NZAR # 25 No 4 Mk I & Mk I* (Abridged some images removed)

NZART ID No:  25,  Arm Type:  Rifle,         Date of Draft 6/3/2012, Compiled by Phil Cregeen & John Osborne.

Pattern:  Lee Enfield No 4 Mk I & I *, Introduced into NZ Service 1942, Withdrawn 1962 to 2009 

Makers: Long Branch, Canada and Savage Stevens, USA.  ROFs Fazakerley & Maltby and BSA Shirley in the UK.

Details of Arm:

Calibre: .303 British,        Rifling: 2 or 5 grooves 1:10 LH Twist, Barrel Length: 25.18 in.

OA Length: 44.4 in. (1128 mm), Action: Bolt with 10 round detachable box magazine. Weight 8 Lb 10 oz, (3.9 Kg)

Sights, 300/600 flip over aperture  battle sight or a ladder aperture sight graduated 200-1300 yds. of  various marks.

Bayonet: (NZART #139)  Socket spike type- No 4 Mk I, II, II*, III, (WWII Production) and blade type - No 7 and No 9. (Post WW II)

Markings: Long Branch: NO 4 Mk I* LONG BRANCH 1942,  Serial No: xxLxxxx

               Savage: [S] No 4 Mk I*,  US PROPERTY,                Serial No: xxCxxxx

Fazakerly:            ROF(F) or FY or (F) or UF

Maltby:                ROFM or RM or M

BSA Shirley:        M47C or PS

No 4 Rifle

The .303” Lee Enfield No 4 Rifle was developed by RSAF Enfield in 1929 and underwent troop trials in the 1930s. Full scale production was approved in 1939 at the outbreak of WWII and commenced at the new ROFs Fazakerley and Maltby and supplemented by a new BSA plant at Shirley. The first war time No 4s did not become available until mid 1941.  At the request of the British Government No 4 Rifle production also took place at the Canadian Arsenal at Long Branch and the US firm of Savage-Stevens where production commenced in 1941.

 As production progressed economies were made to speed up production, the most significant feature being a simplified bolt release by means of a slot at the forward end of the bolt way instead of a catch at the rear,  this lead to the No 4 MK I* . The No 4  Mk I* was only manufactured in North America between 1942 and 44 at Savage and until 1950s at Long Branch. Many were made with 2 groove rifling instead of the normal 5.

Most Savage No 4 Mk I* were supplied as part of the lend lease agreement and are marked “US PROPERTY” on the top of the left receiver wall.

The No 4 first entered New Zealand service in 1942 on an ad hoc basis, being acquired by special units serving overseas and some Savage rifles were brought to New Zealand by American troops and issued to Home Guard. At the end of the war New Zealand acquired more surplus No 4s of various manufacture, later new manufacture Long Branch Mk I* rifles were supplied amounting to an estimated 50,000. By 1948 at the time of the Malaya emergency the No 4 was in wide use by the NZ Army and was the general service rifle at the time of the Korean War.  With the introduction of the L1A1 Self Loading Rifle in 1960, the No 4 was gradually phased out and relegated to war reserve stock.  In the 1970s reserve stocks were further reduced by supplying them to Pacific Island Nations and also sold on the local surplus market.  In 2009 the remaining stocks of a few hundred No 4s that had been on issue to the NZ Cadet Force as DP rifles were sold at a public auction in Lower Hutt.

Note: The most common No 4 now encountered in New Zealand is the Long Branch Mk I*, however from observation of rifles offered for sale in recent years Savage Mk I* represent about 1/6 of the stock.  1941 dated Long Branch No 4 Mk I have also been reported with NZ issue marks. British manufactured No 4s with NZ marks are almost non-existent, those found in country are most likely civilian surplus imports.

