SMLE info Needed - AR15.COM

Site Notices

Posted: 8/30/2014 8:46:26 AM EDT

i will bve soon acquiring a N0.1 MKIII* SMLE soon and it has been sporterized (just needs new wood) and need some help on a few basic things

its a 1942 dates SMLE

i have posted a pic of the receiver marking and if someone could help me ID the manufacturer that would be great. is is Canadian, Aussie, or English?

i wanna get a bayonet for it and was wondering if they are dated? all i have found are 1907 but i thought thats just the pattern.

are enfield stocks finished in linseed oil?

many thanks in advance for the info

Posted: 8/30/2014 9:12:55 AM EDT

[#1]

Looks to be British, BSA manufacture. The 1907 bayonet is the correct type for the Mk3*, became standard issue for that rifle in 1907, as indicated by the date.

Posted: 8/30/2014 9:15:52 AM EDT

[#2]

but are the 1907 pattern bayonets dated by year of manufacture? like US bayonets

Posted: 8/30/2014 9:17:38 AM EDT

[#3]

Actually, it's what's known as a "Dispersal" Enfield. After German bombing caused sufficient damage to the BSA factory, production of many of their Enfield parts was farmed out to smaller subcontractors. I.e. they were "dispersed" around the country. BSA then did the final assembly of these subcontracted parts at a central location. Notice that the receiver is only marked with the "B" of "BSA Co.", not the full name.

So it's British-made.

As for the bayonet, the 1907 stamped on the blade only denotes that it's a Pattern 1907 bayonet. The actual date of manufacture/acceptance is stamped underneath. It will be in the form of three or four digits, with the first one or two digits denoting the month and the last two digits denoting the year. For example, this P1907 bayonet is dated February 1918:

Posted: 8/30/2014 9:19:39 AM EDT

[#4]

Yes, they should be, along with the makers mark.

Posted: 8/30/2014 10:13:44 AM EDT

[#5]

To answer your question about the stock finish, yes, the original and proper finish is boiled linseed oil(BLO).

If your stock has been sporterized check here: http://ssporters.com/parts/enfield-1-mkiii.html

You can also keep an eye out for items on ebay or gunbroker.

Posted: 8/30/2014 12:31:31 PM EDT

[#6]

thanks for the input

Posted: 8/30/2014 12:44:08 PM EDT

[#7]

Finding the right wood for that is going to be tricky. The '40s BSA Dispersals (as you can see from the bit you have left) used beech stocks without the relief for the cutoff. These forestocks were only used for this short period in the 1940s and on some 1950's BSA FTRs. They are extremely difficult to find.

Posted: 8/30/2014 2:06:48 PM EDT

[#8]

just finding a bayonet is proving difficult. a 1942 dated model 1907 is hard to find. i am only fininding Aussie lithgow blades

Posted: 8/30/2014 2:59:30 PM EDT

[#9]

Didn't realize the Brits made the No 1 Mk 3 in the 2nd WW. Thought only the Aussies did.

Posted: 8/30/2014 3:11:44 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
Didn't realize the Brits made the No 1 Mk 3 in the 2nd WW. Thought only the Aussies did.

View Quote

Brits, Aussies, and Indians as well manufactured the SMLE Mk. III* during WWII.

OP, there are British-made P'07s from WWII. They will be Wilkinson bayonets, marked WSC and/or S294, as that was the only British manufacturer still making the P'07 by then. They do show up occasionally, just keep checking eBay. IIRC they were mostly made under Admiralty contracts for the Lanchester SMG.

You can also find RFI bayonets with 1940's dates.

Posted: 8/30/2014 3:14:19 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
Didn't realize the Brits made the No 1 Mk 3 in the 2nd WW. Thought only the Aussies did.

View Quote

BSA (England), Ishapore (India), and Lithgow (Australia) all produced No. 1 Mk. 3 Enfields during WW2. BSA's production of No. 1 Mk. 3s ended in 1944 (and they had been merely assembling "dispersal rifles" since 1941), while Lithgow continued production into the mid-1950s and Ishapore continued production into the mid-1970s.

