A Lee-Enfield No.8 Rifle with late FTR (Factory Thorough Repair) marking
Captain Peter Laidler, retired Senior Armourer of the Warminster Small Arms School Corps, said of the rifles so marked.
These markings were not unusual in service life but I've never seen one outside the UK military. There was a big programme to refurbish about 400 or more No.8 rifles after the completion of the L39 and 42 programme at Enfield. Enfield had a large stockpile of No.8 spare parts, including barrels and bolts, taken into store from the closure of The Royal Ordnance Factory at Fazakerley. Enfield were well supplied with the parts standard to the usual No.4 of course. You will often see these 1971 and 72 FTR'd No.8's with B.S.A. marked parts too, especially barrels. This is because when the B.S.A. No.8 production contract finished (ca.1953) they kept the remaining parts in their store UNTIL it became known that BSA were also making No.8 rifles for New Zealand (those with the "DA" serial number prefix) contrary to their contract. This was put down to '......an oversight'. As a result of this, and to prevent BSA making more No8's or supplying spare parts, they were ordered to forward their remaining stocks of spare parts to Fazakerley. When ROF Fazakerly closed, the stock was transferred to Enfield and subsequently used in the post '71 FTR programme. Really, this was a timed programme to help keep the Enfield factory occupied.
There are still school Combined Cadet Force and county Air Cadet Force units with No.8 rifles, but now that they are no longer maintained at military expense, their days are numbered. Perhaps these are the real LAST Enfields."
A Lee-Enfield No.8 Rifle with late FTR (Factory Thorough Repair) marking
Captain Peter Laidler, retired Senior Armourer of the Warminster Small Arms School Corps, said of the rifles so marked.
These markings were not unusual in service life but I've never seen one outside the UK military. There was a big programme to refurbish about 400 or more No.8 rifles after the completion of the L39 and 42 programme at Enfield. Enfield had a large stockpile of No.8 spare parts, including barrels and bolts, taken into store from the closure of The Royal Ordnance Factory at Fazakerley. Enfield were well supplied with the parts standard to the usual No.4 of course. You will often see these 1971 and 72 FTR'd No.8's with B.S.A. marked parts too, especially barrels. This is because when the B.S.A. No.8 production contract finished (ca.1953) they kept the remaining parts in their store UNTIL it became known that BSA were also making No.8 rifles for New Zealand (those with the "DA" serial number prefix) contrary to their contract. This was put down to '......an oversight'. As a result of this, and to prevent BSA making more No8's or supplying spare parts, they were ordered to forward their remaining stocks of spare parts to Fazakerley. When ROF Fazakerly closed, the stock was transferred to Enfield and subsequently used in the post '71 FTR programme. Really, this was a timed programme to help keep the Enfield factory occupied.
Above; the marking " .22NO8MKI " is followed by the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield's character of the superimposed letters "D" and "E", and the Twentieth Century two-figure year representing the 1971 refurbishment.
Similar markings are also to be found on many L39A1 target Lee-Enfields, and the Palma Match /Envoys and other contemporary rifles produced at RSAF Enfield when .303" calibre rifles were being replaced by, and refurbished for, the 7.62mm NATO cartridge.
The butt-socket above had already been stamped at the time of inclusion of the No.5 casting of the action body in the assembly of the No.8 rifle in 1950.
The observant viewer will have noted that the butt-socket has been struck twice. Inept stamping would occasionally leave a second light mark by a stamp bouncing on the ironwork, and whilst this may have occurred with the part number stamp "CR 394" (CR is a prefix standing for Carbine or Rifle). This was not the case for the date stamp.
The BSA Shirley factory code "M 47 C" is stamped beneath the part number.
What is unusual is that, although the year date has also been twice stamped, itwas patently not as a double-bounce. The year 1951 has been clearly added separately. We can only assume that, perhaps, assembly commenced in 1950 but was not completed until the following year, requiring an update, but without the first date being barred-out. There are obviously alternative explanations, but "Yer pays yer money, and takes yer choice" on that score.
The part number on the butt socket has oft been mistakenly quoted as a rifle's serial number - surprisingly even in military circles.
In the same way as the action body, the magazine-way filler base-plate under the rifle is stamped as part number "CR345". (see previous images on this page).
Above; this rifle has been fitted with the Parker-Hale PH5C rear target sight that mounts with a machine-screw low into the side of the body, and a long shanked bolt that passes through the pivot holes freed up by removal of the standard folding leaf-sight.
Beneath the rear-sight mounting plate, just forward of the safety-catch, can just be seen the bottom of a counter-bored threaded hole that passes through into the curved centre of the bolt-way. This hole is to be found only on the No.5 based actions converted for the No.8 rifle, and is usually blanked off with a small cheese-headed machine screw. No, we can not presently advise what it was intended for. Perhaps you can tell us?
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