Acknowledgements:

Photographs:           Phil Cregeen

References:              Lee Enfield No 4 and No 5 Rifles by C R Stratton

                                SAIS No2 .303 Rifle No 4 by Ian Skennerton

                                The Lee Enfield No 4 Rifle in NZ by MS Evans ( NZAHAA Gazette Sept 2010)

                                The Lee Enfield by Ian Skennerton    

# 354 Enfield P 14 Mk I & I* (Abridged)

NZART ID No:  354,   Arm Type:  Rifle,        Date of Draft (V1) 4/7/2012,        Compiled by Phil Cregeen

Pattern:  Enfield P 14 Mk I & I* (No 3 Mk I & Mk I*) Introduced into NZ Service: 1916, Withdrawn: Post WWII 

Makers: UK: RSAF Enfield; Vickers Ltd; USA: Winchester Repeating Arms Co, New Haven; Remington Arms/Union Metallic Cartridge Co, Ilion NY; and Remington Arms Co, Eddystone, Pennsylvania.

Details of Arm:

Calibre: .303 British, Rifling: 5 grooves 1:10 in LH Twist,   Barrel Length: 26.0 in., OA Length: 46.25 in. (1175 mm),

Action: Bolt with 5 round fixed box magazine.   Weight:  9 Lb 6 oz (4.25 Kg),

Sights: blade foresight with protector, fixed aperture and tangent back sight with aperture in slide 200-1650 yds. , long range aperture and dial 1500-2600 yds.

Bayonet: (NZART  # 61)  Pattern 1913 Mk I LOA 21.9 in. Blade 17.0 in, MRD 15.5 mm, Scabbard 17.9 in.

Markings: Makers Initial on receiver ring and on RHS butt, serial No on receiver ring, NZ Issue marks.

     

  Pat. 14 Mk I (e) made by ERA with “Fat boy” stock

      

 Pat. 14 Mk I (w) made by Winchester

Originally developed at RSAF Enfield as the Pattern 1913 in a new .276 in calibre to replace the SMLE Mk III, a total of 1,251 rifles were manufactured in 1912/13 for troop trials.  This new rifle incorporated a Mauser style bolt action, a heavier barrel, an aperture sight with a longer radius and a one piece stock, the .276 cartridge provided a higher muzzle velocity and a flatter trajectory.

Britain’s declaration of war on Germany in 1914 made it impractical to introduce a new cartridge and so it was planned to produce the new rifle in .303 calibre.  Vickers Ltd were given an initial contract to manufacture 100,000 rifles and bayonets, however they were unable to meet this order due to other war work and only completed a few samples of the P 14.  Instead Britain turned to the USA to manufacture the P 14 as all British rifle factories were engaged in manufacturing SMLEs.

Contracts were placed in April 1915 and manufacture commenced at: Winchester Repeating Arms Co, New Haven, Connecticut; Remington Arms/Union Metallic Cartridge Co, Ilion, NY; and Remington Arms, Eddystone, Pennsylvania. The first rifles were delivered to England in May 1916. The various manufacturers may be identified by the makers initial on the receiver ring and components as follows: Winchester =W, Eddystone= ERA, Remington =RE, butts are stamped IW, IE, IR in a circle. The .303 Pattern 14 Mk I Rifle was approved in LOC 17798 dated 21 June 1916. It should be noted that parts are not readily interchangeable between the different manufacturers. Production figures for 1916 to 1917 are as follows: Winchester-235,448, Eddystone-604,941, Remington-403,126. In 1917 the factories switched to making this rifle in 30-06 for the US Army as the Model 1917 following the US entry into the war.

A number of small changes were introduced in the first year of production the most significant being a lengthening of the bolt front locking lug which resulted in an advance to Mk I* approved in LOC 18151 dated 21 December 1916. Bolts, barrels and receivers are marked with a *.  After the long range aperture sight was declared obsolete, they were removed from most rifles when being prepared for service in WWII.

The P 14 was not considered a front line rifle and was generally issued to rear echelon troops and used for training, however it did prove to be an accurate rifle and many were adapted for a sniper role. Winchester rifles were modified to include a fine adjustment screw to the rear sight and these rifles were designate Pattern 1914 Mk I (F) or Mk I*(F).  Later a total of 2,001 Winchester Mk I* (F) were set up with telescopic sights and detachable mount by the Periscope Prism Co of London, these sniper rifles were designated Pattern 1914 Mk I* W (T) (LOC 21674 dated 11 April 1918), however they were introduced too late for the 1914-18 war.

