- #Lee enfield rifle serial number lookup serial numbers#
- #Lee enfield rifle serial number lookup series#
In the early 1950's Essential Agencies Ltd.(E.A.L.)produced a run of several thousand No.4 enfield rifles cambered in. 22 Hornet model- under the "Slazenger" brand. Post-Second World War, SAF Lithgow converted a number of SMLE rifles to commercial sporting rifles- notably the. The restrictions placed on "military calibre" rifles in New South Wales were lifted in 1975, and many people who had converted their Lee-Enfields to the "wildcat" rounds converted their rifles back to. 303/25 calibre sporterised SMLEs are very common in Australia today, although getting ammunition for them is very difficult and has been since the 1980s. 303 British calibre (and other "military calibre") rifles, so large numbers of SMLEs were converted to "wildcat" calibres such as. During the First World War alone, 3.8 million SMLE rifles were produced in the UK by RSAF Enfield, BSA, and LSA.įrom the late 1940s, legislation in New South Wales, Australia, heavily restricted. 315 calibre cartridge the Birmingham Small Arms Company factory at Shirley near Birmingham, and SAF Lithgow in Australia, who finally discontinued production of the SMLE Mk III* in 1950. 303 and 7.62 mm NATO until the 1980s, and is still manufacturing a sporting rifle based on the SMLE Mk III action, chambered for a. Also contributing to the total was the Rifle Factory Ishapore (RFI) at Ishapore in India, which continued to produce the SMLE in both. The machinery from ROF Fazakerley was sold to Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in Rawalpindi where production and repair of the No.4 rifle was continued. The Fazakerley jungle carbines ran from FE1 to FE1000 initial production, then with no letter prefix, followed by A1 to A9999 through Z9999.In total over 16 million Lee-Enfields had been produced in several factories on different continents when production in Britain shut down in 1956, at the Royal Ordnance Factory ROF Fazakerley near Liverpool after that factory had been plagued with industrial unrest. No.5 Jungle Carbines only have 4 numbers, the Shirley carbines have BB to C? prefixes, last production was post World War 2.
#Lee enfield rifle serial number lookup series#
Both of these No.4 rifle series commenced with 0L1 and 0C1 respectively.
#Lee enfield rifle serial number lookup serial numbers#
Long Branch (Canada) serial numbers incorporate an 'L' in the serial number while US Savage numbers include an 'C' in a similar relative position amongst the numbers. So early M47C No.4 rifle numbers could be confused with the Jungle carbine in having four rather than five numbers. The only exception to the 5-number sequence for No.4 rifles was the initial BSA Shirley production which ran from 0001 to 9999 then went with A to Z prefixes (A0001 to A9999 to the Z prefix) and some early dual letter prefixes (e.g. Post-war Fazakerley No.4 rifles had PF letter prefixes. Late Shirley numbers then supposedly ran A4000 to A7999 and with PS prefixes at the very end of production. 1xxxx for Maltby, 2xxxx for Fazakerley and for Shirley, 3xxxx, after the letter prefix. Maltby rifle serial numbers commence with a number '1', Fazakerley with a '2' and Shirley with a '3', e.g. The same letter prefix(es) were used by Maltby, Fazakerley & BSA Shirley, A to Z then AA, AB to AZ, then BA to BZ, CA to CZ &c.
British No.4 rifles have five numbers, usually after one or two letter prefixes. No.4 and No.5 rifle serial numbers can readily identify manufacturers. Congratulations on buying a piece of British history.
The below will aid you in answering your questions. Sheffield, England' a subcontractor of Enfield parts.