Cut Down Lee Enfield

[m3bobby]

That photos already posted on page 2. ;-)

[lithgow]

Hello-a film under production in Aust. about miners and ye olde fashion explosive mining in WW1 shows them being armed with cut down Lee Enfields for possible use in counter mining fights in the tunnels-revolvers were officers weapons not freely available to ORs and modifing what ever was available is a long tradition for such industrial workers, also remembering they were tough bastards not concerned much with 'higher authority'. Held with both hands at arms length it would have been better than nothing.

[lithgow]

PS-all the weapons used in the first 'Star Wars' film were slightly modified firearms-Mauser C96 pistols, Stirling SMGs, MG42s even a Lewis Gun- nothing looks more like a gun than a real gun, especially when you have a limited budget but have the resources of British studios available.

[davejb]

Having read all the replies for this thread ive come to the conclusion that this would not have been a practical weapon. Having fired many lee enfields of most mks all have a kick like a mule,especially the mk5 which although purpose built was not popular with the troops that used them, i believe the weapon shown was used as a training aid for troops new on the front line, possibly to show close up the workings of the breach and magazine in order that the recruit could identify problems that could occur in the field. i too used the skeleton training aid in the army cadets and true this was a cutaway but similar in appearance.As for the reference regarding star wars, the armourer i believe was Simon Atherton who i have seen make blank firing weapons for film and tv and even construct new futuristic versions . As for the comments concerning the mine workers, due to the restrictive confines they worked in , fighting in close quarters was mainly done with pistols and trench knives or bayonets, there are photos of a mine unit that are pictured outside there entrance and nearly all have pistols of different variations, these pictures are on view at a small cafe come museum on the Somme not far from an immense crater caused by the detonation of one such mine, bearing in mind that firearms were a last resort due to the clandestine nature of their work.

[norham]

I met a Heer solder about 30 years ago. He related a tale where he and a friend were entering a secure village in Russia.

As they passed two old babushkas, one of the old ladies turned and shot his friend in the back with a cut down rifle such as this. Resulting in two dead old women and a severely injured German.

I know, different war and time....

[m3bobby]

i believe the weapon shown was used as a training aid for troops new on the front line, possibly to show close up the workings of the breach and magazine in order that the recruit could identify problems that could occur in the field. i too used the skeleton training aid in the army cadets and true this was a cutaway but similar in appearance..

I never thought of a training aid, SKN actions didn't exist in the first war so this is a real possability. Ref. The Mk5, I take it you mean the No.5 'jungle carbine' and the not the No1 MkV which is a lovely weapon.

Cheers, Chris.

[davejb]

Yes , sorry its too bloody early to think clearly especially when youve done two hard days on stage in a show, according to my uncle who was out in Burma the nr 5 was a pig and wasnt very accurate but i suppose thats just his opinion.He was a miserable old sod in his old age and i guess when he was younger as well.

[bigkev]

Probably a salvage job by someone who had nothing better, such as a Resistance fighter, as others have noted.

One would hold it in the left hand with trigger held down, and fire by pumping the bolt with the right hand until the 10-round mag was empty. Not accurate, but a quick 10-round burst might do the trick in some circumstances.

That would not work with the Lee Enfield action. In order for the bolt striker to actually be cocked back to deliver the striking blow it has to be engaged by the sear, which in turn is rendered totally useless by the trigger being depressed. The manner in which you suggested is only possible on revolvers, where the hammer actuates the cylinder rotation and is returned under pressure by the hammer spring. Sorry, but it just can't happen.

On the cocking piece part of this. The No.1 Mk.III's being produced by Lithgow (Australia) late in the war had the same ribbed cocking piece, I am fairly sure that some of the late build Enfields did too, but I would have to do a bit more research on that. The Aussie ones did for sure have it though.

[emileverbunt]

Hi all,

I recall seeing these cut down Lee actions on an assault course in The Netherlands in 1967. These actions were attached to stakes placed in pits and were loaded with blanks. A cord was attached to the trigger.

When an unsuspecting conscript was nearing the pit, the shot was fired. Hightening the general festive mood for the instructors.

It only worked once, since reloading was the task of the same conscripts.

The fun actually was shooting the green balloons that kept popping up on the course . Was real good for reaction training.

I enjoyed it very much.

Cheers,
Emile

[copdoc]

Interesting topic. I have seen "whippits" used for a lot of things. I heard of a young group of banditos using a cut down Carcano to open pay phones. You would wonder why they did not get killed doing it.

The Brits had a model 1915 rifled mortar that used a cut down Lee Enfield to launch a projectile. I have seen the drawing many times but would like to see an actual mortar if any of you guys have a pic. It was supposed to have a bayonet lock to attach the rifle to the mortat

One ref for the drawing and description, Mortars, Ian Hogg