SMLE (No.1) Rifles MkI and Mk III
by Charles R. Stratton
The British Enfield No.1 Rifle (Mk I through lshapore 2A/2A1) is not only one of the world's finest battle rifles, but also one of the longest serving from Africa's colonial wars through World Wars I and II and Korea to the conflicts of the Middle East. The British Tommy and the troops of the former British Commonwealth counted on their Short Magazine Lee-Enfields for nearly 90 years, and many are still in use today. Skip Stratton, who maintains the Enfield Rifle Research Internet web site and is a collector of long standing, has written a superb book that provides a well-organized, detailed look from the collector's perspective at this fine rifle series.
Dozens of charts and illustrations take you through seven manufacturers on three continents and seventy years of production to identify each variation of every single part of the rifle. Stratton shows you how to determine which parts are correct for each manufacturer and each period of manufacture. Is that Lee-Enfield pre-World War I, World War I, World War II, or post-World War II manufacture? British or Commonwealth? Original or arsenal reconditioned? It takes more than the date on the action body to determine that. And what do all of those codes and inspection marks and cyphers mean? Do they help detemine the age of the rifle and its parts? Yes, they do, and all are listed in the books' 158 pages and shown in more than 90 illustrations and photographs. Also included are descriptions of accoutrements, cleaning tools, and bayonets issued to the British and Commonwealth soldier with his Short Magazine Lee-Enfield. Serial numbers, codes, markings, cyphers - this book has it all in an easy-to-use layout.
British Enfield Rifles, SMLE(Vol 1) MK I & MIII
