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Arming the Empire
Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III
Despite being a naval power first and foremost, the British Empire did not rest when it came to small arms development. Unlike most other nations, they went with a universal short rifle intended for all branches - A decision that brought forth one of the most iconic weapons of the early 20th century.
History
Compared to the other Great Powers, the British Empire only had a relatively small standing army.
Whereas France, which had a similar population to Britain in their respective home territories in Europe, fielded almost 800,000 men even during peacetime, the British volunteer force numbered a mere quarter million.
Thus the big push for the adoption of a new magazine loading (and eventually smokeless, after the introduction of Poudre B) rifle came from the Royal Navy intererstingly, ending the almost two decade long dominance of the Martini-Henry single shot rifle the British were carrying since 1871.
After nine years of trials and development, the Small Arms Commission officially adopted the Rifle, Magazine, Mark I, better known as the Lee-Metford today (In 1891 that name would become part of the official designation) in 1888.
This model paired a bolt and magazine system designed by Scottish arms developer James Paris Lee with a rifling pattern patented by William Harris Metford. Although intended for the newly developed Cordite propelled ammunition, after the adoption the rifle in 1888 was initially given out with black powder cartridges still.
James Paris Lee (1831-1904)
The Boers were infamous marksmen who knew their land. Their Chilean pattern Mauser M1895 chambered in the excellent 7x57mm cartridge and coming with a quick loading system via stripper clip allowed them to punch above their weight while facing the world-spanning British Empire
Despite being replaced by the .303 calibre, Rifle, Magazine, Lee–Enfield in 1895 (the main difference being the rifling pattern), the Lee-Metford saw action in the Second Boer War (1899-1902).
The main reason for the changeover to the Enfield pattern of rifling was that, while it faired very well with black powder charges, the new high velocity Cordite propelled rounds lead to increased barrel wear, demanding action.
Other problems such as wandering front sights due to poor quality control further stoked the wish for change.
The aforementioned Second Boer War then strongly influenced the further development of the Lee-Enfield series. One of the first big changes agreed on was to adopt a charger-loading system similar to what the troops encountered in the South African Veld when faced with the Mauser rifles the Boers used. Their stripper clips gave them a distinct advantage when it came to loading speed, despite only having half the magazine capacity. Many of the older "Long Lees" were later also adapted to this new charger-loading pattern.
The second big change would be the length. Where the infantry complained about their long and cumbersome rifles, the cavalry felt the need for an upgrade for their carbines to be capable of reliably engaging at long range - putting Britain on the path to adopting a universal short rifle for all troop branches.
Further desired changes were:
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Lightening of the rifle
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A more rugged magazine
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A two stage trigger akin to the Mauser
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Easier field maintenance and disassembly
The overall action and ergonomics would be carried over, same with features like the long-range dial sights and the magazine cutoff, despite initial doubts about the usefulness of the latter.
In 1901, following first tests with a shortened rifle, trials for a universal short pattern began and by 1904 it was decided that the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk I would become the new service rifle. At a barrel length of 640mm (25.2 inches), it sat halfway between the former rifles and carbines and was well received inspite of concerns over accuracy.
This pattern featured a charger guide that was half-included with the bolt head, a new nosecap similar to the ones used in Mauser 1893 family export patterns, a new bayonet lug that removed the need to have it attached to the barrel directly, but rather an embossing on the front of the nosecap, as well as new sights. Older long rifles were converted to this new pattern as well, becoming known as "India Pattern" rifles.
Further revisions led to the adoption of the Mk III, the best known variant of the SMLE in early 1907. These sported a proper charger bridge with integral guides for the chargers, providing much more stability, a simplified rear sight setup, as well as changes to the handguard and chamber, the latter to accommodate the new Mk VII ammunition with a conical bullet.
Had history taken another route, the SMLE Mk III might have have stayed a peacetime arm. In the early 1910s, the British were looking at the adoption of a new style of rifle, using a Mauser 1898 action to accommodate a smaller diameter, but very high speed bullet, .276 Enfield. The outbreak of hostilities in 1914 became the saviour of the SMLE as a mainline service rifle.
Although it proved to be a worthy adversary in the trenches of the Western Front thanks to its shorter length and rear-locking action that kept most debris out of the receiver, features such as the magazine cutoff, the long range dial and the windage adjustment made it too complicated to produce.
Thus, in order to keep up with the staggering loss of material on the front, the Mk III* was introduced, removing the aforementioned features, as well as changing the cocking piece to an easier to produce shape.
As these changes were not implemented universally or simultaneously, SMLEs can be found with a variety of combinations of those features. Additionally, the magazine cut-off was re-introduced after the war, before finally being abandoned in the 1930s.
