"Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle that served as the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century. It was the British Army's standard rifle from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957. The WWI versions are often referred to as the ""SMLE"", which is short for the common ""Short Magazine Lee-Enfield"" variant. A redesign of the Lee–Metford (adopted by the British Army in 1888), the Lee–Enfield superseded the earlier Martini–Henry, Martini–Enfield, and Lee–Metford rifles. It featured a ten-round box magazine which was loaded"
"with the .303 British cartridge manually from the top, either one round at a time or by means of five-round chargers. The Lee–Enfield was the standard issue weapon to rifle companies of the British Army and other Commonwealth nations in both the First and Second World Wars (these Commonwealth nations included Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa, among others). Although officially replaced in the UK with the L1A1 SLR in 1957, it remained in widespread British service until the early/mid-1960s and the 7.62 mm L42A1 sniper variant remained in service until the 1990s. As a standard-issue infantry rifle,"
"that used by the British Army prior to the outbreak of World War I. During the war the equipment used changed as tactics evolved, and generally followed British developments. The standard issued rifle was the .303-inch Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mark III (SMLE). Infantrymen used 1908-pattern webbing, while light horsemen used leather bandoliers and load carriage equipment. A large pack was issued as part of marching order. In 1915 infantrymen were issued with the SMLE and long sword bayonet, while periscope rifles were also used. From 1916 they also used manufactured hand grenades and rodded rifle grenades, both of which had"
"over half a century. Whilst more powerful, the .500, .577 and .600 NE rifles were all too heavy for everyday use and remained specialist tools for the professional hunter, the .450s remained the most popular, but political events were to soon change this. In the late 1890s, the British Empire was facing a series of internal insurrections in India and the Sudan, and the .450 calibre .577/450 Martini–Henry rifle was the most widely distributed firearm in the hands of the anti-British forces. In 1907 the British Army banned all .450 calibre sporting rifles and ammunition from importation into India and"
"brought out of storage for similar reasons. These old and obsolete weapons were replaced by newer weapons as they became available. The second most widely used weapon of the Civil War, and the most widely used weapon by the Confederates, was the British Pattern 1853 Enfield. Like the Springfield, this was a three-band, single-shot, muzzle-loading rifle musket. It was the standard weapon for the British Army between 1853 and 1867. Confederate soldiers liked it because its .577 cal. barrel allowed the use of .58 cal. ammunition used by both sides. The Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, England, was forbidden"
"who built prototypes of a more conventional rifle using the same 7mm round, the BSA 28P. The EM-2 was eventually selected as the better design, and was adopted as the British Army's new rifle on April 25, 1951 as the ""Rifle, Automatic, Calibre .280, Number 9"", the designation by which it had been known in the War Office since the American weapons tests of 1950. In common with other 20th century British designs such as the P14 and SA80, the EM-2 was designed to achieve a high degree of accuracy due to the tradition of British Army emphasis on marksmanship."
"Snider–Enfield The British .577 Snider–Enfield was a breech-loading rifle. The American Jacob Snider invented the firearm action, and the Snider–Enfield was one of the most widely used of the Snider varieties. The British Army adopted it in 1866 as a conversion system for its ubiquitous Pattern 1853 Enfield muzzle-loading rifles, and used it until 1874 when the Martini–Henry rifle began to supersede it. The British Indian Army used the Snider–Enfield until the end of the nineteenth century. In trials, the Snider Pattern 1853 conversions proved both more accurate than original Pattern 1853s and much faster firing; a trained soldier could"
"including the EM-2, Lee–Enfield, FN FAL, Bren, M1 Garand and Taden gun. Despite its success as an intermediate cartridge, the .280 British was not considered powerful enough by the U.S. Army and several variants of the .280 British were created in an attempt to appease the U.S. Army. However, the U.S. Army continued to reject these variants, ultimately adopting the 7.62×51mm NATO. During World War II the standard British rifle and machine gun round was the venerable .303 British. Efforts to replace the .303 with a more modern round predated even World War I, but a series of events kept"
"carbines). In the 1950s, the British developed the .280 British, an intermediate cartridge, and a select-fire bullpup assault rifle to fire it, the EM-2. They pressed for the US to adopt it so it could become a NATO-standard round, but the US insisted on retaining a full-power, .30 caliber round. This forced NATO to adopt the 7.62×51mm NATO round (which in reality is only slightly different ballistically to the .30-06 Springfield), to maintain commonality. The British eventually adopted the 7.62mm FN FAL, and the US adopted the 7.62mm M14. These rifles are both what is known as ""battle rifles"" and"
