Lee-Enfield Facts for Kids

The Lee-Enfield is a famous type of bolt-action rifle. It was used by the British Armed Forces for a very long time. This rifle was the main weapon for British soldiers during the first half of the 20th century. It was even used until the end of that century!

Even though it wasn't the most powerful rifle compared to others during World War I and World War II, the Lee-Enfield was special. It could hold many bullets and fire them very quickly. This made it a favorite among soldiers.

A Lee-Enfield rifle can hold up to ten British .303 bullets at once. It does this by using two magazines, each holding five bullets.

Most bolt-action rifles fire slowly. This is because you have to manually move a part called the bolt to load each new bullet. But the Lee-Enfield was different! A well-trained soldier could fire it almost as fast as a semi-automatic rifle. This was because its bolt moved very little to load the next bullet. This design made it very efficient in battle.

Images for kids

Standard Mk VII .303-inch cartridge for Lee–Enfield rifle
A Magazine Lee Enfield Mk I* rifle ("Long Tom"), used in the Second Boer War by the New Zealand Mounted Rifles
Short Magazine Lee–Enfield No. 1 Mk. III
An Indian rifleman with an SMLE Mk III, Egypt, 16 May 1940
Israeli soldiers equipped with SMLE Mk IIIs during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Magazine cut-off on an SMLE Mk III rifle. This feature was removed on the Mk III* rifle.
Lee–Enfield No. 4 Mk I Long Branch aperture sights
Lee–Enfield No. 4 Mk I
Rifle No. 5 on display at the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum
Canadian sniper Sergeant Harold Marshall carries a No. 4 Mk. I (T) chambered in .303 British
The initial wooden-stocked De Lisle with a suppressor
Ishapore 2A1
A Delhi Police marching contingent passes through the Rajpath during the rehearsal for the celebration of 60th Republic Day -2009 carrying the Indian version of the Lee Enfield SMLE
The wristguard markings on a 1918-dated Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk III* rifle manufactured by the London Small Arms Co. Ltd. The "G.R." under the crown stands for "George Rex" and refers to the reigning monarch at the time the rifle was manufactured.
AIA M10-B2 match rifle
An Afghan mujahid carries a Lee–Enfield in August 1985
A Rwandan soldier trains with a Lee-Enfield, 2011
Canadian Rangers, photographed in Nunavut, June 2011
An SMLE owned by Maoist rebels in Nepal, 2005
Change of command ceremony in Indonesian Army with colour guard holding Lee-Enfield rifles, 2013
Turkish 8×57mm conversion of a Lee–Enfield captured during World War I
Members of the Milice of Vichy France, armed with captured British No. 4 Lee–Enfield Rifles and Bren guns

Lee-Enfield facts for kids

Images for kids

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