were originally compatible with any existing pistols or rifles/carbines. Although both manufacturers planned handguns that used the same proprietary rounds, only FN went forward with production of the Five-SeveN pistol, which was the only handgun option available for the 5.7×28mm cartridge for over two decades until

1782-429: A rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for 300 yd (274 m) with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and was calibrated for 200–1,300 yd (183–1,189 m) in 100 yd (91 m) 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

1881-592: A requirement for a "light rifle" with greater range, firepower, and accuracy than the M1911 pistol while weighing half as much as the M1 Garand. As a result, the U.S. developed the semi-automatic M1 Carbine and shortly thereafter the select-fire M2 Carbine. Widely employed until the end of the Vietnam War, these carbines are generally considered the forerunners of modern personal defense weapons. In 1969, AO-46

1980-454: 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

2079-483: 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 300 yd (274 m) with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and

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2178-475: 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. The L59A1 was a conversion of the No. 4 rifle (all marks) to

2277-520: 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

2376-884: A small-caliber (generally less than 8 mm or 0.31 in in bullet diameter), high-velocity centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled-down intermediate cartridge , essentially making them an "in-between" hybrid between a submachine gun and a conventional carbine . The use of these rifle-like cartridges gives the PDWs much better ballistic performance ( effective range , external ballistics and armor-penetrating capability) than conventional submachine guns, which fire larger-caliber but slower and less aerodynamic handgun cartridges . The low recoil of these "sub-intermediate" cartridges also makes muzzle jumps on PDWs (which typically have short barrels ) much easier to handle than short-barreled rifles , especially when shooting in automatic fire or burst fire . The name describes

2475-489: 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

2574-753: A suitable propellant could be found. Wartime demand and the improved Mk VII loading of the .303 round caused the Lee–Enfield to be retained for service. Circa 1914 the Pattern 1913 design was modified as the Pattern 1914 Enfield , mainly to use the .303 British cartridge. This weapon was mainly produced in the United States for British forces during the First World War. Upon the US entry into that war in 1917

2673-466: 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. Conversion of rifles to smoothbore guns

2772-498: A weapon using the same magazine as the Chauchat. The results were satisfactory but the weapon was too powerful for the intended self-protection use. A mix of standard and tracer bullets was planned to be used to assist in aiming. In 1938, the U.S. Army Ordnance Department received a request for a light rifle to be issued to mortarmen, radiomen, drivers, clerks, cooks, and similar grades. During field exercises, these troops found that

2871-572: A well-trained rifleman to perform the " mad minute " 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 12-inch-wide (300 mm) target at 300 yards (270 m) in one minute. Some straight-pull bolt-action rifles were thought faster but lacked

2970-657: Is a bolt-action , magazine -fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the standard service rifle of the British Armed Forces from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957. A redesign of the Lee–Metford (adopted by the British Army in 1888), the Lee–Enfield superseded

3069-404: Is easy to use while having sufficient firepower to suppress enemy charges and hold them beyond a safe perimeter to prevent the defenders from being overrun, but the risk of hostility is rare enough that a standard service rifle would be an unnecessary burden during their normal duties. Because of their light weight, controllability, ease of operation and close-range effectiveness (can penetrate

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3168-621: The First and Second World Wars (such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada). Although officially replaced in the United Kingdom with the L1A1 SLR in 1957, it remained in widespread British service until the early/mid-1960s and the 7.62 mm L42A1 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

3267-498: The M1 Garand rifle was too heavy and too cumbersome for general issue. And, while handguns are undeniably convenient, they had limited range, accuracy and power. This request was refused by authorities. In 1940, after Germany's use of glider-borne and paratroop forces to infiltrate and attack strategic points behind the front lines, the request for a light rifle was resubmitted and subsequently approved. U.S. Army Ordnance issued

3366-669: The M2 Bradley , named the M231 Firing Port Weapon . In 1980, the weapon was adopted as the M231. Although most of the Bradley AFV's ports have since been removed, these weapons are maintained, and are used by crews for self-defense, close-quarters situations, and for firing from the rear door firing ports as intended. Developed during the 1980s, the "Personal Defense Weapon" (PDW) concept was created in response to

3465-456: 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

3564-508: The Rifle No. 3 .) The SMLE design was relatively expensive to manufacture, because of the many forging and machining 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

3663-580: The Short Magazine Lee–Enfield rifle. Thereafter, handguns were typically issued as self-defense weapons. However, they were not effective in most close combat situations. As a result, during the First World War, the Mauser C96 and artillery versions of the Luger pistol were issued with attachable shoulder stock holsters, which allowed for greater control and accuracy. During World War I,

3762-490: 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

3861-439: 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

3960-424: 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

4059-472: 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

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4158-587: The 7N21 and 7N31 ammunition. The Russian Aerospace Forces added the PPK-20 variant of the PP-19-01 Vityaz into the ejection survival kits of the MiG-29 , Mig-35 , Su-24 , Su-27 , Su-30SM , Su-34 , Su-35 and Su-57 . The PDW concept has not been widely successful, partly because existing PDWs are not significantly cheaper to manufacture than carbines or full-size military rifles. Most PDWs also use

