Lee–Enfield

The Lee–Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that was the primary firearm for the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth through the first half of the 20th century. It served as the British Armed Forces' standard service rifle from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957. A redesign of the earlier Lee–Metford (adopted in 1888), the Lee–Enfield replaced both that rifle and the older Martini–Henry and Martini–Enfield models. It used a ten-round box magazine loaded manually from the top with the .303 British cartridge, either one round at a time or via five-round chargers. This rifle was the standard-issue weapon for rifle companies in the British Army, colonial forces (such as those in India and parts of Africa), and other Commonwealth nations—including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada—during both World Wars. Although officially replaced in the United Kingdom by the L1A1 SLR in 1957, it remained in widespread British service until the early to mid-1960s, and the 7.62 mm L42A1 sniper variant stayed in use until the 1990s. As a standard-issue infantry rifle, it is still found in service with some Commonwealth armed forces, notably the Bangladesh Police, making it the second longest-serving military bolt-action rifle still officially in use, after the Mosin–Nagant (whose receivers are used in the Finnish 7.62 Tkiv 85). Total production of all Lee–Enfields is estimated at over 17 million rifles.

The rifle takes its name from the designer of its bolt system, James Paris Lee, and the location where its rifling design was created, the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield. The Lee–Enfield was derived from the earlier Lee–Metford, a mechanically similar black-powder rifle that combined Lee's rear-locking bolt system with rifling designed by William Ellis Metford. The bolt has a relatively short throw and features rear-mounted lugs, with the bolt handle positioned just behind the trigger in a comfortable ergonomic spot close to the operator's hand. The action uses helical locking surfaces, technically called interrupted threading, meaning the final headspace is achieved only when the bolt handle is fully turned down.