winchester enfield model 1917 serial numbers

The British government appealed to civilians to volunteer their firearms for home defense use, but post-World War I legal restrictions on firearms ownership and the manufacture of automatic weapons made suitable firearms scarce in the British Isles. After the British Expeditionary Force abandoned its weapons on the beaches at Dunkirk, the Royal Army faced a German cross-Channel invasion lacking equipment of every kind, especially infantry rifles. Armed with Enfields, American doughboys man an abandoned German position in the Meuse Valley north of Verdun. Some were sold to the Philippines, and a few found their way home to ROTC units for drill purposes. Thompson, namesake of the Thompson Submachine Gun. What do Thompsons have to do with turn of the century revolvers and M1917 Rifles, you might ask? Well, they are all tied together through history by John T.

Why the revolver? Some of you may know that I'm into Thompsons. The Ordnance Dept.Īll, Thank you for this fun thread! Here is a picture of my Eddystone M1917 Rifles, along with my Model 1903 Colt New Army Revolver. On July 12, 1917, each contractor submitted a second sample that reflected some improvement, but component interchangeability was still judged to be less than satisfactory. The rifle was developed at the at () in the United Kingdom. The starting point was to copy many of the features of the Mauser system. Thus, even though improved Lee–Enfield variants (the SMLE) and ammunition with pointed (spitzer) projectiles entered service after the Boer War in 1910, a committee was formed to develop an entirely new design of rifle and cartridge. The long-range accuracy of German Model 18 Mausers in the hands of Boer marksmen during the Boer War (1899 -1902) made a big impression on the British Army, and a more powerful, modern rifle was desired. Please enter a serial number and click the submit button. Military Model 1917 Rifle: Winchester: Covering numbers: 1 - 585000.

Winchester enfield model 1917 serial numbers