4257-606: 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 design

4356-673: The Buffington battle sight of the M1903 Springfield . 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 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

4455-401: 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

4554-539: The Mauser design was created to fire the round, called the Pattern 1913 Enfield . Although the .276 Enfield had better ballistics, trials by British Army soldiers in 1913 revealed problems including excessive recoil, muzzle flash, barrel wear and overheating. It was hoped that a propellant with a lower burning temperature would be an improvement, but the onset of the First World War in 1914 ended development before

4653-645: 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 . The refurbishment of the No.4 MkIs and No.4 MkI*s to the No.4 Mk2 specifications were done during the 1950s at ROF Fazakerley and BSA Shirley. The No.4 rifles refurbished at ROF Fazakerley were for British military use while No.4 rifles refurbished at BSA Shirley were for commercial sale to various British Commonwealth countries and to civilian rifle shooters in

4752-715: 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 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

4851-526: The No. 5 Mk I as a "jungle carbine". The No. 4 and No. 5 rifles served in the Korean War (as did the No.1 Mk III* SMLE and sniper "T" variants, mostly with Australian troops). During both World Wars and the Korean War, Lee–Enfield rifles were modified for use as sniper rifles . The Australian Army modified 1,612 Lithgow SMLE No. 1 Mk. III* rifles by adding a heavy target barrel, cheek-piece, and

4950-478: 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 , until it was replaced by the L1A1 SLR in the late 1950s. The Lithgow Small Arms Factory finally ceased production of

5049-456: The SMLE Mk III* in 1953. The Rifle Factory Ishapore 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

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5148-482: 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

5247-400: The SMLE was a field cleaning kit enclosed behind a trapdoor in the buttstock which included a barrel pull through with various cloths and an oil bottle enclosed deeper within the compartment. 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/– = £3.75 ), and demand outstripped supply; in late 1915

5346-564: 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

5445-454: The UK and the Commonwealth. Later in the war, the need for a shorter, lighter rifle forced the development of the Rifle, No. 5 Mk I (the " jungle carbine "). With a cut-down stock, a prominent flash hider , and a "lightening-cut" receiver machined to remove all unnecessary metal, reduced barrel length of 18.8 in (478 mm) the No. 5 was shorter and 2 lb (0.9 kg) lighter. Despite

5544-499: The United States secretly developed the Pedersen device attachment for the M1903 Springfield rifle that allowed it to fire the .30-18 Auto (7.65×20mm Longue) pistol cartridge in semi-automatic mode. This attachment was developed to allow an infantryman to convert "his rifle to a form of submachine gun or automatic rifle" in approximately 15 seconds. Production of the device and modified M1903 rifles started in 1918. However,

5643-411: The United States. The Heckler & Koch MP7 is also used in a number of countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. 9×21mm IMI .357 SIG .40 S&W Italy PDW-caliber guns without select fire capabilities CMMG Resolute, Mk4/Mk57 5.7×28mm Lee%E2%80%93Enfield#Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk I The Lee–Enfield

5742-421: 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 is not achieved until the bolt handle is turned down all the way. Helical locking lugs were probably used both to allow the chambering of imperfect or dirty ammunition and also so that

5841-417: 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

5940-438: 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 circles, as some feared that the private soldier might be likely to lose

6039-473: The core pierce it. The RG054 variant of the 9×21mm cartridge follows the same pattern. The space between the core and the bimetallic jacket is filled with polyethyelene which results in 7N21 being lighter than regular 9×19mm, 7N31 is even lighter than 7N21. Using a different variant of the same cartridge bears the advantage that regular ammunition can still be used. The PP-19-01 Vityaz , PP-2000 and GSh-18 can use regular 9×19mm Parabellum as well as

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6138-592: 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 (£7.75) to produce By comparison,

6237-624: The course of the Second World War. The term "jungle carbine" was popularised in the 1950s by the Santa Fe Arms Corporation , 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

6336-399: The development of the "peddled scheme", which contracted out the production of whole rifles and rifle components to several shell companies. As a result, the production was quadrupled in the first year of the war from slightly over 100 thousands annually before the war. The SMLE Mk III* (renamed Rifle No.1 Mk III* in 1926) saw extensive service throughout the Second World War, especially in

6435-429: The earlier Martini–Henry , Martini–Enfield , and Lee-Metford rifles. It featured a ten-round box magazine which was loaded with the .303 British cartridge manually from the top, either one round at a time or by means of five-round chargers . 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

6534-502: The existing Lee–Metford cartridge 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 6,000 rounds. Replacing this with a new square-shaped rifling system designed at the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) Enfield solved the problem, and the Lee–Enfield was born. The Lee–Enfield rifle

6633-419: 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 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. Another feature present on the No. 1 Mk III as well as many other models of

6732-503: 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. 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