Posted: 8/30/2014 3:31:04 PM EDT

[#12]

IIRC, Ishapore (now IOF) still makes SMLEs. They certainly still make Lee-action sporters for the commercial market.

I've seen RFI rifles with 80's dates.

Posted: 8/30/2014 3:31:19 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:

BSA (England), Ishapore (India), and Lithgow (Australia) all produced No. 1 Mk. 3 Enfields during WW2. BSA's production of No. 1 Mk. 3s ended in 1944 (and they had been merely assembling "dispersal rifles" since 1941), while Lithgow continued production into the mid-1950s and Ishapore continued production into the mid-1970s.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted: Didn't realize the Brits made the No 1 Mk 3 in the 2nd WW. Thought only the Aussies did.

BSA (England), Ishapore (India), and Lithgow (Australia) all produced No. 1 Mk. 3 Enfields during WW2. BSA's production of No. 1 Mk. 3s ended in 1944 (and they had been merely assembling "dispersal rifles" since 1941), while Lithgow continued production into the mid-1950s and Ishapore continued production into the mid-1970s.

Learn something new every day here. And I had forgotten the Indians. I can go back to GD now.

I take it BSA produced the No 1 Mk 3* b/c the tooling was still available and it was easier to use that than convert it to No 4 production? As well as salvage all the old No 1 parts?

Posted: 8/30/2014 3:42:51 PM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
I take it BSA produced the No 1 Mk 3* b/c the tooling was still available and it was easier to use that than convert it to No 4 production? As well as salvage all the old No 1 parts?

View Quote

Actually, BSA ended up producing both the SMLE Mk. III* and the No. 4 Mk. I concurrently. SMLE assembly was mostly done at the BSA plant at Small Heath (M47A), where the No. 4s were assembled at the plant in Shirley (M47C).

BSA had the tooling for the SMLE out and available simply because they'd just completed a rifle contract for Iraq. They had mostly kept the doors open between the wars selling motorcycles.

Posted: 8/31/2014 6:17:52 AM EDT

[#15]

will a no.4 bolt fit a no.1?

actually how many parts interchange on no.1 and no. 4 rifles? stocks? bolts?

Posted: 8/31/2014 8:08:03 AM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
will a no.4 bolt fit a no.1?

actually how many parts interchange on no.1 and no. 4 rifles? stocks? bolts?

View Quote

Nothing. Not even the screws or magazines (well, mags can sometimes be made to work... and sometimes not).

A No. 4 bolt will not work in an SMLE and it cannot be made to work.

ETA: Actually, I think you can use No. 4 cocking pieces on an SMLE. That's about it.

Posted: 8/31/2014 9:24:56 AM EDT

[#17]

The only parts interchangeable between the No. 1 Mk. 3 and No. 4 Mk. 1 without modification are the sear, sear spring, magazine follower, magazine release catch, and trigger. In addition, the cocking piece and firing pin interchange as a unit (that is, they must be switched together). And as MVolkJ stated, the magazines can be made to fit, with some work. Buttstocks and buttplates can be made to work as well, with modification.

Some of the "Dispersal" SMLEs were produced with a few No. 4 parts. And during the postwar FTR program, they sometimes used leftover No. 1 parts on No. 4s, and No. 4 parts on No. 1s.

Posted: 8/31/2014 2:26:18 PM EDT

[#18]

If I recall correctly, the early No 4s were produced w/ the magazine cutoff boss in place, albeit undrilled - an appendage left over from the Mk 6. Having owned a No 1 Mk 3* w/ the magazine cutoff, I've always wondered about faking up a Mk 6 from an early No 4, & milling the magazine cutoff.

Posted: 9/2/2014 8:44:22 AM EDT

[#19]

seeing as i cant find SMLE beech furniture anywhere i found a beautiful set of Walnut furniture for it. i know its not perfectly correct but at least it will be back to mil=spec and looking great.

ill just consider it a Re-arsenal lol

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - SMLE info Needed

Armory » Curios & Relics

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us