"In 1932 the Enfield No.2 .38 inch calibre revolver, became the standard British service revolver. However, wartime shortages ensured that all marks of the Webley, including models in .455 and .38/200, remained in use through World War Two. The .455 Mk.VI was declared obsolete in 1945 but the .38 Mk.IV remained in service as a substitute standard weapon into the early 1960s. In 1920 the passing of the Firearms Act in the UK, which limited the availability of handguns to civilians, caused their sales to plummet. As a result, the company began producing pneumatic guns, their first being the Mark"
"would serve as standard issue for all NATO countries. After briefly adopting the Rifle No. 9 Mk 1 with a 7 mm intermediate cartridge, the UK, believing that if they adopted the Belgian FAL and the American 7.62 NATO cartridge that the United States would do the same, adopted the L1A1 as a standard issue rifle in 1954. The US, however, did not adopt any variant of the FAL, opting for its own M14 rifle instead. The L1A1 subsequently served as the UK's first-line battle rifle up to the 1980s before being replaced by the 5.56mm L85A1. The L1A1 and"
"guns. John Rigby & Co. was deeply involved in creating guns and cartridges for both markets. Because of his expertise, in 1887 the British government appointed John Rigby superintendent of the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock. There, Rigby and his large staff resolved design and production problems for a new rifle and its cartridge: the .303-calibre Lee Enfield, which in various forms went on to serve as the principal battle rifle for the United Kingdom until 1957. By government policy, at the age of 65, in 1894, John Rigby retired from government service. He returned to the family"
"The .257 Roberts Ackley Improved is a second generation wildcat cartridge based on the .257 Roberts cartridge. 7×57mm Mauser The 7×57mm cartridge, also known as the 7mm Mauser, 7×57mm Mauser, 7mm Spanish Mauser in the USA and .275 Rigby in the United Kingdom is a first-generation smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in 1892 and adopted as a military cartridge by Spain in 1893. It was subsequently adopted by several other countries as the standard military cartridge. It is recognised as a milestone in modern cartridge design, and although now"
"1897 pattern British infantry officer's sword The 1897 pattern infantry officers’ sword is a straight-bladed, three-quarter basket hilted sword that has been the regulation sword for officers of the line infantry of the British Army from 1897 to the present day. The curved, Gothic-hilted 1822 and 1845 pattern infantry swords, although elegant, had been criticised by some as fighting swords. In common with British cavalry swords of the era, they were cut-and-thrust swords. In 1892, a new, straight, blade was introduced, mated to the existing Gothic hilt. Presaging the introduction of the 1908 pattern cavalry sword, the curved blade was"
"wall and became the Pattern 1859. The Indian Service variant became the new standard issue and when comparing the P1859 with the P1853 side by side the difference would only become apparent if one was to feel just inside the muzzle for the presence of rifling or not. The British retained the superior earlier pattern for their own use. The Enfield ""Short Rifle"" was a percussion rifle used extensively by the North and South in the US Civil War. It was generally well regarded for its accuracy, even with its short barrel. It was also used by the British Army."
"Pattern 1853 Enfield The Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket (also known as the Pattern 1853 Enfield, P53 Enfield, and Enfield rifle-musket) was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifled musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867, after which many Enfield 1853 rifle-muskets were converted to (and replaced in service by) the cartridge-loaded Snider–Enfield rifle. The term ""rifle-musket"" originally referred to muskets with the smooth-bored barrels replaced with rifled barrels. The length of the barrels were unchanged, allowing the weapons to be fired by rank, since a long rifle was necessary to enable the muzzles of the second rank of"
"rifles. It is easy to use not only on the battlefield, but also in areas with limited space, such as armoured personnel carriers. In 1951, the British officially adopted the EM-2 bullpup design as the ""Rifle, Automatic, No.9 Mk.1"". However, American insistence on the use of 7.62×51 NATO cartridges as the NATO standard meant that the rifle, which used 7 mm rounds, was shelved and the Belgian FN FAL rifle adopted. It was expected that the US would also adopt the FAL then under trial as the T48 but they selected the M14. Another Enfield attempt in the 1970s was"
"Both were located at Long Branch, Ontario. Most of the Canadian made No.4 Mk.I* (T) sniper equipments went into British service. The No.4 (T) rifles were extensively employed in various conflicts until the late 1960s. The British military switched over to the 7.62×51mm NATO round in the 1950s; starting in 1970, over 1,000 of the No. 4 Mk I (T) and No. 4 Mk. I* (T) sniper rifles were converted to this new calibre and designated L42A1. The L42A1 sniper rifle continued as the British Army's standard sniper weapon being phased out by 1993, and replaced by Accuracy International's L96."