6831-518: The heavy use of polymers in its construction, the MP7 is much lighter than older SMG designs, weighing only 1.2 kg (2.65 lb) with an empty 20-round magazine. Russia uses 7N21 and 7N31 cartridges which are hotter loaded 9x19mm Parabellum cartridges with special armor piercing bullets. The armor piercing bullets consist of a hardened steel core inside a lighter sleeve which damages soft targets but strips off if it hits an armored target and lets

6930-522: The inside of an armored vehicle. Introduced in 2001, the Heckler & Koch MP7 is a direct rival to the FN P90. Featuring a more conventional-looking design, the MP7 uses a short-stroke piston gas system as used on H&K's G36 and HK416 assault rifles, in place of a blowback system traditionally seen on submachine guns. The MP7 is able to use 20-, 30- and 40-round magazines and fires 4.6×30mm ammunition which can penetrate soft body armor. Due to

7029-592: The introduction of Ruger-57 in 2019. In turn, this made the PDW cartridges expensive to consumers due to the lack of mass production. Though personal defense weapons have not been very popular for their intended application, they have been acquired by various military special forces units and law enforcement groups, as an upgrade for their older submachine guns . The FN P90 and Five-seven pistol are used by military and police forces in over 40 countries, including Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, India, Peru, Poland, Spain, and

7128-415: 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

7227-521: 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 sniper rifle continued as the British Army's standard sniper weapon being phased out by 1993, and replaced by Accuracy International's L96 . Numbers of Lee–Enfield rifles were converted to .22 calibre training rifles, in order to teach cadets and new recruits

7326-496: 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 capacity enabled

7425-505: 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

7524-400: 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

7623-399: 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 ) type to reduce costs and speed production). Near the end of the war and after, Canada made blued steel buttplates. With the introduction of

7722-434: 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 300 yd (274 m) protruded saving further precious seconds when laying the sight to a target. An alternative developed during this period

7821-484: 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". Due to the poor performance of the .303 British cartridge during the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902, the British attempted to replace the round and the Lee–Enfield rifle that fired it. The main deficiency of

7920-553: The rifles were rifle grenade launcher conversions which involved the attachment of a removable grenade cup which would use the pressure of a blank round to launch a single modified Mills Bomb which had a launching range of about 10 to 200 yards. The inability of the principal manufacturers ( RSAF Enfield , the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited and London Small Arms Co. Ltd , Lithgow Arms Australia ) to meet military production demands led to

8019-499: 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 rounds fired from the Mauser Model 1895 rifle had a higher velocity, flatter trajectory and longer range, making them superior for the open plains of South Africa. Work on a long-range replacement cartridge began in 1910 and resulted in the .276 Enfield in 1912. A new rifle based on

8118-471: 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. The best-known Lee–Enfield 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

8217-472: 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 in

8316-401: 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,

8415-486: 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

8514-662: 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 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

8613-451: The war ended before they were sent to Europe. The contract was cancelled on March 1, 1919, after production of 65,000 devices, 1.6 million magazines, 65 million cartridges and 101,775 modified Springfield rifles. The Pedersen device was declared surplus in 1931. To prevent them from falling into the hands of the lawless, nearly all of the stored devices were destroyed by the Army except for

8712-500: 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

8811-541: The weapon was further redesigned for US service as the M1917 Enfield rifle, using the .30-06 Springfield cartridge. 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

8910-630: The weapon's original conceptual role: as a compact but powerful small arm that can be conveniently carried for personal defense, usually by support personnel behind the front line such as military engineers , logistic drivers, medical specialists , artillery crews, or signallers . These "second-line" personnel are not strictly combat troops expected to directly engage the enemy, but may still be at risk of encountering decently equipped (and often well-armored) hostile skirmishers and infiltrators , therefore having to defend themselves in close quarters . Such encounters will warrant an effective weapon that

9009-438: Was ability to place seven of seven shots in a 5 inches (12.7 cm) circle at 200 yards (183 m) and six of seven shots in a 10 inches (25.4 cm) circle at 400 yards (366 m). 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

9108-648: Was an unsolicited design by Peter Andreevich Tkachev working at TsNIITochMash . Although not accepted for service, this design, in combination with report of the US use of the XM-177 in Vietnam led the GRAU to start the competition known as Project Modern , which led to the adoption of AKS-74U for service. In 1979, Rock Island Arsenal designed a version of the M16 assault rifle adapted for shooting from firing ports on

9207-451: Was calibrated for 200–800 yd (183–732 m) in 100 yd (91 m) 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

9306-465: 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

9405-431: 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. One notable later use of

9504-466: Was created—the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield . 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 . The bolt has a relatively short bolt throw and features rear-mounted lugs, and the bolt operating handle places

9603-425: 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

9702-518: 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 21.2-inch (540 mm) barrel as opposed to the 30.2-inch (770 mm) one in the "long" version. Both underwent

9801-453: 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 settled on the rear aperture sight prior to WWI, with modifications to

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