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Pattern 1914 Enfield

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
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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.

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Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield - .303 UK
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Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield sniper variant fitted with telescopic sight - .303 UK
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Sporterized Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield - .303 UK
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M1917 Enfield - .30-06 Springfield

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
The Naked Prey Gert van den Bergh The 2nd Man 1966
Night of the Living Dead Posse member 1968
Oh! What a Lovely War American soldiers 1969
The Intervention (Interventsiya) Hold by statues 1969
The Omega Man Charlton Heston Col. Robert Neville 1971
March or Die American soldiers 1977
Dawn of the Dead Seen on a gun shelf 1978
Enter the Ninja Guards 1981
Come and See (Idi i smotri) SS soldiers, Soviet partisan 1985
Out of Africa Hunter Supposedly a sporterized Pattern 1914 in .303 British 1986
The Untouchables Royal Canadian Mounted Police 1987
Crocodile Dundee II Paul Hogan Michael J. 'Crocodile' Dundee 1988
Crocodile Dundee II Linda Kozlowski Sue Charlton 1988
Crocodile Dundee II Luis Guzmán Jose 1988
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 Roschdy Zem Messaoud 2006
Days of Glory Free French soldiers 2006
Assembly (Ji jie hao) Nationalist Chinese soldiers 2007
Intimate Enemies French soldiers 2007
Emden Men French soldiers 2012

Television

Show Title Actor Character Episode Date
Mission: Impossible - Season 2 Warren Stevens Karl de Groot Sporter model 1967
Dad's Army Arthur Lowe Captain George Mainwaring 1968-1977
Dad's Army John Le Mesurier Sergeant Arthur Wilson 1968-1977
Dad's Army Clive Dunn Lance Corporal Jack Jones 1968-1977
Dad's Army James Beck Private Joe Walker 1968-1977
Dad's Army Ian Lavender Private Frank Pike 1968-1977
Dad's Army John Laurie Private James Frazer 1968-1977
Anzacs American troops 1985
Police Rescue Australian New South Wales Police 1989-1996
Foyle's War - Season 2 Home Guard soldiers All episodes 2003
Foyle's War - Season 3 Tony Haygarth Leo Maccoby Carbine with sniper scope; "The French Drop" (S3E1) 2004
Foyle's War - Season 5 Home Guard soldiers "Casualties of War" (S5E2) 2007
Foyle's War - Season 6 Home Guard soldiers "Plan of Attack" (S6E1) 2008
Doctor Who (New Series) Hooverville citizens "Daleks in Manhattan" 2005 -
Boardwalk Empire Michael K. Williams "Chalky" White 2010-Present

Anime

Video Games

  • Forgotten Hope 2 (2005) (Both M1917 Enfield and scoped Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield)

See Also