Sorry Futo! I didn't read the whole post!
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF LEE-ENFIELD RIFLES
The "Enfield" in Lee-Enfield refers to the town of Enfield on the northern outskirts of London, where a government arms works was established in 1804 to assemble "Brown Bess" flintlock muskets. The first rifle to bear the Enfield name was the Enfield Rifle of 1853.
The "Lee" in Lee-Enfield is James Paris Lee (1831-1904), a (Scottish-born) American arms inventor who designed, among other things, the box magazine that allowed for the development of bolt-action repeating rifles.
Another important name is that of William Ellis Metford (1824-1899), an English civil engineer who was instrumental in perfecting the .30 caliber jacketed bullet and barrel rifling to accommodate it. A brief biographical sketch of Metford is included in a Metford family history. Further information is available from a descendant Michel Adam Metford Platt .)
The first British bolt-action magazine rifle was developed through trials beginning in 1879, with adoption of the Magazine Rifle Mark I in December 1888. This rifle is commonly referred to as the "Lee-Metford," or "Magazine Lee-Metford" (MLM). In November 1895, changes in the rifling and the sights were made to accommodate smokeless powder cartridges, and the new rifle was designated the Lee-Enfield Magazine Rifle Mark I, or in common parlance, the "Magazine Lee-Enfield" (MLE). Since the MLM and MLE were 49.5 inches long overall, they are often referred to as "Long Lees." Cavalry carbines were also made, with overall lengths of 39.9 inches.
Beginning in 1901, trials were conducted at RSAF Enfield on a shortened rifle, 44.5 inches in length, to replace both the long rifle and the carbine. These trials resulted in the adoption in December 1902 of the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle Mark I, or SMLE. The Mark I and Mark III models of SMLEs were newly manufactured rifles, while the Mark II and Mark IV models were conversions from MLMs and MLEs.
Recognizing the value of sub-caliber rifles for training purposes, the British War Office approved .22 caliber conversions of Lee-Enfields right from the beginning, such conversions being accomplished either by inserting a tube, or sleeve, in the barrel or by refitting the action body with a new .22 caliber barrel. A significant number of MLMs, MLEs, and SMLEs were so converted, yielding the SMLE Aiming Tube Rifle Mk I and .22 Short Rifles and .22 Long Rifles in various Marks. (The terms "short" and "long" here refer to the length of the rifle--not the length of the cartridge.)
In 1910, the British War Office decided a new service rifle was needed with a one-piece stock and an aperture, or "peep," sight mounted on the receiver. Trials began, and in 1916 the new rifle was adopted as the Pattern 1914 Enfield Rifle (P-14), although production of SMLE rifles continued. Also in 1910, interest developed in an aperature sight for the SMLE, but little was done until after WWI. In 1921 trials of such a rifle began, leading to the development of Mk V and Mk VI trials rifles in the 1920s.
In 1926, the British government changed the nomenclature of its rifles, redesignating the .30 caliber SMLE as the No. 1 Rifle, the .22 caliber conversion of the SMLE as the No. 2 Rifle, and the P-14 Enfield as the No. 3 Rifle. Purists will distinguish between earlier SMLE rifles and later No. 1 rifles, but for all practical purposes "SMLE" and "No. 1 Rifle" are alternate names for the same weapon.
In mid-1931, the No. 1 Mk VI rifle was redesignated the No. 4 Mk 1 Rifle, and after further trials the No. 4 Rifle Mark I was approved in November 1939. A "Jungle Carbine" version of the No. 4 rifle was approved in September 1944 as the No. 5 M k I Rifle. In Australia and India, however, manufacture of the No. 1 rifle continued, with many improvements being implemented. Manufacture continued well into the '50s in Australia and into the '60s in India, with over one million No. 1 rifles being used by Australian and Indian troops in WWII and in later conflicts. In August 1945, a "Jungle Carbine" version of the No. 1 rifle was approved in Australia as the No. 6 Mk I Rifle.
In the years following WWII, various .22 caliber training rifles were developed and designated the No. 7 Rifle, the No. 8 Rifle, and the No. 9 Rifle.
In the 1950s, a number of No. 4 rifles were converted to the 7.62mm NATO cartridge and designated L8 rifles, L39A1 rifles, the 7.62mm Enfield Envoy, and the L42 sniper rifle.
In the 1960s, Ishapore brought out a 7.62mm version of the No. 1 Mk III* rifle, which was designated Rifle 7.62mm 2A. And finally, a number of special purpose Lee-Enfields were developed over the years, including fencing rifles, skeletonized rifles, drill purpose rifles, grenade launching rifles, various "sniper rifle" configurations with telescopic sights, and "dummy" training rifles.
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The above was copied from:
http://www.uidaho.edu/~stratton/en-page.html
They have more info, including some good books on the subject.
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Beginner barbarians probably had the idea that every house they broke into would be full of untouched loot and frightened, unarmed victims. It just doesn't work that way, my friend.
I hope these evil men come to understand our peaceful ways soon - My trigger finger is blistering!
