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Pattern 1914 Enfield
The M1917 American Enfield was the ultimate development of a rifle that originally began as a replacement for the SMLE in British Army service. It is a Mauser-type action with 2 forward locking lugs, an external non-rotating claw extractor, and a staggered-column box magazine contained entirely within the stock. It can be easily identified by the prominent metal "ears" that protect both the front sight and the receiver-mounted rear sight.
Development
During the Second Boer War (1899-1902), the British Army found that the SMLE rifle chambered in .303 was severely outclassed by the M1895 Mauser rifles used by the Boer forces. The high velocity and flat trajectory of the 7x57mm Mauser cartridge proved much more accurate and powerful at long range than the British .303 MKIII cartridge, giving the Boers a decisive advantage in the open veldt of South Africa. Attempts to upgrade the Lee-Enfield design proved unsuccessful due to its rear-mounted locking lugs, and in 1910 the Small Arms Committee issued a requirement for a Mauser-type rifle with front-locking lugs, single-piece stock, and small-caliber cartridge. In 1911 the Royal Small Arms Factory produced a modified cock-on-closing Mauser-type design, which was adopted for testing in 1913 as: Rifle, Magazine, Enfield, .276-inch, colloquially known as the Pattern 13.
Pattern 13
The new rifle featured a Mauser-type cock-on-closing action with front locking lugs, non-rotating claw extractor, and a staggered 5-round box magazine contained within the one-piece stock. The bolt handle had a distinctive "dogleg" shape, bringing it down and back toward the operator's hand. A 2-position thumb safety was located on the right side behind the bolt handle. The rifle had a 26" barrel, with a protected front sight, and aperture rear sight with flip-up elevation ladder mounted on the receiver bridge, which gave the rifle an extremely long sight radius. It was chambered in a new 7mm cartridge specifically developed for the rifle, the .276 Enfield, which propelled a 165gr bullet at 2,800fps. The rifle was not popular with troops, who reported excessive muzzle blast, overheating, and rifling wear.
Pattern 14
When World War I began, it was determined that it would be impractical to convert the British Army to a new rifle and cartridge, and development of the .276 Enfield was forgotten. Production of the rifle in Britain was also impossible, as all available facilities were cranking out SMLE MkIII's. However, it was decided that the rifle could be re-chambered in .303 without altering the basic design. Thus the design became: Rifle, .303 Pattern 1914. The British government then contracted out production of the Pattern 14 to Winchester Repeating Arms and Remington Arms in the United States. From 1915-1917 1,235,298 rifles were produced by Winchester, Remington, and Remington's subsidiary Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. The rifle's length and weight made it unpopular with regular troops, who found it difficult to wield in the close-range combat of trench fighting. It was, however, popular with snipers, where its barrel length, long sight radius, and weight made it more accurate than the SMLE.
M1917
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the M1903 Springfield was the standard-issue battle rifle of the US Army and US Marine Corps. However, only 840,000 had been produced, and the United States desperately needed an alternative to arm the American Expeditionary Force. The Pattern 14 rifle, then in production for the British Army, was found to be easily converted to the US .30-06 service cartridge. All production of the P14 was ceased, and Winchester, Remington, and Eddystone began manufacturing the new U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1917. From 1917-1918, 2,193,429 rifles were produced, far outnumbering M1903 production. By the end of the war, roughly 75% of the American Expeditionary Force was armed with the M1917. Like the British troops, American soldiers disliked the rifle for its length and weight; with its 17" bayonet it was usually taller than the man carrying it.
Specifications
- Weight: P13: 8lb. 11 oz. (3.9kg); P14: 9 lb. 6 oz.(4.25kg); M1917: 9 lb. 3oz.(4.17kg)
- Length: 3 ft. 10.25 in. (1175 mm)
- Barrel length: 26.0 in (660 mm)
- Cartridge: .276 Enfield; .303 MKIII; .30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm)
- Action: Modified Mauser turn bolt
- Muzzle velocity: 2,785 ft/s(848.9m/s); 2380 ft/s (725.6m/s); 2700 ft/s (823 m/s)
- Feed system: P13, P14: 5-round box magazine; M1917: 6-round box magazine
The M1917 Enfield rifle and variants can be seen in the following:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Went the Day Well? | British Home Guard/German Paratroopers | 1942 | ||
| The 317th Platoon | Laotian troops | 1965 | ||
| Night of the Living Dead | Posse member | 1968 | ||
| Oh! What a Lovely War | American soldiers | 1969 | ||
| The Omega Man | Charlton Heston | Col. Robert Neville | 1971 | |
| Dawn of the Dead | Seen on a gun shelf | 1978 | ||
| Enter the Ninja | Guards | 1981 | ||
| Out of Africa | Hunter | Supposedly a sporterized Pattern 1914 in .303 British | 1986 | |
| The Untouchables | Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 1987 | ||
| Richard III | Richmond's soldiers | 1995 | ||
| Spawn | U.S. honor guard soldiers | 1997 | ||
| The Lost Battalion | Rick Schroder | Major Charles Whittlesey | 2001 | |
| The Lost Battalion | André Vippolis | Pvt. Lipasti | 2001 | |
| The Lost Battalion | Rhys Thomas Miles | Pvt. Bob Yoder | 2001 | |
| The Lost Battalion | Arthur Kremer | Pvt. Abraham Krotoshinsky | 2001 | |
| The Lost Battalion | Daniel Caltagirone | Pvt. Phillip Cepeglia | 2001 | |
| The Lost Battalion | Michael Goldstrom | Pvt. Jacob Rosen | 2001 | |
| The Lost Battalion | US Army soldiers | 2001 | ||
| King Kong | U.S. Army soldiers | 2005 | ||
| Days of Glory | French soldiers | 2006 | ||
| Assembly (Ji jie hao) | Nationalist Chinese soldiers | 2007 |
Television
- Michael K. Williams as "Chalky" White in Boardwalk Empire (2010-Present)
- Australian New South Wales Police in Police Rescue (1989-1996)
- American troops in Anzacs (1985)
- Arthur Lowe as Captain George Mainwaring in Dad's Army (1968-1977)
- John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in Dad's Army (1968-1977)
- Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jack Jones in Dad's Army (1968-1977)
- James Beck as Private Joe Walker in Dad's Army (1968-1977)
- Ian Lavender as Private Frank Pike in Dad's Army (1968-1977)
- John Laurie as Private James Frazer in Dad's Army (1968-1977)
Anime
Video Games
- Forgotten Hope 2 (2005) (Both M1917 Enfield and scoped Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield)
See Also
- Royal Small Arms Factory - A list of weapons produced by RSAF Enfield