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SERIAL NUMBERS...
 Earlier
SMLE and previous MLM & MLE rifles & carbines initially had the action body
batches allocated a letter, before the serial numbers were stamped (to 9999 in
each series). These commenced with no letter, then progressed A thru' Z, often
nominated for different contractors, RSAF Enfield, RSAF Sparkbrook, BSA Co., LSA
Co., and the peddled scheme during WW1. It is interesting that different rifle
and carbine Marks recommenced with the no letter and A-Z series with each new
model, so it is possible to find carbines/rifles of different Mark designations
with the same serial number. This is a reason that upon unit issue, serial nos.
were not recorded, rather that rack numbers were assigned and stamped on the
butt or butt-plate tang. On some rifles, particularly the SMLE, these unit or
rack issue numbers were stamped on the top of the action body as well, e.g.
in Aussie service '3.M.D.' (3rd Military District) '10381' (the Military
District or unit rack no.)
On MLM, MLE and earlier SMLE rifles, the batch letter will be noted sometimes
above or below the serial no. because the serial number was stamped later in
production and stamped on the body and breech bolt too. Serial nos. stamped on
the nosecap boss, fore-end, underside of the rearsight leaf, &c. was done at
Base Ordnance Depots and by armourers to keep together components original to
particular rifles during maintenenace and repair. This also applied, to a
certain degree, to No.4 and No.5 rifles, particularly to the fore-end and later
extended to the magazine case as well. For the SMLE, we usually find serial nos.
stamped on magazine cases only on Indian issue rifles.
Recording of serial
numbers for Enfield muskets, .577 Sniders and .450 & .303 Martini
rifles & carbines is essential for your own records (insurance, registers,
&c.) however the numbers stamped on the butt or even on action bodies
are rarely the firearm's serial number. Rack or issue numbers were stamped on
the right side of the butt, or marking disk (.303 arms only), on the butt-plate tang (Sniders & Enfields only) and occasionally on the action body
itself, usually atop the receiver ring. While rack or issue numbers help identification, they are not the firearm's serial
number.
Until 1st January 1925, the master number of a firearm
was that on the barrel rather than the action body. On Sniders and Martinis, the
serial number is not visible and removing a fore-end to see the number on the
barrel or front inside of the body can damage wood furniture, especially if
the securing pin (a la M.H. Mk I & II, M.M. & M.E. too) has rust on it. M.H. serial numbers are found on the inside right, front of
the body while .303 conversion numbers used the left side. So as to match
critical parts, serial number was also stamped under the rear
sight leaf (and fore-ends, nosecaps, bolts, of Lee-Enfields too).
You may find serial numbers easily by lifting up the backsight leaf, more
convenient than removing the fore-end, IF that leaf is original to the firearm.
serial
nos. for .577 Sniders and .450 & .303 Martini
rifles & carbines is required for your own records (insurance, registers,
&c.) but numbers stamped on the butt or even action bodies
are rarely a firearm's serial number. Rack or issue numbers were marked on
the right side of the butt, or marking disk (.303 arms only), on the
buttplate tang (Sniders & Enfields only) and occasionally on the action body
itself, usually atop the receiver ring. While rack or issue numbers help identification, they are not the firearm's serial
number.
Until 1st January 1925, the master number of a firearm
was that on the barrel rather than the action body. On Sniders and Martinis, the
serial number is not visible; removing a fore-end to see the number on the
barrel or front inside of the body may damage furniture, especially if
the securing pin (a la M.H. Mk I & II, M.M. & M.E. too) has rust on it.
M.H. serial numbers are found on the inside right, front of
the body while .303 conversion numbers used the left side. So as to match
critical parts, serial number was also stamped under the rear
sight leaf (and fore-ends, nosecaps, bolts, of Lee-Enfields too).
You may find serial numbers easily by lifting up the backsight leaf, more
convenient than removing the fore-end, IF that leaf is original to the firearm.
No.4 and No.5 rifle serial numbers can readily identify manufacturers. British No.4 rifles have five numbers, usually after one or two
letter prefixes. The same letter prefix(es) were used by Maltby, Fazakerley & BSA
Shirley, A to Z then AA, AB to AZ, then BA to BZ, CA to CZ &c. Maltby
rifle serial numbers commence with a number '1', Fazakerley with a '2' and Shirley with
a '3', e.g. 1xxxx for Maltby, 2xxxx for Fazakerley and for Shirley,
3xxxx, after the letter prefix.
