Lee Enfield.303 No4 Mk2 Serial # UF 55 AXXXX I just bought one of these LE's from a friend who found it a few years ago in a store in Central VA 'mummified' in gauze and cosmoline. It came with a printed slip noting that it had been kept in storage in Ireland. It is in excellent condition. Look close at the strap and bolt#. I believe that serial number is prefix BG for 1945 not P G. You may have a poorly struck B on a BSA JC. Unfortunately one of the best persons knowledgeable in Enfields failed to see or comment on this rifle. Maybe PM message him and get his input: Alan De Enfield. He just made 2 recent additions yesterday. The volume of serial number inquiries has prompted me to fashion this page together and try and explain how best to identify a particular rifles manufacturer. Truth be known about Enfield serial numbers is simply, the serial number was used more for production counting than any other reason. Truth be known about Enfield serial numbers is simply, the serial number was used more for production counting than any other reason. For official references, usually the finished and issued rifle was tracked by its rack number and of course these records have long since been destroyed or lost forever.

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The Lee-Enfield No. 5 Mk. I 'Jungle Carbine'

By David Tong

Photo by David Tong.

The British Army had adopted the Rifle, No. 4 Mk. 1 in 1939. It was a simplifiedversion of the Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield rifle that served the Empire so wellin the first unpleasantness. It was a further simplification and cut down onboth material costs and machine time in its construction, much as the No. 1 Mk.III* had been to the original SMLE of 1907. With its heavier, free-floated,25.3” barrel and fine sights, it provided sterling service in open countryconflicts such as North Africa and parts of Western Europe.

In many ways, parallels can be drawn between the U.S. military’s current wholesaleadoption of the M4 Carbine and the British developing a shorter and lighterindividual weapon for urban or dense tropical combat conditions in WWII. Ratherthan developing an intermediate powered arm (the U.S. M1 Carbine that provedunimpressive in stopping power during WWII and Korea), the British took a moredirect route and simply downsized the standard service rifle.

Two factories were tasked with the production of the No. 5, the Royal Ordnance FactoryFazakerley, Liverpool and Birmingham Small Arms (BSA-Shirley). Fazakerley builtapproximately 170,000 of them, while BSA built about 87,000 in the three yearsof production from March 1944 through December 1947. While the No. 5 wasoriginally meant to be a standard-issue replacement for the No. 4, there weresome issues related to its construction techniques, as well as the increasedrecoil levels.

Rumorhas it that it was designed primarily for airborne use, rather than the SEAsian jungles, and indeed the No. 5 saw much use in Holland during the abortiveBattle of Arnhem, as well as on the Pacific islands. It did, however, servequite well during the “Malayan Emergency” of 1948-1960, a post-war conflictwith Chinese Communist insurgents over oil and rubber industry revenueimportant to Britain’s postwar economic recovery efforts, as Malaysia was partof the Commonwealth at the time.

Originally,the prototype modifications were carried out on the No. 4 receiver. Theseincluded additional machine cuts to the receiver. These can be seen in thedeletion of some of the metal below the rear sight, the bolt guide lug’scamming surface and along the right side below the stock line.

The barrel was reduced by 6.5” to a length of 18.7” and its contour was reduced.Still free-floating, it also had material removed from the exterior, known asthe “Knox form,” above the chamber area under the hand guard. These took theshape of one flat and several other concave milled cuts circumferentially.

The fore stock was shortened and narrowed, while the upper hand guard and band wereremoved. A combination flash hider, bayonet lug and front sight mount withprotective ears was secured to the barrel by press fitting and two cross pins, similarto what we did with the M16.

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The butt stock was shortened and more rounded in the wrist area. The wrist is muchmore rounded on top than my No. 4 and it is comfortable to wrap one’s thumbaround in a firing grip. However, this grip is not conducive to rapid boltmanipulation. One’s thumb might normally be placed straight behind the bolthandle to be able to cycle the bolt with a firm cheek weld. Probably, this madethe carbine a bunch more comfortable to be carried at the ready during patrols.Wood furniture was birch (most common), or the occasional walnut, although thelatter had been phased out during early No. 4 production.

A stamped steel and rubber butt was fixed to the stock by two screws at the heeland toe. This rubber pad does not provide recoil abatement, contrary to popularwisdom; it was supposed to be a non-skid surface to better locate the rifleduring shooting.

Specifications:

Type: Bolt-action carbine
Caliber: .303 British, Mark VII 174 grain FMJ
Overall Length: 39.5”
Barrel Length: 20.5” with flash hider
Weight: 7 lbs. 1 oz. with empty magazine
Magazine: Sheet steel detachable box, staggered column, 10 rounds
Rear Sight: Screw click adjustable ladder type graduated 200-800 yards, with standing battle aperture to 300 yards for coarse or rapid firing.
Front Sight: Windage adjustable; dovetail, thin-section flat-topped post.

Evidence suggests BSA-Shirley WWII date manufacture is preferable from a collector’sstandpoint, due to half as many produced than ROF Fazakerley. WWII productionnot as nicely manufactured as post-war. BSA Stock band, left butt socket willshow “M47C” markings (indicates BSA), while rear sight and elevation knob andfront sight are stamped “B”. Fazakerley will have “F” stampings in the sameplaces. Post war fore-stocks will have metal end caps installed to seal the endgrain from moisture. Genuine No. 5 carbines have ONLY four digit serialnumbers, with lettered prefixes. Serial numbers tend to be “electro-penciled”onto receiver and butt socket, while rear of bolt handle prefix and serial is stamped.

The 1945 BSA Jungle Carbine examined for this article was a bit rougher in bothappearance and function than my later 1954 No. 4 rifle. While action cycling was still pretty smooth compared to most of its erstwhilecompetition, it lacked that bit of polish compared to other L-E's I’ve handled.The bolt body appearsto be a casting, evidenced by mold marks on the drilled bolt knob, as well assome evident fine “pebbling” of the bolt’s cylindrical body itself.

The flash hider/front sight base is also a casting, also showing exterior moldmarks, as well as some pebbling within the cone. It adds approximately 2” tothe barrel length.

Despite their short stocks, the usual metal butt and lots of drop at comb, a standardEnfield rifle is quite a bit more pleasant to fire than a Springfield ’03,Mauser K98, or Moisin-Nagant 91, at least in my experience. This must be due toboth the lower operating pressure and subsequent nominal velocities of thecartridge itself.

All of the major power service cartridges of the time (.303 Br., .30-06, 8x57JS,7.7x58 Jap, 8mm Lebel, 7.62x54R) were overpowered for the close combatconditions encountered in most circumstances, though this extra power wasjustified for long range capability, as well as penetration.

Barrier penetration, whether it be buildings, light vehicles or foliage, is somethingat which the current varmint-class 5.56X45mm NATO, 5.45X39 Russian and 5.8mmChi-Com rounds do not excel. All lack sufficient momentum and sectional densityto get those jobs done, compared to those older, heavier, higher-recoilingrounds. This is apparently due to modern “firepower” tactics requiringautomatic capabilities. In addition, the short rifle or carbine is bestconfined to forest, jungle, urban, or vehicular settings, as it loseslong-range effectiveness in more open terrain.

A number of theories have been postulated about the “wandering zero” tendency ofsome No. 5 carbines. This might be because of wood stocks swelling (due