The Lee-Enfield is a British bolt-action, magazine-fed service rifle that combined James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt and detachable box magazine with rifling developed at the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, adopted by the British Army in 1895 and, in its improved Short Magazine Lee-Enfield form from 1907, becoming the standard British and Commonwealth infantry rifle through both World Wars. Its ten-round magazine and smooth bolt action gave trained soldiers an unusually high rate of aimed fire compared with other bolt-action rifles of the period, and British troops of the First World War were drilled to achieve what became known as the mad minute, firing fifteen or more aimed rounds in sixty seconds. Well over 17 million Lee-Enfields were produced across variants and decades of production, and the rifle remained in official or reserve service with various Commonwealth and other armed forces for much of the twentieth century.
Facts
Classification
Service Status Weapon Classbolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle 1 Introduced Year Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) FAQs
Where does the Lee-Enfield mad minute story come from?
The Mad Minute was first chronicled in 1945 by Major C. H. B. Pridham in his book Superiority of Fire, about thirty years after the First World War began. The popular stories about it therefore rest on later writing rather than on accounts from the war itself.
Connections
Associated With
World War I, Wars The Lee-Enfield rifle, prized for its rapid bolt action, was the standard infantry rifle of British and Commonwealth forces in World War I
Operated By
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Lee-Enfield (Series)
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Lee-Enfield (Series)
Used In
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Lee-Enfield Rifle
WikipediaLead section, first sentence, clause naming the rifle class
The Lee-Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the standard service rifle of the British Armed Forces from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957.
Lead section, first sentence, clause naming the 1895 official adoption date
The Lee-Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the standard service rifle of the British Armed Forces from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957.
service status
62 mm L42A1 sniper variant remained in service until the 1990s
caliber
It featured a ten-round box magazine which was loaded with the .303 British cartridge manually from the top, either one round at a time or by means of five-round chargers
Infobox: cartridge
.303 British 7.92×57mm Mauser (Ottoman Empire conversions) 7.62×51mm NATO (For L8 rifles, the L42A1 and some No. 4s only) 7×57mm Mauser (BSA firearms catalog 1912) .375 Flanged Nitro Express (BSA firearms catalog 1912) 8×50mmR Mannlicher (BSA firearms catalog 1912)
Infobox: service
1895-1957 (as the standard British service rifle)
View the Source Wikidata: Lee-Enfield Rifle
Wikidata Q723346, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Lee-Enfield (Wikipedia)
- Used In: Second Boer War, infobox wars field: 'Second Boer War'
- Used In: World War I, infobox wars field: 'World War I'
- Used In: Spanish Civil War, infobox wars field: 'Spanish Civil War'
- Used In: World War II, infobox wars field: 'World War II'
- Used In: Indo-Pakistani Wars, infobox wars field: 'Indo-Pakistani Wars'
- Used In: Korean War, infobox wars field: 'Korean War'
- Used In: Mau Mau Uprising, infobox wars field: 'Mau Mau Uprising'
- Used In: Nigerian Civil War, infobox wars field: 'Nigerian Civil War'
- Used In: Vietnam War, infobox wars field: 'Vietnam War'
- Used In: Sino-Indian War, infobox wars field: 'Sino-Indian War'
- Used In: Soviet-Afghan War, infobox wars field: 'Soviet-Afghan War'
- Used In: War in Afghanistan (2001-2021), infobox wars field: 'War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)'
- Used In: Iraq War, infobox wars field: 'Iraq War'
View the SourceMilitaryFactory.com: Lee-Enfield (Series)
MilitaryFactory.comOperated By: Australian Defence Force, Operators
[ United Kingdom; Australia; Canada; India; Indonesia; Iraq; Ireland; Israel; New Zealand; Pakistan; South Africa; Thailand; United Arab Emirates ]
Operated By: Canadian Armed Forces, Operators
[ United Kingdom; Australia; Canada; India; Indonesia; Iraq; Ireland; Israel; New Zealand; Pakistan; South Africa; Thailand; United Arab Emirates ]
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