Late Shirley numbers then supposedly ran A4000 to A7999 and with PS prefixes at the
very end of production. Post-war Fazakerley No.4 rifles had PF letter
prefixes. The only exception to the 5-number sequence for No.4 rifles was the
initial BSA Shirley production which ran from 0001 to 9999 then went with A to Z
prefixes (A0001 to A9999 to the Z prefix) and some early dual letter
prefixes (e.g. AT 0303), but then went over to A30001,
&c. So early M47C No.4 rifle numbers could be confused with the
Jungle carbine in having four rather than five numbers.
Long Branch (Canada) serial numbers incorporate an 'L' in
the serial number while US Savage numbers include an 'C' in a similar relative
position amongst the numbers. Both of these No.4 rifle series commenced with 0L1
and 0C1 respectively.
No.5 Jungle Carbines only have 4 numbers, the
Shirley carbines have BB to C? prefixes, last production was post World War 2. The Fazakerley jungle carbines ran from FE1
to FE1000 initial production, then with no letter prefix, followed by A1 to A9999 through Z9999.
Serial numbers
of certain Lee-Enfields can serve as indicators of the model and help with
initial authentication. The 'BS' prefix was used for the .22 British No.7 rifles,
'T1' for the .22 No.5 trials small-bore target rifles in 1945 and 'DA' for the
.22 No.8 N.Z. contract rifles by BSA Shirley. 'SKN' was applied to factory
sectionized
models, an 'XP' prefix was used for Lithgow Shortened & Lightened SMLE and No. 6 jungle
carbines, 'X' was used for a small number of Lithgow No.1 rifles with stainless
steel barrels and 'FE' was used for early production
Fazakerley No. 5 jungle
carbines. Trials No. 1 Mk VI and No. 4 Mk 1 rifles made in the early 1930s have
an 'A' prefix to their original serial numbers although many were later upgraded
to No. 4 specs and the 'A' became a suffix to indicate the fitting of some
non-interchangeable components. On No. 4 rifles, an 'A' suffix was stamped by a repair depot or
armourer after the serial number when some parts were found to be
non-interchangeable.
And of course, with the Canadian No.4 rifles, the
letter 'L' precedes the last four numbers as does a 'C' for the Chicopee Falls
production Stevens Savage Lend-Lease No.4 rifles and 'J5550' (the drawing
number) prefixes the Canadian Lightened No. 4 serial number. After the initial
99,999 rifles, the Lithgow No. 1 (S.M.L.E.) proceeded through 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E' and
'F' prefixes before the last rifle F40580 was manufactured in 1953. WW2
production ceased with F39580 and the 1,000 rifle run during the Korean War ran
from F39581 to F40580. More details
on serial numbers will also be found in the new book, 'The Broad Arrow'.
The 7.62mm L1A1 series serial number prefixes similarly
denote makers. UE is Enfield, UB is BSA, UF is Fazakerley and AD is Lithgow,
Australia. 'SAF' was applied by the Lithgow factory to certain export sales and
'SR' for Lithgow sectionized rifles. South African 7.62mm FAL's were Belgian
production metric models, engraved with the South African crest. Indian 7.62mm
1A rifles ran conventional serial number series with a letter prefix.
7.62mm L2A1 prototypes (heavy barrel auto model) from SAF Lithgow
had 'X' prefix serial numbers. Some were onforwarded to Malaya and New Zealand,
good customers who purchased quantities of the 7.62mm L1A1 model—
X1 to Malaya (7 June 1961)
X2 to X4 to Malaya
X5 to New Zealand
X6 to X7 to Malaya
X8 to Malaya, returned to SAF and rebuilt, forwarded to Australian
War Memorial
X9 to Malaya
X10 AIS (Army Inspectorate) Lithgow
X11 AIS Lithgow
X12 AIS Lithgow
X13 to Malaya
X14 to Malaya
X15 to Malaya (likely only 15 rifles w/ X serials built, following were
converted receivers)
X18 rebuilt from X8 at AIS Lithgow
X19 rebuilt from X9 at AIS Lithgow
X20 TT 176 for Army trial, control weapon (normal barrel & gas block,
concession trigger mechanism & body bullet lead)
X21 TT 176 (test/trials) used with X20 by the Army
X22 possibly a number allocation and not assembled
Australian L2A1 production commenced in 1962 with 3,000 rifles and
continued until 1982 with a total production of 9,557 (excluding the X-prefix
pre-production batch referred to above).
