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 bottom0L 1941 left, 93L 1950 right: the depth (or height) of the charger bridge in the foreground is the subject of interest 0L 194193L 1950: I just love the wood