In 1926 in line with other rifles the P 14 was re-designate Rifle No3 Mk I*.  Between the wars the P14 languished in stores and many were exported to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India and other parts of the Empire. On the outbreak of WW II the P14 rifles were refurbished in UK factories and Mk Is upgraded to MK I*, this also included removing the long range dial and aperture sights, to what was termed the Weedon Repair Standard.  They were then issued to reserve and Home Guard units. Some were also fitted with telescopic sights and used as sniper rifles.

   

New Zealand service

When New Zealand ran short of rifles in WW I troops were sent to Europe unarmed and it is therefore probable that New Zealanders used the P 14 in training once they arrived in Britain and also as snipers on the Western Front.

From observed marking it would appear that New Zealand imported an unknown quantity of P 14s in March 1917, they are listed in New Zealand Army General Orders No 344 of December 1922 which detailed marking of arms for sale, and also in AGO 84/26 of March 1926, which listed their stores value at 4 pounds 4 shillings

.

In the early stages of WW II New Zealand Engineers were armed with P 14 rifles while training in New Zealand, but these were replaced by Lithgow SMLEs before going overseas in 1943.  They were also issued to RNZAF and Home Guard in New Zealand.

New Zealand P 14s were sold as surplus in the 1950s and 60s.

  

Marking    

      

Note: the NZ marking on the butt disk of the ERA rifle corresponds to that used prior to 1918 and it still retains its long range sights, while that on the Winchester rifle corresponds to WW II marking and this rifle has had the long range sight removed, suggesting WW II import to NZ.

                 

NZ Marked P 14 Rifles observed to date:

NZ Marked
Arm	NZ Marked	Maker	Dated	Serial No	Other marks
Pat 14	N^Z  14518	Winchester
Pat 14	N^Z  14681	ERA
Pat 14 Mk I	N^Z 3/17 /256	ERA		ERA 110707	3 HG 121
Pat 14 Mk I	N^Z 3/17/773	ERA		ERA 171380	3 HG 101
Pat 14 Mk I	N^Z  14936	Winchester		W 26763	WIG 159
Pat 14 Mk I* (T)	N^Z 3/17 /1957	Winchester
Pat 14 Mk I* (T)	N^Z	Winchester		W226421

Acknowledgements: John Osborne, Noel Taylor, Rod Woods, Phil Cregeen

Photographs:        Phil Cregeen & John Osborne

Reference:           1. SAIS #10 .303 Pattern 1914 Rifle & Sniper variants by I Skennerton

                           2. The Pattern 1914 & US Model 1917 rifles by C R Stratton

NZAR # 209 US M 1 Carbine (Abridged, some images removed)

NZART ID: 209,  Arm Type: Carbine,        Date of Draft:  23 November  2011,          Compiled by: Phil Cregeen

Pattern:  US Carbine, Cal. .30,  M 1.,         Introduced in to NZ Service WW II,                          Withdrawn ????

Maker:                 9  Main contractors and many sub contractors, see below

Calibre: .30,        Bore:  4 groove RH twist.             Barrel length: 18 in.

OA Length: 35.58 in.        Type of Action: Gas operated semi auto,  Weight: 5.5 Lb.   Magazine:  15 or 30 rounds,   

Sights: flip over 150/300 early models or ramp aperture graduated 100 to 300 with windage adjustment on later models. 

Bayonet M4 with M8A1 scabbard

This M1 carbine was manufactured by Inland Division of General Motors in May 1944 and is complete with 15 round magazine, bayonet lug, sling and oil bottle.  This late model has a rear sight adjustable for both elevation and windage. Makers name and date of manufacture is marked on the barrel behind the fore sight and maker and Serial No on the receiver behind the rear sight.

The M1 carbine was developed as a more effective personal weapon for rear echelon troops to replace the M1911 .45 cal Pistol.  The Pistol had an effective range of 25 yds which gave troops little chance when confronted with an enemy armed with a rifle or SMG, however a light carbine with a range of 300yds would give them a fighting chance. Experienced gained in the field lead to it being used by front line troops where a light handy weapon was required.

