Editing Lee–Enfield (section)

==Lee–Enfield conversions and training models==

===Sniper rifles===
[[File:Sergeant H.A. Marshall of the Sniper Section, The Calgary Highlanders.jpg|thumb|Canadian [[sniper]] [[Harold Marshall (Canadian sniper)|Sergeant Harold Marshall]] carries a No. 4 Mk. I (T) chambered in .303 British]]
[[File:L42A1-Large.png|thumb|L42A1 sniper rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO]]

During both World Wars and the Korean War, Lee–Enfield rifles were modified for use as [[sniper rifle]]s. The [[Australian Army]] modified 1,612{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=345}} Lithgow SMLE No. 1 Mk. III* rifles by adding a heavy target barrel, cheek-piece, and a World War I era Pattern 1918 telescope, creating the ''SMLE No. 1 Mk. III* (HT)''. (HT standing for "heavy barrel, telescopic sight),{{sfn|Wilson|2007a}} which saw service in the Second World War, Korea, and Malaya and was used for sniper training through to the late 1970s.{{sfn|Skennerton|2004a|p=36}}

During the Second World War, standard No. 4 rifles, selected for their accuracy during factory tests, were modified by the addition of a wooden cheek rising-piece, and telescopic sight mounts designed to accept a No. 32 3.5× telescopic sight.{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=227}} The telescopic sight had a field of view of 8 degrees 20 minutes and featured a [[telescopic sight#Bullet drop compensation|bullet drop compensation]] range drum on top of the sight graduated in {{convert|50|yd|m|1}} increments from 0 to {{convert|1000|yd|m|0}}. Side adjustments in 2 [[Minute and second of arc#Firearms|MOA]] increments were made by the drum mounted at the side of the sight. These rifles were designated as the No. 4 Mk. I (T). The accuracy requirement was ability to place seven of seven shots in a {{convert|5|in|cm|1}} circle at {{convert|200|yd|m|0}} and six of seven shots in a {{convert|10|in|cm|1}} circle at {{convert|400|yd|m|0}}. The wooden cheek-piece was attached with two screws. The rear "battle sight" was ground off to make room to attach the No. 32 telescope sight to the left side of the receiver. Each No. 32 and its bracket (mount) were matched and serial numbered to a specific rifle.<ref name=mk4>{{cite journal|last1=Keefe |first1=Mark A. IV |year=2007 |title=British Lee–Enfield No. 4 (T) Sniper Rifle |journal=[[American Rifleman]] |issue=August |pages=88 }}</ref>

In British service, the No. 32 telescope progressed through three marks with the Mk. I introduced in 1942, the Mk. II in 1943 which offered side adjustments in finer 1 MOA increments, and finally the Mk. III (Mk. 3) in 1944 which had an improved field of view of 8 degrees 30 minutes.<ref>[http://www.nzha.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/The-Lee-Enfield-Rifle-Major-E-G-B-Reynolds-19601.pdf The Lee-Enfield Rifle, London, Reading and Fakenham,Cox and Wyman Limited, 1960, Major E. G. B. Reynold, p. 170-172]</ref> A transitional model the No. 32 Mk. 2/1 was also made. The Canadian scopes made by Research Enterprises Limited and were prefixed with a letter ''C'' and went through C No. 32 Mk. I, Mk. I A (a transitional model), Mk. II and Mk. 3. Many Mk. 3s and Mk. 2/1s (Mk. 2s Modified to Mk. 3 standard) were later modified for use with the 7.62×51mm NATO [[L42A1]] sniper rifle. They were then known by the designation ''Telescope Straight, Sighting L1A1''.

Initial production was 1,403 conversions of 1931–1933 troop trials No. 4 Mk. I rifles at RSAF Enfield and a few others including Stevens-Savage No. 4s. These were converted in late 1941 and into the later part of 1942. Then, the work was assigned to [[Holland & Holland]], the famous British sporting gun manufacturers, which converted about 23,000 No. 4 Mk. I (T) and No. 4 Mk. I* (T) sniper rifles. The Holland & Holland conversions usually have the contractor code "S51" on the underside of the buttstock. BSA Shirley undertook 100 conversions to .22". James Purdey and Sons fitted special buttstocks later in the war. About 3,000 rifles, mostly Stevens-Savage, appear to have been partially converted by Holland & Holland but never received brackets, scopes of the final "T" mark. Canada converted about 1,588 rifles at Small Arms Limited (to the end of 1945) and, in 1946, at Canadian Arsenals Limited. 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]]''.{{sfn|Skennerton|1994b|p=7}} The L42A1 sniper rifle continued as the British Army's standard sniper weapon being phased out by 1993, and replaced by [[Accuracy International Arctic Warfare|Accuracy International's L96]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amstevens.fsnet.co.uk/Inforeq.htm |title=Enfield Enforcer |publisher=Amstevens.fsnet.co.uk |access-date=28 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224132052/http://www.amstevens.fsnet.co.uk/Inforeq.htm |archive-date=24 February 2009}}</ref>