"7×57mm Mauser The 7×57mm cartridge, also known as the 7mm Mauser, 7×57mm Mauser, 7mm Spanish Mauser in the USA and .275 Rigby in the United Kingdom is a first-generation smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in 1892 and adopted as a military cartridge by Spain in 1893. It was subsequently adopted by several other countries as the standard military cartridge. It is recognised as a milestone in modern cartridge design, and although now obsolete as a military cartridge, it remains in widespread international use as a sporting round. The 7×57mm"
"to increasing proliferation of the Kalashnikov in the black market and civilian use. In Jordan, the Lee–Enfield was in use with the Police and Gendarmerie until 1971, and with the Armed Forces until 1965. In Iraq and Egypt, the Lee–Enfield was replaced by the Kalashnikov as the standard issue rifle in the Armed Forces by the late 1950s, and in Police Forces by the late 1970s. In the UK, the single-shot .22 calibre Rifle No. 8 is in regular use with UK Cadet Forces as a light target rifle. Enfields continue to be used as drill weapons by the National"
"introduction of the standard 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge in the 1950s, standard military cartridges were the .30-06 Springfield or 7.62×63mm (United States), .303 British (7.7×56mmR) (United Kingdom) and 7.92×57mm (8mm Mauser Germany). The .30-06 Springfield continued in service with U.S. Marine Corps snipers during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, well after general adoption of the 7.62×51mm. At the present time, in both the Western world and within NATO, 7.62×51mm is currently the primary cartridge of choice for military and police sniper rifles. Worldwide, the trend is similar. The preferred sniper cartridge in Russia is another .30 caliber military"
"Great Britain, and Imperial Russia. The Russian production models could also be loaded using charger clips, a feature not found on any other lever-action rifle. Calibers included .30-40 Krag (.30 US or .30 Army), .303 British, .30-03 Springfield, .30-06 Springfield, 7.62×54mmR, and .405 Winchester. Theodore Roosevelt used a Model 1895 in .405 on African safaris and called it his ""medicine gun"" for lions. In 1908 the 1895 Winchester became the first commercially produced sporting rifle chambered in .30-06 (then called "".30 Gov't 06""). Introduced in 1955, 60 years after Winchester's last all-new lever-action design, the Model 88 was unlike any"
"practice) arm. M1895 Lee Navy The Lee Model 1895 was a straight-pull, cam-action magazine rifle adopted in limited numbers by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in 1895 as a first-line infantry rifle. The Navy's official designation for the Lee Straight-Pull rifle was the ""Lee Rifle, Model of 1895, caliber 6-mm"" but the weapon is also largely known by other names, such as: It fired a 6mm (0.236-in. caliber) cartridge, which used an early smokeless powder, was semi-rimless, and fired a 135-grain (later 112-grain) jacketed bullet. The 6mm U.S.N. or Lee Navy Cartridge was also used in the navy version"
"the standard sidearm of British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. The first models of Enfield revolver were the .422-calibre Mark I (c.1880) and the .476-calibre Mark II (c.1882). They were the official British military sidearms from 1880 through 1887. The .476 Enfield cartridge for which the Enfield Mk I/Mk II was chambered fired a lead bullet, and was loaded with of black powder. The cartridge was found to be underpowered, however, during the Afghan War and other contemporary Colonial conflicts, as it lacked the stopping power believed necessary for military use at the time. Unlike most other self-extracting"
"M1895 Lee Navy The Lee Model 1895 was a straight-pull, cam-action magazine rifle adopted in limited numbers by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in 1895 as a first-line infantry rifle. The Navy's official designation for the Lee Straight-Pull rifle was the ""Lee Rifle, Model of 1895, caliber 6-mm"" but the weapon is also largely known by other names, such as: It fired a 6mm (0.236-in. caliber) cartridge, which used an early smokeless powder, was semi-rimless, and fired a 135-grain (later 112-grain) jacketed bullet. The 6mm U.S.N. or Lee Navy Cartridge was also used in the navy version of the"
"L64/65 The L64 (also called the ""Enfield Individual Weapon"") was an intermediate calibre British bullpup layout prototype assault rifle developed in the 1970s. At one time it was known as the 4.85 Individual Weapon, a reference to the calibre of the bullet it fired. The British Army had considered bullpup designs with intermediate calibre rounds in the 1950s, and officially adopted one of these as .280 British in 1951 in the EM-2 and Taden gun. However, US intransigence during NATO standardization efforts, and Winston Churchill's interest in standards above all, led to the adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO round. This"
