Lee Enfield Question

[Jockbhoy67]

Hello all.... not having posted on this forum before, please accept my apologies if this question is in the wrong section. Before I ask the question, i know absolutely nothing about Lee Enfields so if this is a dumb question I apologise once again.

I recently was offered a de-activated Lee Enfield which I was told was a Mk III and dated 1916. It has marked in several places on the rifle the letters DP, I done a bit of googling and came up with Drill Purpose. My question is would this rifle have

been specifically for drill purposes or could it have been issued to a regiment previously then withdrawn for some reason and stamped DP then used for drilling....and are DP marked rifles very common?

Cheers.

[Khaki]

The rifle as with all others marked as 'drill purpose' DP., had a normal service life but having reached the end of it's service were marked 'DP' and reserved for that purpose. I am guessing that the rifle's that were so marked were beyond FTR or factory thorough repair. I am unsure as to when your rifle would have been designated DP, but they are not uncommon.

good luck

khaki

ps., there are no dumb questions, welcome aboard.

[4thGordons]

Hello all.... not having posted on this forum before, please accept my apologies if this question is in the wrong section. Before I ask the question, i know absolutely nothing about Lee Enfields so if this is a dumb question I apologise once again.

I recently was offered a de-activated Lee Enfield which I was told was a Mk III and dated 1916. It has marked in several places on the rifle the letters DP, I done a bit of googling and came up with Drill Purpose. My question is would this rifle have

been specifically for drill purposes or could it have been issued to a regiment previously then withdrawn for some reason and stamped DP then used for drilling....and are DP marked rifles very common?

Cheers.

The status of drill rifles is somewhat contested in Lee Enfield circles - although usually the issue has to do with their safety if fired. My personal position on this is I would not fire a DP marked rifle. This however is irrelevant to you as yours is deactivated.

As far as I am aware, most DP rifles started life as regular service weapons at some point in time they were downgraded to drill rifles and marked as such. One can find very interesting markings on DP rifles. There is some complexity because practices in the various British and Commonwealth forces varied, as did the manner of marking the weapons. There is something of a hierarchy of weapons status Standard Service Rifles (no marks), Emergency Use Only rifles (EY marked - although there is some challenge to this based on the use of EY rifles for grenade firing), Blank Firing Drill Purpose (which seems to only have been used in India and stamped BFDP) and Drill Purpose (DP not to be fired and sometimes deactivated by snipping off the firing pin, drilling a hole in the chamber, welding over the bolt-face).

Coloured bands were often painted around the butt and forend of the rifles White usually indicating DP in British Service (Red/White/Red around the magazine area in Indian service, Red or sometimes Yellow bands in Australian service) it all gets a bit confusing as sometimes rifles appear with multiple coloured bands!

So - in most cases it appears DP rifles were produced from weapons that were either obsolete or had been removed from service for some other reason.

Late in the life of the Lee Enfield a version of the No4 rifle was produced that was specifically for drilling and had large chunks of the receiver and barrel cut out.

To answer your question yes - DP rifles are common. In recent years a very large number have been imported into the USA. Several dealers are selling them currently at @$75 per piece. This is where the safety concern comes in of course because no doubt some will be "reactivated" and the safety of so doing is questionable. (if you really want to get into this side of things check out some of the enfield forums and see how heated the debate gets!)

Here are some illustrations:

Australian Marked Drill Purpose rifle

BSA with Australian paint which appears to indicate downgrade to Emergency Use of Ball only (Yellow) followed by Drill Purpose (red)

Indian Drill Purpose Rifle (with stripes and hole in chamber)

Drill rifle L59a1 weakened to prevent any use.

Chris

[Jockbhoy67]

thanks a lot guys, i appreciate you taking time to reply, I just wasn't sure if DP marked rifles had ever been issued at all, this one has matched numbers on the bolt and the barrel, but as you mentioned its been drilled through the barrel at one point and i can just see a small rod inside the barrel. But everything else seems to work fine. I just liked the idea of owning one that may have been used in the trenches. I would love to buy a working rifle, but unfortunately UK gun laws make it almost impossible to own one legally. Can anyone recommend any books on the subject?

[Stoppage Drill]

I would love to buy a working rifle, but unfortunately UK gun laws make it almost impossible to own one legally.

If you want to shoot one, join a Rifle Club, apply for a Firearm certificate. Why do you assume it's almost impossible" ?

[TonyE]

+1 to Stoppage Drill's comment.

I own and shoot a No.1, No.3, LE Mk.I*, War Office Miniature Rifle and others, and have done so for many years. Prove your bona fide interest and it is not a problem.

With regard to books, the "bible" is "The Lee Enfield" by my old pal Ian Skennerton. Expensive but it tells you almost all you need to know about the Lee-Enfield family. For a simpler overview look for books by Stratton, relatively cheap and gull of construction detail. There are separate volumes for the Various types.

Also, join the Historical Breech Loading Smallarms Association (Also acts as your Home Office approved rifle club) or the Lee Enfield Rifle Association.

Google either for details.

Regards

TonyE

[Jockbhoy67]

If you want to shoot one, join a Rifle Club, apply for a Firearm certificate. Why do you assume it's almost impossible" ?

I looked into it a few years ago for collecting purposes and the amount of home security required to satisfy the police then was just not worth the bother,

I was more interested in collecting them than shooting them, although I did toy with the idea of joining a shooting club.

Thanks TonyE for the book recommendations I'll have a look in my local library first to see if they have one, I would like to know a bit more about Lee Enfields

before buying this deactivated one. Collecting ww1 militaria is my passion rather than shooting, but if i buy the Lee Enfield, who knows it might spark an interest.

Thanks all for your replies