===.22 training rifles===
{{main|No.8 rifle}}
Numbers of Lee–Enfield rifles were converted to [[.22 calibre]] training rifles,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_small-bore_training_rifles.html |title=Lee–Enfield and other Training Rifles and Associated Equipment in .22RF and other miniature calibres |publisher=N.R.A.(U.K.) - Historic Arms Resource Centre |access-date=14 February 2012}}</ref> in order to teach cadets and new recruits the various aspects of shooting, firearms safety, and marksmanship at a markedly reduced cost per round. Initially, rifles were converted from obsolete magazine Lee–Metford and magazine Lee–Enfield rifles<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_RF_Short_Mks_1_and_2.htm |title=Lee–Enfield Rifle RF Short Mks.I and II (II) |publisher=N.R.A.(U.K.) - Historic Arms Resource Centre |access-date=14 February 2012 |archive-date=21 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121011955/http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_RF_Short_Mks_1_and_2.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|pp=481–483}} but from the First World War onwards SMLE rifles were used instead. These were known as ''.22 Pattern 1914 short rifles''<ref>{{cite web|author=SHOT Backwards Design Company |url=http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_.22RF_Pattern_14.html |title=Lee–Enfield Rifle .22RF Pattern 14 |publisher=N.R.A.(U.K.) - Historic Arms Resource Centre |access-date=14 February 2012}}</ref> during The First World War and ''Rifle, No. 2 Mk. IV''<ref>[http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_No.2.html]{{dead link|date=February 2012}}</ref> from 1921 onwards.{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=484–489}} They were generally single-shot affairs, originally using Morris tubes chambered for the cheap .22L cartridge and some larger types, circa 1907. Some were later modified with special adaptors to enable magazine loading. In 1914, Enfield produced complete .22 barrels and bolts specifically for converting .303 units, and these soon became the most common conversion. A five-round .22 cal Parker-Hiscock magazine was also developed and in service for a relatively short period during the later period of the First World War, but was subsequently withdrawn from issue due to reliability problems with its quite complicated loading and feeding mechanisms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_Pattern_18_303cum22.htm |title=Lee–Enfield Pattern 18 – ".303 cum .22" (II) |publisher=N.R.A.(U.K.) - Historic Arms Resource Centre |access-date=14 February 2012 |archive-date=11 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211081353/http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_Pattern_18_303cum22.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=484,488}} No. 2 Mk. IV rifles are externally identical to .303 calibre SMLE Mk III* rifles, the only difference being the .22 calibre barrel, empty magazine case, bolthead and extractor which have been modified to fire .22 calibre rimfire cartridges.{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=489}}

After the Second World War, the ''Rifle, No. 7'', ''[[No.8 rifle|Rifle, No. 8]]'' and ''Rifle, No. 9'', all .22 rimfire trainers and target rifles based on the Lee action, were adopted or in use with cadet units and target shooters throughout the Commonwealth, the No.8 as of 2017 has been replaced among cadet forces due to obsolescence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_small-bore_training_rifles.html |title=Lee–Enfield and other Training Rifles and Associated Equipment |publisher=N.R.A.(U.K.) - Historic Arms Resource Centre |access-date=14 February 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=504–509}}

In Britain, a .22RF version of the No.5 rifle was prototyped by BSA and trialled with a view to it becoming the British Service training rifle when the .303" CF No.5 was initially mooted as being a potential replacement for the No.4 rifle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_No.5.html |title=Lee–Enfield Rifle No.5 .22RF |publisher=N.R.A.(U.K.) - Historic Arms Resource Centre |access-date=14 February 2012}}</ref>

The ''C No.7 22" MK.I rifle'' is a .22 single-shot, manually fed, training version of the No.4 Mk I* rifle manufactured at Long Branch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_No.7-C.html |title=The Lee–Enfield Rifle C. No.7 (Canadian) |publisher=N.R.A.(U.K.) - Historic Arms Resource Centre |access-date=14 February 2012}}</ref> Production of this model was 1944–1946 and a few in 1950 to 1953.<ref>{{cite web |author=Badger |url=http://www.milsurps.com/content.php?r=152-1944-C-No.7-.22-Caliber-Lee-Enfield-Training-Rifle|title=1944 C No.7 .22 Caliber Lee-Enfield Training Rifle |website=www.milsurps.com}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2021}}

===Muskets and shotguns===
Conversion of rifles to smoothbore guns was carried out in several locations, at various times, for varying reasons.

