Aussie Enfield No. 1 MK III Marked SHT LE III

Isher2000

September 27, 2013 17:51

I've noticed some Australian No. 1 MK III Lee Enfields marked SHT LE III on the butt stock socket. I thought the English used the SHT designation for rifles converted into .410 ga. "forage" guns. The Aussie guns are all still .303 rifles. The ones I've seen are all marked Lithgow as well. Why were these rifles marked SHT LE III?

Thanks

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  Tflogger

  September 28, 2013 04:19

  SHorT Lee Enfield?

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  SoreShoulder

  September 28, 2013 06:07

  Some of them were built with British-made actions. What arsenal does it say on the socket?

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  Isher2000

  September 28, 2013 08:47

  They have Lithgow in a shield stamped into the socket. I assumed this was the arsenal.

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  Isher2000

  September 28, 2013 09:43

  I did some more digging on the intenet today. Assuming that what I found was valid (two sourcs seemed to agree on all this) SHTLE was the early abbreviation used in England and in Australia for Short Magazine Lee Enfield. While the English changed this to SMLE at some point the Australians retained the SHTLE designation for as long as the made the No. 1 MK III* variants at the Lithgow arsenal in New South Wales. I hadn't realized that the Australians never adopted the No. 4 or No. 5 Enfields and continued to produce and use the No. 1 MK III* rifles into the Korean war. They then jumped straight to L1A1 FALs.

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  Isher2000

  September 28, 2013 09:47

  I almost forgot the connection of the SHTLE designation to rifles converted into .410 shotguns (single shot only) was an internet red herring. Many Enfields were converted to .410 by the military and commercialy. I'm guessing tha someone saw one built on a gun marked SHTLE and assumed that SHT was a reference to shotgun.

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  SoreShoulder

  September 28, 2013 17:32

  quote:Originally posted by Isher2000
  I did some more digging on the intenet today. Assuming that what I found was valid (two sourcs seemed to agree on all this) SHTLE was the early abbreviation used in England and in Australia for Short Magazine Lee Enfield. While the English changed this to SMLE at some point the Australians retained the SHTLE designation for as long as the made the No. 1 MK III* variants at the Lithgow arsenal in New South Wales. I hadn't realized that the Australians never adopted the No. 4 or No. 5 Enfields and continued to produce and use the No. 1 MK III* rifles into the Korean war. They then jumped straight to L1A1 FALs.
  I think they actually bought the tooling for the No.5 and built those for a while.

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