Long Branch No4 Mk1 and No4 Mk1*

[Phosphorus32]

Obvious to the crew here, there's a lot of esoteric knowledge involved in collecting, which is part of the fun. This post presents two Canadian Long Branch Lee-Enfields, from 1941 (a 0 series No4 Mk1; 0L5875 = 15,875th rifle made) and 1950 (a 93 series No4 Mk1*, 942,760th). The three British factories, Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Maltby, ROF Fazakerley and BSA-Shirley, only made the No4 Mk1 during WWII, never the No4 Mk1* with its modest manufacturing simplifications.

The North American manufacturers, Savage in the US and Long Branch in Canada, quickly got approval for the manufacturing simplifications inherent in the No4 Mk1*, described below. The main simplification that is readily noticeable consisted of eliminating the precision receiver milling operation for the bolt head catch on the lower right side of the receiver behind the charger guide, thus eliminating the installation of the spring-loaded bolt head catch, and adding a straightforward milling of a notch at the front right of the receiver for the alternative bolt head release procedure. It also required a deeper notch in the charger bridge (93 series is on the right in the photo). Long Branch switched from the No4 Mk1 to the No4 Mk1* very quickly, approximately 16K into manufacture, out of just under 1 million made through ca. 1950, so less than 2% were the "no star" version. Long Branch's unique safety catch can also be seen on the 93 series rifle. I really like that safety catch.

You'll note that my 1941 No4 Mk1 has actually been mismarked as a No4 Mk1*, but the characteristics show that it clearly is not a * version. Also, it has been through an FTR (Factory Thorough Repair) at Fazakerley post-WWII. The barrel and a few other parts were replaced during the FTR. The bore is excellent, shiny and sharp.

0L 1941 top, 93L 1950 bottom










0L 1941 left, 93L 1950 right: the depth (or height) of the charger bridge in the foreground is the subject of interest



 





 






0L 1941




93L 1950: I just love the wood 

[Greatguns]

I had a Fazakerley No. 4 MkI back in the day. That was one fine shooting rifle.

[Bacarnal]

Nice No. 4's Jon.  When you say, "esoteric knowledge", all you're saying is, "ooo, shiny, me want..." .

[Phosphorus32]

I had a Fazakerley No. 4 MkI back in the day. That was one fine shooting rifle.

Yes, I love that name too.

When you look through the peep sight of a No4, you know you're sitting behind a battle rifle, not a match rifle, as it has a rather large aperture for a wide field of view.

[Phosphorus32]

Nice No. 4's Jon.  When you say, "esoteric knowledge", all you're saying is, "ooo, shiny, me want..." .

   Yeah, basically...and thanks!

[Greatguns]

I had a Fazakerley No. 4 MkI back in the day. That was one fine shooting rifle.

Yes, I love that name too.

When you look through the peep sight of a No4, you know you're sitting behind a battle rifle, not a match rifle, as it has a rather large aperture for a wide field of view.

Yeah, and boy could they reach out and touch someone. trying to remember the top line on the sight, is it 1200 or 1600M?

[Larry D.]

I've had a few over the years
They've all been great shooters

[Phosphorus32]

I had a Fazakerley No. 4 MkI back in the day. That was one fine shooting rifle.

Yes, I love that name too.

When you look through the peep sight of a No4, you know you're sitting behind a battle rifle, not a match rifle, as it has a rather large aperture for a wide field of view.

Yeah, and boy could they reach out and touch someone. trying to remember the top line on the sight, is it 1200 or 1600M?

1300, although that's rather optimistic for accurate fire using iron sights Undoubtedly the bullet will travel that far and much farther with the right angle.

[Greatguns]

I remember the Martini-Henry rifle having a flip up sight for volley fire from the Zulu, Crimea, Boer wars era. A carryover from the British longbow days. The caliper sight on the Enfield was definitely a step above that.

[BMont]

I had a Fazakerley No. 4 MkI back in the day. That was one fine shooting rifle.

Yes, I love that name too.

When you look through the peep sight of a No4, you know you're sitting behind a battle rifle, not a match rifle, as it has a rather large aperture for a wide field of view.

This.....I can still see through that peep lol. Nice pair you have there.

[Phosphorus32]

Yup, I think I’ll be able to shoot these until I’m too old to shuffle out toted range 

Thank-you!