SAF Lithgow, in Australia, produced shotguns based on the MkIII action under the "Slazenger" name, chambering the common commercial .410 shotgun shell.{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=379}} Commercial gunsmiths in Australia and Britain converted both MkIII and No. 4 rifles to .410 shotguns. These conversions were prompted by firearms legislation that made possession of a rifle chambered in a military cartridge both difficult and expensive. Smoothbore shotguns could be legally held with far less trouble.

RFI, in India, converted a large number of MkIII rifles to single-shot muskets, chambered for the .410 Indian musket cartridge. These conversions were for issue to police and prison guards, to provide a firearm with a much-reduced power and range in comparison to the .303 cartridge. A further likely consideration was the difficulty of obtaining replacement ammunition in the event of the rifle's theft or the carrier's desertion.

While British and Australian conversions were to the standard commercially available .410 shotgun cartridge (though of varying chamber lengths) the Indian conversions have been the source of considerable confusion. The Indian conversions were originally chambered for the .410 Indian musket cartridge, which is based on the .303 British cartridge, and will not chamber the common .410 shotgun cartridge. Many of these muskets were rechambered, after being sold as surplus, and can now be used with commercially available ammunition. Unmodified muskets require handloading of ammunition, as the .410 Indian Musket cartridge was not commercially distributed and does not appear to have been manufactured since the 1950s.

Numerous attempts have been made to convert the various single-shot .410 shotgun models to a bolt-action repeating model by removing the wooden magazine plug and replacing it with a standard 10-round SMLE magazine. None of these is known to have been successful,{{sfn|Griffiths|1998}} though some owners have adapted three-round magazines for Savage and Stevens shotguns to function in a converted SMLE shotgun, or even placing such a magazine inside a gutted SMLE magazine.

===Civilian conversions and variants===
From the late 1940s, legislation in New South Wales, Australia, heavily restricted .303 British calibre (and other "military calibre") rifles,{{sfn|Enright|1998}} so large numbers of SMLEs were converted to "wildcat" calibres such as [[.303/25]], [[.303/22]], .303/270 and the popular [[7.7×54mm]] round.{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=351}} 303/25 calibre sporterised SMLEs are very common in Australia today, although ammunition for them has been very scarce since the 1980s.{{sfn|Enright|1998}} 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 British.{{sfn|Enright|1998}} Post-Second World War, SAF Lithgow converted a number of SMLE rifles to commercial sporting rifles- notably the .22 Hornet model- under the "Slazenger" brand.{{sfn|Skennerton|2007|p=549}}

In the early 1950s Essential Agencies Ltd. (E.A.L.), of Toronto, Ontario, produced a run of several thousand survival rifles based on the No. 4 action, but lightened and shortened, chambered in .303 British. Serial numbers below 6000 were for civilian sale, serial numbers 6000 and higher were built under contract to the Canadian government. The Royal Canadian Air Force also used these as a survival rifle in the remote parts of Canada.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

===L59A1 Drill Rifle===
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2017}}
The L59A1 was a conversion of the No. 4 rifle (all marks) to a [[drill purpose rifle]] that was incapable of being restored to a firing configuration. It was introduced in service in the 1970s. A conversion specification of No. 1 rifles to L59A2 drill purpose was also prepared but was abandoned due to the greater difficulty of machining involved and the negligible numbers still in the hands of cadet units.

The L59A1 arose from British government concerns over the vulnerability of the Army Cadet Force and school [[Combined Cadet Force]]s' (CCF) stocks of small arms to theft by terrorists, in particular the [[Irish Republican Army]] following raids on CCF armouries in the 1950s and 1960s. Previous conversions to drill purpose (DP) of otherwise serviceable rifles were<ref>{{cite web |last1=HARC |title=Reference Site |url=http://Www.rifleman.org.uk/L59A2_Drill_Purpose_Rifle.html |website=Www.rifleman.org.uk |publisher=Rifleman.org.uk}}</ref> not considered to be sufficiently incapable of restoration to fireable state and were a potential source of reconversion spares.

L59A1 drill rifles were rendered incapable of being fired, and of being restored to a fireable form, by extensive modifications that included the welding of the barrel to the receiver, modifications to the receiver that removed the supporting structures for the bolt's locking lugs and blocking the installation of an unaltered bolt, the removal of the striker's tip, the blocking of the striker's hole in the bolt head and the removal of most of the bolt body's locking lugs. Most bolts were copper plated for identification. A plug was welded in place forward of the chamber, and a window was cut in the side of the barrel. The stock and fore end were marked with broad white painted bands (often with red bands, and also rarely seen blue bands or stripes) and the letters ''DP'' for easy identification.