"Model 1895 rifles firing 7×57mm rounds with withering effectiveness, easily outranging the .303 British cartridge as regards accurate long-range fire. The .303 British cartridge at that time was still using cordite propellant, in contrast to the Mauser's higher-performance ballistite type smokeless powder. The British modernized the .303 British cartridge to the Mark 7 variant with a ""spitzer"" bullet, and updated their rifle to the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield No. 1 Mk III. The oldest 1893 pattern military ball ammunition was loaded with a long round-nosed bullet fired at a muzzle velocity of with muzzle energy from a long barrel. It had"
"Until 1914, British infantry officers still carried swords and the cavalry retained the cavalry sword throughout the war. The other officers' weapon was the revolver, the three most common being the Webley MK V or VI, the Colt New Service and the Smith & Wesson hand ejector. All other ranks in the BEF carried a .303 Lee–Enfield rifle fitted with an easily loaded ten-round magazine and issued with a seventeen-inch (430 mm) bayonet. These rifles enabled a high rate of fire with good accuracy, such that pre-war British soldiers were trained to hit a target fifteen times a minute at"
"British Army, the .577/450 Martini–Henry was also very popular among hunters all over the world for many years. It has been used to hunt virtually every possible species of big game including deer, plains game, tiger, and even elephant. The cartridge has fallen out of use in recent years because of the difficulty involved in obtaining ammunition. However, the .577/450 Martini–Henry is still used occasionally by hunters, especially in the former British colonies, and is a great choice for hunting medium and large game. Modern handloader are resizing 24 gauge brass hulls, made by CBC/Magtech, and obtaining positive results. .577/450"
"NATO's standard 5.56×45mm cartridge. In February 1983, the decision to adopt the SG 541 was publicly announced (the designation of the rifle was changed in October of the following year to SG 550, while the carbine version became known as the SG 551). Production began in 1986 and four years later the rifle was officially accepted into service in 1990, hence the military designation Stgw 90. Over 600,000 rifles have been delivered since then and production for the military has now ceased.<ref name=""SIG SG 550 (Sturmgewehr Model 550) / Stgw 90 Assault Rifle / Carbine June 22, 2014""></ref> The SG"
"build additional prototypes, including one in bullpup configuration, chambered for their new .280 British [7x43mm] caliber intermediate cartridge. After evaluating the single bullpup prototype, FN decided to return instead to their original, conventional design for future production. In 1950, the United Kingdom presented the redesigned FN rifle and the British EM-2, both in .280 British calibre, to the United States for comparison testing against the favoured United States Army design of the time—Earle Harvey's T25. It was hoped that a common cartridge and rifle could be standardized for issue to the armies of all NATO member countries. After this testing"
"to the Army Reserve. In 2007, there were 121,800 Regular Reserves, of which 33,760 served in categories A and D. Beginning in April 2013, the full Regular Reserve strength was no longer reported—only those serving in categories A and D (30,000 in 2015). The table below illustrates British Army personnel figures from 1710 to 2015. The Army Reserve (Territorial Army) was established in 1908. The British Army's basic infantry weapon is the L85A2 or L85A3 assault rifle, sometimes equipped with an L17A2 under-barrel grenade launcher or other attachments with the Picatinny rail. The rifle has several variants, including the L86A2,"
"Winchester Model 1895 The Winchester Model 1895 is a lever-action repeating firearm developed and manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th century, chambered for a number of full-size military and hunting cartridges such as 7.62×54mmR, .303 British, .30-03, .30 Army, .30-06, .35 Winchester, .38-72 Winchester, .40-72 Winchester and .405 Winchester. The Model 1895 was the first Winchester rifle to feature a box magazine located underneath the action instead of the tubular magazine design, which had remained fundamentally unchanged from the Winchester 1866. This allowed the rifle to safely chamber military and hunting cartridges with spitzer (pointed)"