Useful Sources of Information on Enfield Rifles
The quickest and easiest way to find information about Enfield rifles is of course on-line, but beware, much of what you will find is myths and legend.
There are some places that are a bit more reliable than others such as rifleman.org.uk, and you could always join one of the many forums that have sections dedicated to Enfield rifles such as Milsurps.
One excellent online series is C&Rsenal's Small Arms of World War 1 Primer No 46 on Youtube, which has a huge amount of information in it.
Another is British Muzzleloaders Musketry of 1914 (parts 1 and 2) which even features one of PQ's historical targets.
And we mustn't forget Forgotten Weapons which has all kinds of interesting stuff.
For Aussie rifles the best source of information is the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum website.
The biggest problem is that so many people don't do their research properly, they rely on stuff that someone else has written, and often it is wrong. The only way to get it right is to go hunting for the original manuals and paperwork and find out for yourself. Don't rely on others.
But the best source of information is one of the many books on the subject such as:
- Major E.G.B. Reynolds - The Lee-Enfield Rifle.
- Ian Skennerton - The Lee Enfield.
- Ian Skennerton - Small Arms Identification Series. Which is a series of 24 separate booklets.
- Musketry Regulations 1909 Part 1. THE definitive manual for the SMLE.
The Naval & Military Press has one of the best selections of reprints of old books.
There are many older books and manuals which you can still sometimes find on eBay or old bookshops.
Being long out of copyright, some of these are available as PDF files. Currently we have:
Sniping In France by Maj H. Hesketh-Pritchard
Instructions to Armourers 1931 S.A.I.D. Which is a complete and full sized set of original schematics of the SMLE.
We also have the schematic for the Mark iv standard issue bicycle, if anybody wants them we shall put them up. One day we will find the book in PDF, but it is available as a reprint from the Naval & Military Press mentioned above (no schematics though).
Others to follow.
If you can add to the list then send me an email
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