Wednesday Dec 19th, 1917
Reveille 6. Lovely day, warm and sun shining. Sports in afternoon. Rifle inspection afternoon. Should have sailed at 4 o’clock. Warned for submarine guard.
The Lee Enfield Rifle
Frank recorded his rifle number as V5439. It would have been a Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) and probably Mark III* (simplified design for easier manufacture from 1916). Its bolt action was designed by an American, James Paris Lee and it was manufactured at the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield. The SMLE was one of the most successful rifles ever developed and used extensively until the mid-1950s in Britain and the Commonwealth
A sword bayonet could be attached to support close-hand combat. This was longer than standard to compensate for the shorter length of the rifle itself. Provided the firing mechanism was well-maintained Lee Enfield rifles were reliable in dirty and wet conditions – useful in the trench warfare of the First World War.
The SMLE used .303 cartridges and had a 10 bullet magazine that could be filled with individual cartridges or two five-round chargers. A good rifleman could fire 12 to 15 shots a minute. The current record is 38 on-target shots and was set in 1914.
The troops were issued with rifle pull throughs (see image) as part of their standard kit. Attaching a piece of fabric through the loop, they would pull it through the rifle barrel. Its cleaning was an important daily activity.
The Lee Enfield in action¹:
References and further reading
¹ Britishmuzzleloaders homepage on Youtube & copyright holder for this video
Lee-Enfield rifles in Wikipedia
Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk 1 in Commons Wikimedia
Lee-Enfield rifles in History Learning Site
‘Life at the front in 14 objects‘ Imperial War Museum
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