"Lee-Enfield" - an English rifle. Description, characteristics, photo

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

World weapons history knows many cases when some rifles became a real "face" of their time. This was our “three-ruler”, the same was the Lee-Enfield rifle. Until now, collectors around the world can pay a decent sum to any lucky person who can offer them a sample of this weapon in perfect condition. In the UK itself, rifles of this type have the same significance as the legendary Mosquito has in our country.

How did it all start?

The first English rifle of this type was adopted by the Royal Army in 1895. In fact, its direct predecessor was the Lee-Enfield rifle of 1853. Interestingly, this weapon was originally created specifically for black powder. When they tested cartridges with the latest smokeless samples, it immediately became clear that the weapon was completely unsuitable for their use.

The British had to urgently develop a new barrel with a different rifling configuration. Of course, the sights have also been modified. The new Lee-Enfield fully proved its "suitability" during the bloody Boer Wars.

If you read adventure novels as a child, then you probably remember about the "drills" and "fittings" that allow you to hit the enemy from distances that were prohibitive at that time. As a matter of fact, in most cases it was just about the English "Lee-Enfield", since the Boers (Dutch colonists) used mainly German "Mausers".

By the way, the products of the Germans in those conflicts proved to be much better, but the patriotic British touted their own rifle, which since then has often been called the “drill”.

What did African events show?

Great Britain won that war, but the army team suffered a lot from accurate Mausers. Not surprisingly, they requested an urgent modification of their rifles. That is why already in 1903 a new model appeared - SMLE Mk I. How did it differ from its predecessors?

Following the example of the Germans, the British decided to make something intermediate between a cavalry carbine and a "full-fledged" rifle in size (like the Mauser K98). This was a completely justified decision, since already in that war it became clear that the cavalry was gradually losing its importance and that mounted soldiers constantly had to dismount to fire in combat mode.

In 1907, into serviceadopted a modification of the SMLE Mk. III, which was distinguished by the ability to quickly charge through clips. This Lee-Enfield rifle was widely used during the First World War and proved to be quite good. The soldiers loved this weapon for its high accuracy and accuracy. In 1916, an "intermediate" version of this rifle was adopted, which could be produced using a simplified technology, which was quite useful in wartime conditions.

Why did the soldiers like weapons so much?

Despite some technological "tricks", the British managed to create an extremely reliable weapon. There are cases when soldiers wrapped the shutter with oiled rags, after which they continued to fight, even lying in the water of the trenches. Under conditions of constant shelling from large guns, when the entire contents of the trenches were covered with a thick layer of mud and sand, the reliability of these rifles was simply a gift from above.

Further development

Before World War II, the SMLE No.1 modification (SMLE No.4 Mk. I) was adopted. The main innovations concerned the creation of a more durable barrel, a simple and technologically advanced receiver. Also at that time, a simple diopter sight appeared, greatly improving the accuracy of aiming and fire.

If you compare the new rifle with earlier modifications, it has become even simpler and more reliable. Maintenance of weapons began to take much less time. The shutter stroke became shorter, it could be faster and easier to distort. Finally, the rate of fire of this riflesurpassed that of the Mauser for the first time.

About "weighty" characteristics

It should be noted that the British soldiers noted only one significant drawback - weight. Only the fifth modification weighed 3.3 kg, and all other varieties were within 4 kg (Rifle No. 4 Mk. I weighed 4.11 kg). On the other hand, our “mosquito” with a bayonet pulled out all 4.5 kg, so this shortcoming is very doubtful against the background of other competitors. By the way, the Mauser K98 also weighed about 4.1 kg, so there is complete parity here.

Sniper "modding" and other modifications

Based on the latest modification, sniper rifles also began to be created, since the need for a separate category of weapons for "accurate shooters" by that time had become obvious. However, the British did not reach production on separate conveyors: the weapons were simply selected from the general heap, based on increased accuracy and accuracy (they did the same with us and in the Wehrmacht). Names of the sniper modification - SMLE No.4 Mk. I(T).