Lithgow SAF in-house L1A1 test and some special rifles have some
different serial number prefixes. SAF was used for target rifles and commercial
batches which included the L1A1A rifles for the United States, e.g.
SAF830103. TT and TR were applied to in-house test models. TR0001 to TR024 are
recorded as having been assembled,
TR0007 Fully chromed barrel & auto to ADE Melbourne
TR0008 Fully chromed barrel & auto to ADE Melbourne
TR0015 Adverse condition trial with selected components; TT56, TT57, TT58,
TT59
TR0016 Production rifle for comparison with above
TR0017 Adverse condition trial TT60 / C110
TR0018 Deterioration of Rifle body using proof rounds; TT61
TR0019 For case proof Footscray, special hardened body BRH
TR0020 BRH body
TR0021 H2 body for cartridge case ammo trial
TR0022 H2 body for cartridge case ammo trial
TR0023 H2 body, test on body hardened at finished stage; TT72 & 74
TR0024 HT body, test on body hardened at finished stage. Also ejector
trial.
TT64A, TT64B, TT64C, TT64D, TT64E to observe stretching of body
SR1 Sectionized rifle, to Senior Inspector,
AIS
SR2 Sectionized rifle, to Senior Inspector,
AIS SAF
SR3 Sectionized rifle, to Bandiana
SR4 Sectionized rifle, to Bandiana, for
Melbourne Museum
SR5 Sectionized rifle, Factory inspection
prototype
SR6 Sectionized rifle, Australian Trade
Commissioner, New Zealand
SR7to SR18 Sectionized rifles, to Malaya
SR19 to SR27 Sectionized rifles, to New Zealand
SR28 Sectionized rifle, to Zambia
SR29 to SR36 Sectionized rifles, for factory personnel
SR37 to SR588 Sectionized rifles, service issue, some sold to collectors and
museums
SR8800001 to SR8800010 were a special bi-centennial batch of L1A1 A
sectionized rifles in 1988, also engraved 'AUSTRALIA'S BI-CENTENNIAL 1788-1988'
over 'S.A.F. LITHGOW L1.A1. PRODUCTION 1958-1988' on the right side of the upper
receiver. A special copper - bronze medallion was also inletted into the right
side of the butt of these 10 rifles.
Serial numbers for British made L1A1 rifles and Small Arms ran in blocks with factory code and year prefix followed by the serial number commencing with
an alphabet letter e.g. UB60 A85830 (last rifle by BSA for the 2nd quarter
1960). Third quarter numbers commenced with A85831. The initial BSA batch of
L1A1 rifles for the quarter ending December 31 in 1957 was UB57 A1 - A870. For the
quarter ending April 30th 1960, numbers were UB60 A63625 - A75299. The
last serial number for the quarter ending 31st July 1960 was UB60 A85830. An
anomaly... factory logged quarters ended with 30th April and 31st July???
'U' indicates UK. The next letter is the factory, 'E' for Enfield, 'F' for
Fazakerley, 'B' for BSA Guns, 'S' for Sterling Engineering.
This was followed by the year indicator, e.g. '55' for 1955, then the
serial number commencing with A1 which continued to A999,999 after which it
advanced to a B prefix, starting with B1. The year indicator was irrespective of
the serial number advance, e.g. the last rifle at Enfield in 1956 may
have been UE 56 A2136, the first rifle in 1957 would thus be UE 57 A2137, until
A999999 was reached after which the 'B' series was to be used commencing with
B1, e.g. UF 68 B1.
Repaired weapons are marked with factory code, year and
'F.T.R.' adjacent to the original serial number. Where two or more types of
weapons are manufactured or repaired at the same factor, a separate series of
numbers will be maintained for each type of weapon, each commencing at A1.
For replacement numbers, i.e. unnumbered or
illegible originals, SA prefixes were allocated for Army, SN for the Navy and SR
for RAF. An example is an
L1A1 returned by police in 1978 with an obliterated number was then engraved
SA78 A1.
RSAF Enfield reported production of 103,400 L1A1
rifles, 108,300 L1A3 bayonets and 15,520 L1A2 grenade launchers by the end of
the financial year 1961 for the War Office, Admiralty, Air Ministry, Ghana,
Rhodesia, Nigeria and Singapore. Enfield FTR'd 10,000 No.4 Mk 2 rifles for Burma
in that period, new No.4 rifles were made at ROF Fazakerley.
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