In August 1940 Winchester was asked to develop a suitable cartridge and this was achieved in six months.  Development of the carbine was put out to competition and after several rounds of testing the winning entry was one designed by David Marshall Williams working for Winchester.  A late comer to the competition Winchester produced their first prototype in just 13 days. The Winchester carbine was approved for production in October 1941, and contracts awarded to Inland Division of General Motors and Winchester for 336,698 and 350,000 carbines respectively

.

On Americas entry into the war the requirement for carbines increased drastically and contracts were awarded to a further 5 contractors: Rock-Ola, Quality Hardware & Machine Co., Irwin Pederson Arms Co., Underwood-Elliot-Fisher Co., Rochester Defense Corp. By the early 1943 the number of main contractors had been increased to 10 with many sub contractors.

As experience was gained in the field, improvements were made which included an adjustable rear sight, bayonet lug for M 4 Bayonet and improved safety catch.  Also a folding stock for paratroopers (M1A1) and in 1944 a selective fire version (M 2) with 30 round magazine was produced.

By the end of the war total production, 1942-45, was 6,117,827

Inland Division of General Motors                                            2,642,097

Winchester Repeating Arms Co.                                                 818,059

Underwood-Elliott-Fisher  Co.                                                   545,616

Saginaw Steering gear Division, GMC                                        517,212

National Postal Meter Co.                                                          413,017

Quality Hardware & Machine Co.                                              359,666

International Business Machines Corp                                         346,500

Standard Product Co.                                                                247,160

Rock-Ola Co                                                                             228,500

Between March 1944 and September 1945 22,506 M 1s, 2,104 M1A1s and 753 M2 were supplied to Britain under the Lend Lease agreement.

After the war most carbines were refurbished and over five million supplied to foreign governments in aid programmes.

New Zealand Service

New Zealand soldiers have been reported to have been armed with the M1 in various conflicts including in the Solomon Islands in WW II, Korea, Borneo and Vietnam. One member recalls seeing M1 Carbines in the armoury at Waiouru in the late 1970s.  If any readers have first-hand experience of using the M1 in the NZ military or photos of NZ soldiers armed with this carbine we would be pleased to hear from you.

 

Acknowledgements: Photos Phil Cregeen

References:         Carbine Handbook by P Wahl.

                                War Baby Comes Home-The US Caliber 30 Carbine by LL Ruth.

# 26 L1A1 SLR (Abridged)

Abridged

NZAR ID No:  26,   Arm Type:  Rifle,        Date of Draft (V2) 2/7/2012,        Compiled by Phil Cregeen

Pattern:  7.62 mm Self Loading Rifle, L1A1 (SLR),  Introduced into NZ Service: 1960, Withdrawn: 1987 to 1990s   

Makers: RSAF Enfield, BSA Guns (UK L1A1), SAF Lithgow (Australia L1A1), C.A.L. Long Branch (Canada C1), RFI-Ishapore (India 1A),  Fabrique Nationale (Belgium FAL)

Details of Arm:

Calibre: 7.62 mm NATO, Rifling: 6 groove RH Twist,   Barrel Length: 21.0in., OA Length: 45.0 in. (1143 mm),

 Action: Gas piston with 20 round detachable box magazine.   Weight:  9 Lb 9 oz, (4.34 Kg)

Sights: blade foresight, folding aperture back sight graduated to 600 metres.

Bayonet: (NZART  # 59)  L1A2, LOA 12 In., Blade 8 in.

Markings: “Rifle 7.62 mm L1 A1” on LHS of body, “AD 5901310” (serial No, 1^st two digits = year of manufacture) on RHS of body.

                                                            Typical NZ surplus SLR

As a consequence of the adoption of the 7.62 x 51mm cartridge by NATO in the early 1950s, Britain abandoned its development of the .280 calibre EM2 rifle and adopted the FAL (Fusil Automatique Legere) developed by the Belgium firm of FN (Fabrique Nationale) in 1949.  Initially a steering committee was set up comprising of members from Britain and Canada to plan trials and adaption of the rifle for manufacture under licence in these two countries and in 1954 Australia decided to adopt the FAL and joined this committee.

