The Lee-Enfield No. 5 Mk. I 'Jungle Carbine'
A friend just inherited his father’s Lee Enfield and doesn’t know anything about it. He sent me the serial number but I can’t make heads or tails of it. All he really wants to know when it was built. The SN is L6604XSAW. If no one knows, then is there a place where I could go to figure out the manufacture date? Yours sincerely, Jim. Lee Enfield SMLE No1 Mk1.303 Serial Number 1 - YUP Serial number 1Made in the LSA ( london small arms factory ) this is rifle number 1 a very rare find. Hi all, first off I am new to this site having stumbled upon it while looking for some i.d help with a newly acquired Lee Enfield rifle so please bear with me as I am not yet familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the search function. The rifle in question is a 1943 with numbers; N24MKJ(F)FTR /49AP6888 stamped on the reciever.
By David Tong
Pf Lee Enfield Serial Numbers List
The British Army had adopted the Rifle, No. 4 Mk. 1 in 1939. It was a simplifiedversion of the Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield rifle that served the Empire so wellin the first unpleasantness. It was a further simplification and cut down onboth material costs and machine time in its construction, much as the No. 1 Mk.III* had been to the original SMLE of 1907. With its heavier, free-floated,25.3” barrel and fine sights, it provided sterling service in open countryconflicts such as North Africa and parts of Western Europe.
In many ways, parallels can be drawn between the U.S. military’s current wholesaleadoption of the M4 Carbine and the British developing a shorter and lighterindividual weapon for urban or dense tropical combat conditions in WWII. Ratherthan developing an intermediate powered arm (the U.S. M1 Carbine that provedunimpressive in stopping power during WWII and Korea), the British took a moredirect route and simply downsized the standard service rifle.
Two factories were tasked with the production of the No. 5, the Royal Ordnance FactoryFazakerley, Liverpool and Birmingham Small Arms (BSA-Shirley). Fazakerley builtapproximately 170,000 of them, while BSA built about 87,000 in the three yearsof production from March 1944 through December 1947. While the No. 5 wasoriginally meant to be a standard-issue replacement for the No. 4, there weresome issues related to its construction techniques, as well as the increasedrecoil levels.
Rumorhas it that it was designed primarily for airborne use, rather than the SEAsian jungles, and indeed the No. 5 saw much use in Holland during the abortiveBattle of Arnhem, as well as on the Pacific islands. It did, however, servequite well during the “Malayan Emergency” of 1948-1960, a post-war conflictwith Chinese Communist insurgents over oil and rubber industry revenueimportant to Britain’s postwar economic recovery efforts, as Malaysia was partof the Commonwealth at the time.
Originally,the prototype modifications were carried out on the No. 4 receiver. Theseincluded additional machine cuts to the receiver. These can be seen in thedeletion of some of the metal below the rear sight, the bolt guide lug’scamming surface and along the right side below the stock line.
The barrel was reduced by 6.5” to a length of 18.7” and its contour was reduced.Still free-floating, it also had material removed from the exterior, known asthe “Knox form,” above the chamber area under the hand guard. These took theshape of one flat and several other concave milled cuts circumferentially.
The fore stock was shortened and narrowed, while the upper hand guard and band wereremoved. A combination flash hider, bayonet lug and front sight mount withprotective ears was secured to the barrel by press fitting and two cross pins, similarto what we did with the M16.
The butt stock was shortened and more rounded in the wrist area. The wrist is muchmore rounded on top than my No. 4 and it is comfortable to wrap one’s thumbaround in a firing grip. However, this grip is not conducive to rapid boltmanipulation. One’s thumb might normally be placed straight behind the bolthandle to be able to cycle the bolt with a firm cheek weld. Probably, this madethe carbine a bunch more comfortable to be carried at the ready during patrols.Wood furniture was birch (most common), or the occasional walnut, although thelatter had been phased out during early No. 4 production.
A stamped steel and rubber butt was fixed to the stock by two screws at the heeland toe. This rubber pad does not provide recoil abatement, contrary to popularwisdom; it was supposed to be a non-skid surface to better locate the rifleduring shooting.
Specifications:
- Type: Bolt-action carbine
- Caliber: .303 British, Mark VII 174 grain FMJ
- Overall Length: 39.5”
- Barrel Length: 20.5” with flash hider
- Weight: 7 lbs. 1 oz. with empty magazine
- Magazine: Sheet steel detachable box, staggered column, 10 rounds
- Rear Sight: Screw click adjustable ladder type graduated 200-800 yards, with standing battle aperture to 300 yards for coarse or rapid firing.
- Front Sight: Windage adjustable; dovetail, thin-section flat-topped post.
