The Lee-Enfield Rifle (Weapon Book 17)

The Lee-Enfield is one of the 20th century's most recognisable and longest-serving military rifles. It was adopted by the British Army in 1895 and only replaced by the L1A1 SLR in 1957. It saw combat from the Boer War onwards, and thousands are still in use today; it is estimated that 17 million have been produced.

The Lee-Enfield featured an innovative detachable ten-round magazine; this large capacity, together with the weapon's revolutionary bolt-action operation, made it possible for well-drilled shooters to fire 20 to 30 rounds in 60 seconds (the 'mad minute'). This extraordinary speed gave rise to mistaken German reports of being opposed by massed machine guns in 1914. The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE), introduced in 1903, set a new precedent in military rifles, being neither a carbine nor a full-length rifle but an ingenious compromise that was soon copied by other countries.

The Lee-Enfield equipped British, Commonwealth and other forces throughout the world wars and well into the 1960s, giving excellent service in every kind of terrain and weather. Soldier's recollections of the rifle are overwhelmingly affectionate (it was known as the Smellie); today it remains a very popular target rifle for competitive shooting, and modern copies are being manufactured to meet demand.

Featuring first-hand accounts, brand-new full-colour artwork and close-up photographs, many in colour, this is the story of the Lee-Enfield, the innovative, reliable and long-lived rifle that equipped British and other forces through the world wars and beyond.

More of the Royal Armouries Firearms collection can be found here Centrefire bolt-action magazine military rifle - Lee Enfield Mk.I, sealed pattern (made 1895) - Royal Armouries collections

• Publisher: ‎ Osprey Publishing; First Edition (January 24, 2012)
• Language: ‎ English
• Paperback ‏
• 80 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 1849087881
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1849087889
• Item Weight: ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions: ‎ 7.25 x 0.3 x 9.75 inches

About the author;

Martin Pegler was curator of firearms at the Royal Armouries for twenty years and during his career shoot almost every historic and current sniping rifle. He is the author of a dozen books about firearms, but specialises in the development sniper and technology of sniping.