                                                                                                

In 1954 Britain ordered 5,000 FAL (designated X8E1 & X8E2) and Canada 2,000 FAL (designated EX1 & EX2) for evaluation and troop trials.  20 FALs were also sent to Australia.  The main difference between the two types of trials rifle was that the 2 variant had an optical sight. Initially the FN FALs supplied were selective fire but most of the trials rifles were modified by inserting a stop pin to make them semi automatic only.  As evaluation and troop trials were undertaken the factories prepared for local production, first converting all metric measurements to inches and then designing various modifications deemed necessary by the Commonwealth countries. The object being that parts manufactured at each factory should be interchangeable with those from another Commonwealth factory, however those made in India are not interchangeable as their rifles were “reverse engineered” from both inch L1A1 and metric FAL.

Production of the new rifle got under way in Britain and Canada in 1955 and Canada issue the first C1 rifles in October 1956, Britain commenced full scale production at Enfield and BSA in March 1957 and Australia followed in October 1958. Lithgow deliveries of L1A1 commenced in March 1959. Ishapore production commenced in 1963

New Zealand Service

New Zealand decided to adopt the L1A1 in September 1958 and ordered 15,000 from SAF Lithgow.  The first batch for New Zealand were manufactured in 1959 and delivered in 1960 with the order finally completed in 1965.  In addition to the Army the RNZN and RNAF also adopted the L1A1. It remained the main service issue arm until replaced by the Styer Aug commencing in 1988, however, in the latter part of this period combat troops were armed with M16A1. In 1987 a batch of 2,500 were withdrawn and offered for sale locally by tender, however subsequent sales were to overseas buyers and many surplus rifles were destroyed by orders of the government in the 1990s.

In service the carrying handle was frequently removed, it was issued with Trilux optical sight to some troops. There were a number of variations of furniture including black plastic and laminated wood.

                                                  

New Zealanders are believed to have first used the SLR in 1957 serving in Malaya, where they were supplied by troop trials X8E1/5 FALs by the British army.  In Vietnam NZ troops carried the L1A1, occasionally fitting the 30 round L2A1  or Bren L4 magazine for extra fire power, while the SAS favoured a homemade forward pistol grip.     

The first 1,000 rifles received in 1959/60 were marked NZ on the body above the magazine, but this practice was discontinued.

   

Acknowledgements and thanks to:         Shawn Conaghan, John Osborne, Noel Taylor, Kevin Adams, Blue Thomas,

Rod Woods

References:         UK & Commonwealth FALs by R. Blake Stevens

                                S.L.R. Australia’s FN FAL by I. Skennerton and D. Balmer

Four Information Pages published today

# 26 Self Loading Rifle L1A1

# 69 Lanchester SMG

# 118 Sterling Mk 5

# 209 US M1 Carbine

# 146 Ross M 1910 Mk III (Abridged)

Abridged-some images removed

NZART ID No:  146,   Arm Type:  Rifle,        Date of Draft (V1) 10/7/2012,        Compiled by Phil Cregeen

Pattern:  Ross M 1910 Mk III & MK IIIB, Introduced into NZ Service: 1916, Withdrawn: Post WWII 

Makers: Ross Rifle Co, Quebec, Canada

 Details of Arm:

Calibre: .303 British, Rifling: 4 groove 1:10 in LH Twist, Barrel Length: 30.5 in., OA Length: 50.5 in. Weight:  9 Lb 14 oz

Action: Straight pull bolt with 5 round fixed box magazine.  

Sights: blade foresight with protector, aperture tangent back sight with windage adjustment, 400 yd fixed battle sight and long range sight, front of the slide graduated 1-12 and the side 0-9.

Bayonet: (NZART  # 55)  Pattern Ross Mk II Length OA 14.7 in (373mm), Blade 10.0 in (254mm), MRD 16.5 mm, Scabbard 11.2 in (284mm). Wooden grips secured by two screws, Brown leather scabbard with integral frog, steel locket and internal chape.

Markings: MK III: serial no and date plus code letters on RHS butt, MK IIIB: serial No on receiver ring prefix B, NZ Issue marks.

