March 18, 2008    

Enfield-Stuff
            A web site about Lee-Enfield rifles and the men who carried them.
     
 
 
 
Enfield Smallbore (.22 Rimfire) Trainers
  
 

I didn't pay any attention to the .22 trainers until I stumbled upon one that was regimentally marked.  I took it out to the range - and discovered that it was a LOT of fun to shoot.  Next thing I knew I was chasing regimentally marked trainers...and along the way I discovered that there were quite a few variations of rifles and marks, spread among three distinct families.  A few notes:

As early as 1883 the British Army was experimenting with ways to adapt service rifles to accommodate the .22 rimfire round for marksmanship practice.  After the adoption of the Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle in 1902, there was a need for a training rifle to conform as closely as possible to the new SMLE configuration.  The simplest (and cheapest) solution was simply to rebuild older rifles into a new pattern of .22 rimfire trainers, a practice that continued until 1944, when the first purpose built .22 trainer - the Canadian No.7 - was adopted for service.  A brief review of the SMLE family of trainers:

.22 SHORT RIFLE MK III
Approved 9th August 1912 (LoC 16291) for Land Service, this rifle was made up from Converted Mk II and Mk II* SMLE rifles (which were themselves either "long" Lee-Metford or "long" Lee-Enfields converted to "short" Lees). About 11,000 conversions were done by BSA, LSA and RSAF Enfield.

.22 RF PATTERN 1914 SHORT RIFLE No. 1
A wartime trainer approved 24th May 1915 (LoC 17320) for Land Service, this rifle was also made up from Converted Mk II and Mk II* SMLE rifles (see above) by boring out the .303 barrel and inserting a .22 caliber liner inside the barrel.   Conversions were done by A.G. Parker & Co. Ltd. and Wesley Richards & Co. About 427 conversions reported.

.22 RF PATTERN 1914 SHORT RIFLE No. 2
Approved 28th April 1916 (LoC 17755) for Land Service, this is the first rifle made from up from an original SMLE Mk III.  Again, the .303 barrel was bored out and a .22 caliber liner inserted.   Conversions were done by A.G. Parker & Co. Ltd. and Wesley Richards & Co. Some 1,743 conversions reported.

.22 RF SHORT RIFLE PATTERN 1918
Approved 10th July 1918 (LoC 21675) for Land Service, this rifle is unique in that it used a dummy .303 cartridge as a holder or conveyor for the .22 rimfire cartridge. The .22 barrel liner was soldered into place after the chamber. About 975 conversions done by W.W. Greener Co.

.22 SHORT RIFLE Mk IV
Approved 19th November 1921 (LoC 24909) for Land Service, this rifle starts out with a used SMLE Mk III or Mk III* (like the 1914 Short Rifle No. 2, above) but uses a solid, not tubed, barrel. Total number of conversions done by RSAF Enfield unknown.

RIFLE No.2 Mk IV*
Same rifle as above; just a change in nomenclature adopted in 1926. This rifle was the principal trainer for the next thirty years and was widely produced by in Britain, Australia and India.  Issued in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and India, a variety of issue and ownership marks can be found on these rifles. At least 30,000 conversions made by the various factories.

The next grouping consists of trainers from the Rifle No.4 family of rifles:

RIFLE C No.7 Mk I
The first Enfield built from the ground up as a .22 trainer and not as a conversion or retro-fitting of an earlier rifle - albeit built on a No.4 body and intended to mirror the Rifle No.4 as closely as possible.  About 20,000 made at Longbranch, Ontario 1944 - 1950's. Unknown number of wooden transit chests also produced.

RIFLE No.7 Mk I
Although a No.7 Mk I, the British version is very different from it's Canadian counterpart (above). This rifle was a conversion of an existing No.4 and is interesting in that a BSA five-round commercial .22 magazine was welded into a SMLE Mk III* magazine to produce the only Enfield .22 repeater.  These rifles were a special contract and produced exclusively for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1948. Total production 2,500.

RIFLE No.8 Mk I
An interesting hybrid, a .22 caliber trainer intended to be also be used in smallbore rifle competitions, this rifle was introduced in the late 1940's. About 15,000 produced at Fazakerley. Another 2,000 were produced by BSA Shirley in the 1950's specifically for New Zealand.

RIFLE No.9 Mk I
The last of the .22's, these are No.4 rifles sleeved in a manner similar to the WWI Pattern 1914 Short Rifle No. 1 (above).  The work was done by Parker Hale in Birmingham 1956 - 1960.  3,000 rifles made specifically for the Royal Navy.


This list is not all-inclusive.   The Long Lee family of .22 trainers is not included, nor are any of the .22 trials rifles.  For books and other reference materials on these and related topics, pop over to the Tools section of the website.