M1917 Enfield - History

History

Before World War I developed, the British had as their main rifle, the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE). Compared to the German Mausers or U.S. 1903 Springfield, the SMLE's .303 rimmed cartridge, originally a black powder cartridge, was ill-suited for feeding in magazine or belt-fed weapons and the SMLE was less accurate than its competition at longer ranges. Hand in hand with development of an improved cartridge for the SMLE, a committee was formed to develop another rifle just in case. This development of a new rifle and cartridge began by copying many of the features of the Mauser system. This development included a front locking, dual lug bolt action with Mauser type claw extractor as well as a new, powerful rimless .276 Enfield cartridge. Ease of manufacture was also an important criterion. However, the onset of World War I came too quickly for the UK to put it into production before the new cartridge could be perfected.

As it entered World War I, the UK had an urgent need for rifles, and contracts for the new rifle were placed with arms companies in the United States. They decided to ask these companies to produce the new rifle design in the old .303 caliber for convenience of supply. The new rifle was termed the "Pattern 14". In the case of the P14 rifle, Winchester and Remington were selected. A third plant, a subsidiary of Remington, was tooled up at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Thus, three variations of the P14 and M1917 exist, labeled "Winchester," "Remington" and "Eddystone."