Ross M 1910 Mk III manufactured 1915 Canadian issue

The Ross came about as a result of a desire by the Canadian Government to manufacture their own arms following the Boer War.  Britain refused to allow the Lee Enfield to be made in Canada and so they turned to Sir Charles Ross, who offered his newly designed straight pull rifle as a suitable alternative and set up a factory in Quebec in 1902. The first military rifle Mk I commenced production in1903 and then went through a number of improvements resulting in the Mk III in 1910.

The Ross Mk III is a straight- pull, bolt action rifle, with a charger loaded 5 round magazine, made in Quebec by the Ross Rifle Co. for the Canadian armed forces.  It has a 30.5 in barrel in .303 British calibre, with four groove LH twist 1 turn in 10 in. The stock is one piece with a top hand-guard to the lower band. The rear sight incorporates an aperture with windage adjustment, a 400 yd open battle sight and a long range sight, the blade fore-sight is fitted with a hooped protector.  The safety catch is a flip over type on the bolt and to the left of the receiver is a combined cut-off and bolt release change lever. The rifle weighs 9 lb 14 oz and has an overall length of 50.5 in

        

The rifle featured here was manufactured in 1915 by the Ross Rifle Company of Quebec (serial number and year stamped on the butt), it was completed sometime after August that year (from the letter E stamped on the barrel denoting chamber enlarged to accommodate the British manufactured Mk VII 303 cartridge).  It was sent to the western front with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (butt stamped CEF over 18).

On the western front the Canadian troops experienced problems with the Ross, its complex bolt mechanism suffered in the mud of the trenches and it was prone to jamming, to such an extent that the soldiers lost confidence in their rifle and picked up SMLEs at any opportunity.  Much of the jamming was later attributed to differences in head space between Canadian and British manufactured ammunition and also poor manufacturing tolerance of the chambers, which lead to the enlarged chambers mentioned above. Another problem of the Ross was that if the bolt was assembled incorrectly it would not lock and would blow back on firing, causing injury to the shooter. After three months of Canadian combat experience the C in C, Field Marshal Sir John French ordered the Canadians to exchange their Ross Rifles for SMLEs. However it was retained as a sniper rifle, as it was found to be more accurate than the Lee Enfield out to 600 yds.

  

The Ross Mk IIIB was introduced in LOC 17690 dated 21 October 1915. Having ordered 100,000 Ross Rifles Mk IIIB from Canada to augment the British rifle production, but only actually receiving 66,590 before cancelling the order, Britain retained a further 95,000 of Mk III rifles in exchange for the SMLEs supplied to the CEF.  The Ross rifles were used by the British to arm second line forces and some were supplied to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, (this one marked RM on butt plate). A quantity of these rifles were supplied to the Chilean navy as ships equipment in 1920 when the Battle ship HMS Canada and 3 Faulkner class destroyers were sold to Chile, these rifles are marked with a DA prefix number. The Ross Mk IIIB was declared obsolete by LOC 24632 dated 15 November 1921.

New Zealand Service: 

When NZ home based military arms supplies ran out in 1915-16 NZ land forces travelled to Europe unarmed, when they arrived they were issued with small arms and ammunition, B Company, Wellington Infantry Battalion were issued with .303” Ross M 1910 MKIII rifles & bayonets. One of them Private Alfred Hugh Dillon MM, served as a sniper.  He was awarded the Military Medal (MM) for gallantry at Bon Avis Ridge over the period 29 September – 3 October 1918 while acting as Battalion Observer.

300 Ross Rifles were issued to the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, which became the RNZN in 1941.

Ross rifles and bayonets were used by the Home Guard in WWII. They were sold as surplus in the 1970s.

To date no NZ marked Ross rifles have been observed, however a number of DA prefix ex-Chilean rifles were imported by the trade in the 1970s.

