1947 No5 Mk1's unissued?

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deerslayer303

New member
Hello All,
I was cruising the net and ran across a thread on the Jungle Carbine it was quite interesting and the gentleman that posted in it seemed quite knowledgeable on these particular rifles. He made a statement that 1947 No.5's were unissued. Which just by the date makes sense I guess. But it got me to thinking about the rifle that I have. I have had no reason to ever believe that its not a true No.5. It has all the tell tales, etc and is dated 10/47. But the rifle looks EXTREMELY good. The furniture is beautiful as is the metal. The serial number stamped on the stock matches the receiver. And the bore looks fantastic, like new. SO, do I have an unissued Jungle Carbine? My rifle was drilled and tapped for a scope base by some knucklehead in the past ( an issue I'm looking to correct with a local gun smith) and it has a 300 / 600 flip peep rear sight. I have to find the correct rear sight for it. Thanks for any insight.
 
From my information, 1947 would have been the last year of production. Tooling and assembly was moved to India, since they were a colony of the Brit empire. Kept in storage as "war reserves" is possible to explain the condition of yours. The rear sight could be what they had on hand of spare parts by that time, or someone swapped it out for some unknown reason. http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/ would be a good site to find out more, find the Enfield page and select the #5 option. Someone their should be able to help, they like pics for reference. I have an unissued French MAS 49/56 that is dated on the barrel 1962, so it is possible.
 
I have two 1947s, both of them were issued.

They were used by British forces in WWII, as well as in Kenya, Malaya and Cyprus, so I don't see how large stocks would have remained unissued while the carbine was still in some level of service, as well as being provided to Colonial forces around the globe.
 
Perhaps the OP could post some pics of his rifle, it could have been refurbed at some point in time. We can assume and opine all day about old war rifles, and we still might never know the story of these rifles. I wish the OP luck in having a nice condition #5JC. Mine is dated from 1945, nice condition but far from pristine. :)
 
Here are a few pics.
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This thing is probably my favorite of all the old war horses I have. Its so light and handy. Its not a bench rest rifle but I have no problem putting them in a 4-5" group on a paper plate at 100 yards. I feel I may do better with the original type sight, I don't know. Heck it may make a trip to the woods this season. I want to get those holes in the receiver fixed too.
 
You've got a nice one. Do replace that sight with the original ladder 800-yard ladder sight, and fill the scope holes and touch up the finish there.
 
Mine is a Mar 1945 and hardly looked issued. The importer claimed it came from the Hong Kong Police.

There were plenty of rifles made during and after the war, that for whatever reason, were not issued. These things happened, some lots got stuck in the Armory of a base that was deactivated, then shipped to some central location, and forgotten about for decades.

What matters is the condition now. If it looks good, it is good.
 
I had thought about putting some plug screws in and filing them flat, then some cold blue or something. But I think you would still see them. I have talked to a local smith amd he says he can fix it. But he never elaborated how.
 
I would use the plug screws and call it good, put them in flush and anchor with loctite. File work will highlight bare metal that would need to be finished over, which means more work. I have heard of gunsmiths who will weld the holes and refinish, but that will get pricey. As someone stated and as you know already, the collector value has been reduced simply by the presence of those holes--------if you ever sell it to a collector. I suggest plug the holes as mentioned, for the cheapest solution, and then shoot that thing and enjoy it.
 
Thanks Shuvelrider, I will do just that. The ole rifle isn't going anywhere while I'm breathing. Maybe after I go on the wife will probably sell it for what I told her I paid for it. :D
 
1947 #5 Jungle Carbines were issued and used, but a number of them were never issued and were sold in brand new condition in the 1960's.
These were bought from the British and imported by Interarms.

I've seen several of these unissued carbines and many of them had "S" marked Short stocks.
Apparently, as the #5 was being discontinued there was no need for the Short stock models for British troops so they were never used.
 
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