G
Guest
·In 1939, the British soldier was still armed with the same rifle his father, or perhaps even his grandfather, carried. The Short, Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) delivered sterling service from the mud of Flanders to the farthest reaches of the Empire. With Hitler’s war machine on the move, the British needed an accurate, mass-production rifle. Thanks to inter-war development, an improved and simplified design was waiting in the wings, and the No. 4 Mark I rifle was adopted on November 15, 1939.
The No. 4 Mk I, chambered in the same .303 British cartridge as the SMLE, retained the better features of the SMLE (in 1926 the SMLE was renamed the No. 1 rifle), but changes were made to the receiver, bolt, stock, sights, barrel, nose cap and bayonet. While being similar in appearance and features, very few parts were completely interchangeable between the No. 4 and No. 1. The No. 4’s receiver was strengthened and squared off; requiring less milling and simplifying manufacture. A simple one-piece charger bridge to accept five-round stripper clips was fitted into grooves on the top of the receiver, as opposed to the No. 1’s rounded bridge. The SMLE’s complex-to-manufacture nosecap was discarded in favor of a milled, and later stamped, front reinforcing band and a simplified sight guard. The No. 4 also had a heavier free-floating barrel, which protruded from the fore-end and eliminated the need for precision full-length bedding.
No. 4s had four types of aperture backsights. The Mk I micrometer backsight was made of milled steel with a battle sight set for 300 yds., which when flipped up was adjustable for elevation out to 1,300 yds. The Mk II had a simple, stamped, two-setting aperture sight. The Mks III and IV were also made from stampings, but, like the Mk I, had provisions for sighting from 300 to 1,300 yds.
New government ordnance factories set up to produce the No. 4 were Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Fazakerley in Lancashire and ROF Maltby in Yorkshire. Birmingham Small Arms (B.S.A.) Gun, a private company, also established B.S.A. Shirley in Birmingham to turn out the No. 4. All three began producing No. 4s in 1941. Despite its role in developing the design, the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield did not produce any of the 2 million-plus No. 4 Mk Is made in England during the war.
In early 1941, while America was still officially neutral, the British Government contracted with Savage Arms Corp. to build 200,000 No. 4 rifles at the former J. Stevens Arms Co. factory in Chicopee Falls, Mass. After the entry of the U.S. into the war, Savage continued to make the No. 4 under the auspices of “lend-lease†agreements. The lend-lease Savage-made rifles were marked “U.S. Property.†Long Branch Arsenal, located near Toronto in Ontario, Canada, produced about 330,000 No. 4 Mk I and I* rifles. In sum total not only did North American orders bolster British production, but actually exceeded it during the war. The No.4 Mk I* was not actually adopted until 1946, despite being produced at the North American factories as early as 1941. The principal variation was in the method of bolt release. The bolt ribway had a new slot cut for the bolt head to be pivoted upward, out of the ribway. The machining at the rear of the ribway, the bolt-head catch, spring and plate were then no longer necessary.
The No. 4 Mk I, chambered in the same .303 British cartridge as the SMLE, retained the better features of the SMLE (in 1926 the SMLE was renamed the No. 1 rifle), but changes were made to the receiver, bolt, stock, sights, barrel, nose cap and bayonet. While being similar in appearance and features, very few parts were completely interchangeable between the No. 4 and No. 1. The No. 4’s receiver was strengthened and squared off; requiring less milling and simplifying manufacture. A simple one-piece charger bridge to accept five-round stripper clips was fitted into grooves on the top of the receiver, as opposed to the No. 1’s rounded bridge. The SMLE’s complex-to-manufacture nosecap was discarded in favor of a milled, and later stamped, front reinforcing band and a simplified sight guard. The No. 4 also had a heavier free-floating barrel, which protruded from the fore-end and eliminated the need for precision full-length bedding.
No. 4s had four types of aperture backsights. The Mk I micrometer backsight was made of milled steel with a battle sight set for 300 yds., which when flipped up was adjustable for elevation out to 1,300 yds. The Mk II had a simple, stamped, two-setting aperture sight. The Mks III and IV were also made from stampings, but, like the Mk I, had provisions for sighting from 300 to 1,300 yds.
New government ordnance factories set up to produce the No. 4 were Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Fazakerley in Lancashire and ROF Maltby in Yorkshire. Birmingham Small Arms (B.S.A.) Gun, a private company, also established B.S.A. Shirley in Birmingham to turn out the No. 4. All three began producing No. 4s in 1941. Despite its role in developing the design, the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield did not produce any of the 2 million-plus No. 4 Mk Is made in England during the war.
In early 1941, while America was still officially neutral, the British Government contracted with Savage Arms Corp. to build 200,000 No. 4 rifles at the former J. Stevens Arms Co. factory in Chicopee Falls, Mass. After the entry of the U.S. into the war, Savage continued to make the No. 4 under the auspices of “lend-lease†agreements. The lend-lease Savage-made rifles were marked “U.S. Property.†Long Branch Arsenal, located near Toronto in Ontario, Canada, produced about 330,000 No. 4 Mk I and I* rifles. In sum total not only did North American orders bolster British production, but actually exceeded it during the war. The No.4 Mk I* was not actually adopted until 1946, despite being produced at the North American factories as early as 1941. The principal variation was in the method of bolt release. The bolt ribway had a new slot cut for the bolt head to be pivoted upward, out of the ribway. The machining at the rear of the ribway, the bolt-head catch, spring and plate were then no longer necessary.