Acknowledgements:       Photo:  Phil Cregeen , John Osborne & Terry Wilson

References:                         The Ross Rifle Story by R Phillips, F Dupuis & J Chadwick

More Information Pages published today

# 146 Ross M 1910 Mk III

# 189 Sterling Mk 4 SMG

# 347 Sten Mk II SMG
# 348 Sten Mk III SMG
# 354 Pattern 14 Enfield

NZAR # 63 Martini Enfield Rifle MK I,

This is an abridged version (some images removed)of: 

NZART ID No: 63,   Arm Type:  Rifle,  Date of Draft (V2) 15/7/2012, Compiled by John Osborne & Phil Cregeen

Pattern:  Martini Enfield Rifle MK I, Introduced into NZ Service: 1898, Withdrawn: Post WWII 

Makers:  (Conversion) RSAF Enfield, BSA, LSA, HRB

 Details of Arm:

Calibre: .303 British, Rifling: 5 grooves 1:10 in LH Twist,   Barrel Length: 30.2in., OA Length: 46.25 in. (1180 mm),

 Action: Martini tilting block, single shot.   Weight:  8 Lb 5 oz, (3.6 Kg)

Sights: Barleycorn on fixed block foresight, leaf back sight graduated 600 to1800 yds., bed 200 to 500 yds.

Bayonet: (NZART  # 156)  Pattern 1895 socket, Length OA 25.0 in (635 mm), Blade 21.5 in (546mm), MRD 16.9 mm,

Scabbard 22.0 in (559mm)

Markings: Makers name and date as Martini Henry on RH action body, conversion on LHS of body, NZ Issue marks on top of receiver body.

.

                                                    Martini Enfield Rifle Mk I, NZ No 2341 (^/NSZ/98)  

The Martini Enfield Mk I was a conversion of the Martini Henry Mk III rifle and was approved in LOC 8118 dated 4 October 1895.  The conversion comprised of fitting a new .303 barrel, breech block, extractor and a top hand guard, other parts were Martini Henry altered as required with the addition of Lee Metford barrel bands, swivels and cleaning rod. The Pattern 1895 bayonet was a conversion of the Martini Henry Pattern1876 bayonet, but fitted underneath the barrel instead of on the RHS.

Conversions commenced at RSAF Enfield in 1895 and continued until 1903 by which time 48,610 conversions had been completed at this factory.

New Zealand Service

 The first consignment of Martini Enfield rifles arrived in New Zealand in 1898(a) and are so marked.  Initially these rifles equipped troops in the North Island while those in the South Island retained the Martini Henry(b). Further supplies of Martini Enfield Rifles were received in 1899 although by this time the Volunteer forces had increased in numbers due to the Boer War and there were still not enough rifles to equip all troops.

By 1901 the Martini Enfield rifles on issue were being called in and replaced by Magazine Lee Enfields, they were then supplied to rifle clubs©. This change of arms had been completed by 1903(d).  By 1907 about 2,400 Martini Enfield Rifles had been sold to Defence Rifle Clubs(e).

In 1910 a thousand Martini Enfield Rifles were converted to carbine by local armourers to augment supplies of carbines for the Senior Cadet Force(f). The example below has a 1912 dated barrel, so this work may have been spread over several years.                             

A return of arms for 1913 showed 1,124 ME Rifles on issue to Senior Cadets, 2,515 ME Carbines (including converted rifles) on issue to Cadets and  2,607 ME Rifles sold to Defence Rifle Clubs.(g)

Martini Enfield Rifles saw service with the Home Guard during WW II.

Acknowledgements and special thanks to:            Graham Priest, Phil Cregeen, Harvey Wells, Grant Sherriff, Otago Daily Times, Osborne Arms

Museum.

References:                                                             SAIS No 15 .450 & .303 Martini Rifles and Carbines I Skennerton

                                                                                A Treatise on the British Military Martini -the .40 & .303 Martinis By B A Templeton & ID Skennerton.

                                                                                AJHR-H 19 (a)1898, (b)1899,(c)1901,(d)1903,(e)1907,(f)1910,(g)1913.

                                                                                NZAHAA Gazette September 2009 –The NZ Martini Enfield Carbine for Cadets by Noel Taylor         

Latest Information Pages

Here are the latest information pages to be published:

# 63 Martini Enfield Rifle Mk I

# 67 Lee Enfield No 8 .22 Training Rifle

# 68 Lee Enfield No 9 .22 Training Rifle

# 189 SMLE Mk IV* .22 Training Rifle

# 344 Pistol OP Mk I .455 with 5inch barrel

These Pistols were in New Zealand service between WWI and WW 2, we would be pleased to hear from any one who can provide information or photographs of which service personnel they were actually issued to.