Enfield Revolver - Variants

Variants

There were two main variants of the Enfield No 2 Mk I revolver. The first was the Mk I*, which had a spurless hammer and was double action only, meaning that the hammer could not be thumb-cocked by the shooter for each shot. Additionally, in keeping with the revolver's purpose as a close-range weapon, the handgrips, now made of plastic, were redesigned to improve grip when used in rapid double-action fire; the new handgrip design was given the designation Mk II. The majority of Enfields produced were either Mk I* or modified to that standard. The second variant was the Mk I**, which was a 1942 variant of the Mk I* simplified in order to increase production, but was discontinued shortly thereafter as a result of safety concerns over some of the introduced modifications.

The vast majority of Enfield No 2 Mk I revolvers were modified to Mk I* during World War II, generally as they came in for repair or general maintenance; the official explanation of the change to the Mk I* version was that the Tank Corps had complained the spur on the hammer was catching on protrusions inside tanks, but most historians nowadays believe that the real reason was that the Mk I* version was cheaper and faster to manufacture. When used in the manner in which British forces trained (rapid double-action fire at very close ranges), the No 2 Mk I* is at least as accurate as any other service pistol of its time, because of the relatively light double action trigger pull. It is not, however, the best choice for deliberately aimed, long-distance shooting — the double action pull will throw the most competent shooter's aim off enough to noticeably affect accuracy at ranges of more than 15 yards (14 m) or so. Some unit Armourers are known to have retrofitted the Enfield No 2 Mk I* back to the Mk I variant, but this was never an official policy and appears to have been done on an individual basis. Despite officially being declared obsolete at the end of World War II, the Enfield (and Webley revolvers) were not completely phased out in favour of the Browning Hi-Power until April 1969.

The Enfield No 2 is very fast to reload—as are all British top-break revolvers—because of its automatic ejector, which simultaneously removes all six cases from the cylinder.
British combat experience during World War II with the .38/200 Enfield revolvers during World War II seemed to confirm that, for the average soldier, the Enfield No. 2 Mk I could be used far more effectively than the bulkier and heavier .455 calibre Webley revolvers that had been issued during World War I. Perhaps because of the relatively long double-action trigger pull compared to other pistols capable of single-action fire, the double-action-only Mk I* revolvers were not popular with troops, many of whom took the first available opportunity to exchange them in favour of Smith & Wesson, Colt, or Webley revolvers.