Some rifles were also outfit with grenade launchers. Due to the stocks being prone to bursting while doing so, these were often reinforced with copper wires to keep them from doing so.
Despite being on its way out in early 1914, the SMLE proved itself during the war and saw production in excess of five million pieces. The model would remain in use with Britain during the Second World War (called Rifle No. 1 Mk III or III* since 1926) as well, despite efforts to replace it with the updated Rifle, No. 4 Mk I starting from 1941.
Other nations of the Commonwealth would use the SMLE even longer, with Indian production extending into the 1980s, updated for the standard NATO 7.62x51mm by then.
Although it never saw frontline service, the British received hundreds of thousands of P14 rifles from the US, freeing up SMLEs for service. The pattern would later see use with Estonia and was a popular option to be sent as aid during World War II
Canadian soldiers handling an SMLE Mk III
Mechanism
Bolt
The SMLE's bolt has an almost mythical reputation for being fast and smooth to operate. It's a rather simple design, featuring a cock-on-close action, a separate bolt head and two symmetrical locking lugs.
Two big differences come with the positioning of the locking lugs, which are positioned at the rear, contrary to other nation's designs that moved the locking surfaces forward to facilitate higher locking strength. The locking lugs being so close to the cocking piece allows for the bolt to have a very short throw distance, resulting in the capability of being operated rapidly. Additionally, the upper locking lug acts as a guide rib for the bolt as it moves back- or forwards, stabilising it and providing a smooth movement.
Another difference is the bolt stop, which is a large protrusion on the bolt head, catching on the right side of the receiver at the end of rearward travel. The Mk I model had initially used the bolt stop as the right side of the charger guides, but with it being a high wear part, this feature was abandoned in favour of the later seen charger bridge.
Magazine
James Paris Lee was one of the few forward-thinking minds of his age to propose the very modern concept of a detachable box magazine intended to be swapped in order to reload.
With production of such devices being rather complicated and expensive during the day, the concept was widely regarded as good, but too costly to implement. Nevertheless, Lee's magazine system got adopted by the British and even issued with a spare for emergency reloading.
The magazine itself is a double stack magazine, the one during the war that was paired with a rimmed cartridge, leading to a problem known as "rim lock", where the rim of one cartridge catches on the rim of another, preventing feeding and essentially rendering the action useless until resolved.
This problem was addressed by loading the chargers in a way that positioned the cartridges so that they wouldn't catch on each other, as well as having rounded rims on the cases themselves, allowing them to slide over one another easily.
With the magazine protruding quite far from the bottom of the rifle, concerns over damages where addressed by making the whole magazine broader than required, with the feed lips sitting in two ridges on either side making it possible for the magazine to take a certain degree of damage and indenting before use is impaired.
The biggest peculiarity of the magazine would be its cutoff. Ironically it was the navy that would cling to this feature, after pushing the empire to adopt a magazine rifle in the first place.
The function is very simple, a single sheet of metal that can either be swung into or out of the magazine, either preventing or allowing feeding from the magazine.
Volley Sights
Another interesting feature on the SMLE was the long range dial sight (Also known as "Volley" sight).
The idea was to have a very long range sight that allowed an entire unit to cover an area with bullets, disrupting enemy formations for example. Aimed shooting was nigh impossible.
The dial works quite intuitively, with the range setting moving the notch that acts as the handle as well into position, allowing the shooter to take aim through the aperture to the left of the safety lever on the rear of the receiver.
This feature would disappear in late 1915/early 1916 and not return, unlike the magazine cutoff. Despite this, occasionally rifles can be found with them either intact fully, or the dial plate not being removed.
Markings
Manufacturer, Date & Model
Where other nations for the most part put information like this on top of the receiver, the British put their "crest" below the closed bolt handle.
This stamp shows the British crown atop the Royal Cypher (G. R. for Georgius Rex - King George). Beneath you find the producer and assembly year, followed by the model designation and mark.
Position: Underneath closed bolt handle
Proof, Inspection & Ownership Marks
Small Markings that can be found on the receiver indicating a successful arsenal proofing and acceptance into service. The proof mark again bears the royal cypher beneath the crown as well as two crossed lances with a "P" for "proof". The inspection stamps are smaller and usually less legible, but uses the same symbols, except for the "P".
Government ownership was indicated via a broad arrow symbol.
Position: Receiver, Barrel, Various Small Parts
Serial Number
The serial number presents in the form of a letter/number code used on various parts of the rifle.
Positions: Receiver Either Side, Bolt Handle, Front Sight Bottom, Bayonet Lug