In 1944, active hostilities began in Burma and other regions of Asia, from where the British tried to expel the Japanese, who easily expelled the British from there at the very beginning of World War II. It quickly became clear that with standard rifles, infantrymen feel very constrained in the jungle, since the long barrel severely limits their freedom of maneuver.

Because of this, the designers quickly created Rifle No. 5 Mk. I Jungle Carbine. This rifle had a pronounced flash hider, as well asthere was a very shortened barrel and forearm. But the soldiers did not like this modification for a number of reasons, this model was not widely used in the troops.

By the way, what is the range of this weapon? It is quite impressive: the first modifications have 2743 meters, Rifle No. 5 Mk. I Jungle - 1000 meters. Of course, all this is “horses in a vacuum”, since in practice the effective firing range did not exceed 500-900 meters, but these results (even by today's standards) are quite good. The bayonet was designed for close combat: the Lee-Enfield was equipped with an impressive blade, which is still highly prized by collectors.

Tales and "hunting legends"

Until the end of the 50s of the last century, this weapon was in service with the Royal Army. In principle, a rifle of one of the models described above can still be easily found in those countries that were English colonies. It is known that in Afghanistan, the Mujahideen actively used Enfields in attacks on our soldiers. At the same time, tales describing the real use of the "Boers" have since accumulated a great many.

For example, it is quite possible to agree that a bullet fired from an old English rifle really penetrates standard army body armor. But the stories about the wrecked … armored personnel carriers!? To put it mildly, such information raises doubts among experts, since the armor of the BTR-70/80 holds, albeit not point-blank, caliber 12.7 mm. There is also information that Soviet transport helicopters were shot down several times from the Boers.

One can also agree with this: "MI-8" does not have armor as a class, so there is nothing surprising in such episodes. In the end, in Vietnam, American Hughs were also shot down from the simplest rifles of the Second World War. In a word, controversial disputes about the merits and demerits of Anfield are still ongoing, and there is no end in sight.

Specifications

From a constructive point of view, the English rifle is a classic representative of a weapon with manual reloading and a longitudinally sliding bolt. The main feature is a ten-shot magazine, which, although strongly in favor of the dimensions of the "drill", is non-removable. This is clearly visible in the photo of the weapon.

Simply put, you have to charge it by moving the shutter to the extreme position (as on a three-ruler or Mauser). However, in the depth of the trigger guard there is a latch that can be used to remove the magazine. Although this option was only used when a complete cleaning or part replacement was required.

Ammunition

Charging is done through a longitudinal window in the receiver. It, as we mentioned above, is released only when the shutter is fully open. It was possible to load weapons both with one cartridge and with clips, each of which had five cartridges. As with all rifles of that period, for the convenience of the latter type of loading, special grooves were milled in the receiver itself.

By the way, what cartridge is used here? "Lee-Enfield" equipped quitespecific ammunition: caliber.303 British, which in the human metric system is 7.7 mm. Sleeve length - 56 mm. It should be noted that the original caliber of the weapon was 7.69 mm, but later, due to the transition to a new rifling system, it had to be changed.

Shutter and Trigger Specifications

At the bottom of the shutter there were two protrusions, due to which the barrel was securely locked. When the shutter was closed, the trigger was cocked automatically. The handle of the handle for reloading was slightly bent, lowered down. The shutter itself is very easy to use, has a "solid", but, moreover, a short stroke. Due to the latter circumstance, an increased rate of fire was provided, which the Lee-Enfield rifle has always been famous for.

USM (that is, the trigger mechanism) is the simplest, striker type. There is a fuse located on the left side of the receiver. Unlike our three-ruler, this detail on the "English" was very convenient, you could work with the fuse with the finger of one hand without changing the grip of the weapon.

In addition, the Lee-Enfield rifle had a two-stage trigger, which greatly improved the accuracy of shooting. The neck of the butt was made very interestingly: having an almost “pistol” shape, it was very ergonomic, which significantly improved the grip of the weapon.

If you look closely at the butt, you can find three small holes in it: one is designed to store cleaning devices, the other two are needed to reduce the overall weight of the weapon. In general, treesmany designs: the photo of the weapon shows that all linings are made of this material.