Evidence suggests BSA-Shirley WWII date manufacture is preferable from a collector’sstandpoint, due to half as many produced than ROF Fazakerley. WWII productionnot as nicely manufactured as post-war. BSA Stock band, left butt socket willshow “M47C” markings (indicates BSA), while rear sight and elevation knob andfront sight are stamped “B”. Fazakerley will have “F” stampings in the sameplaces. Post war fore-stocks will have metal end caps installed to seal the endgrain from moisture. Genuine No. 5 carbines have ONLY four digit serialnumbers, with lettered prefixes. Serial numbers tend to be “electro-penciled”onto receiver and butt socket, while rear of bolt handle prefix and serial is stamped.
The 1945 BSA Jungle Carbine examined for this article was a bit rougher in bothappearance and function than my later 1954 No. 4 rifle. While action cycling was still pretty smooth compared to most of its erstwhilecompetition, it lacked that bit of polish compared to other L-E's I’ve handled.The bolt body appearsto be a casting, evidenced by mold marks on the drilled bolt knob, as well assome evident fine “pebbling” of the bolt’s cylindrical body itself.
Pf Lee Enfield Serial Numbers 2020
The flash hider/front sight base is also a casting, also showing exterior moldmarks, as well as some pebbling within the cone. It adds approximately 2” tothe barrel length.
Despite their short stocks, the usual metal butt and lots of drop at comb, a standardEnfield rifle is quite a bit more pleasant to fire than a Springfield ’03,Mauser K98, or Moisin-Nagant 91, at least in my experience. This must be due toboth the lower operating pressure and subsequent nominal velocities of thecartridge itself.
All of the major power service cartridges of the time (.303 Br., .30-06, 8x57JS,7.7x58 Jap, 8mm Lebel, 7.62x54R) were overpowered for the close combatconditions encountered in most circumstances, though this extra power wasjustified for long range capability, as well as penetration.
Barrier penetration, whether it be buildings, light vehicles or foliage, is somethingat which the current varmint-class 5.56X45mm NATO, 5.45X39 Russian and 5.8mmChi-Com rounds do not excel. All lack sufficient momentum and sectional densityto get those jobs done, compared to those older, heavier, higher-recoilingrounds. This is apparently due to modern “firepower” tactics requiringautomatic capabilities. In addition, the short rifle or carbine is bestconfined to forest, jungle, urban, or vehicular settings, as it loseslong-range effectiveness in more open terrain.
A number of theories have been postulated about the “wandering zero” tendency ofsome No. 5 carbines. This might be because of wood stocks swelling (due tohumidity) and causing barrel harmonic issues, or fore stock bedding issues. Themost common theories suggest that the lightened receiver became more “springy”during recoil, or that the light barrel heated unevenly during rapid fire. Itmight even be a reduction of the usual good British quality control in late-war barrels.
The Enfield has never had a tight chamber design and the thinner barrel overheating in protracted use, shortersight radius, greater felt recoil levels and even shorter stock compounded thisissue, as well as intrinsic issues in the design. I am not familiar with thetest protocol that armorers in the U.K. used to determine the wandering zeroclaims, either.
My shooting impressions of the No. 5 are brief. A good friend of mine has ownedone for some 35 years and we both remember it feeling “brutal” as teenagers,though certainly accurate enough to 200 yards or so. The 800 yard sightgraduation makes about as much sense as the 800m one on our 14.5” M4 5.56mmcarbine, save that the .303 has a lot more remaining punch at that ridiculous range.
Lee Enfield 303 Serial Numbers
Shootingthe No. 5 at the local gun club on a typical hot summer day reminded me of someof those memories. After years of shooting elephant rifles, my tolerance forrecoil possibly exceeds many others. While I do not think that the No. 5 kicksas hard as a Soviet M44, it does come back some. Average five shot groups withRemington/UMC 174 grain hardball ran about 2.5 Inches at 100 yards. I suspectthat the usable range should be kept rather short, say 250 yards maximum, on aman or deer sized target.
Suffice to say that the No. 5 was the shortest officially serving rifle in Britishhistory, at about 3-½ years. By the time it debuted, the sun had definitely seton the manually cycled bolt action as a general issue weapon of war. While(debatably) the Enfield may indeed be the best of its breed, its time had past,although some units officially used them as late as 1960.
So, what to do with the No. 5? Is it merely a plinker or wall-hanger? Heavens no!Some of the enjoyment depends upon how tolerant you are of recoil, iron sightsand two-stage triggers. Some aren’t and there are a lot of you out there and alot of other rifles you can buy. However, there are legions of shooters whohave enjoyed firing or have shot game with other 19th Century, 20” barreled carbines firingmedium pressure, rimmed ammunition at moderate velocities. Witness all the Model 336's, Model94's and sundry copies sold to this day. Last time I checked, they still put venison on the table as well as ever.
In the proper hunting environment, just as in the military application, a carbinecan be a handy thing, provided it disposes of enough power. In addition, ausable piece of history is a good thing in my book. Amazingly, No. 5's areapparently still serving to this day in far-flung regions of the world wherethe Union Jack once flew.