M1917 ENFIELD RIFLE

The 'M1917 Enfield', the "American Enfield" (frequently misidentified or mislabeled as the "P17", "P1917", or "Pattern 1917"), formally named '"United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917"' was an American modification and production of the British .303 caliber P14 rifle developed and manufactured during the period 1917-1918.

Contents

History

Design

External links

See also

History

When the British Empire entered World War I, it had an urgent need for rifles and contracts were placed with companies in the United States. In the case of the P14 rifle, Winchester and Remington were selected. When the U.S. entered the war, it had a similar extreme need for rifles. Rather than re-tool completely, the factories, under the close supervision of the US Army Ordnance Department, altered the design for caliber .30-06. Winchester produced the rifle at their New Haven, Connecticut plant and Remington at their main facility at Ilion, New York and at another plant in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. The M1917 Bayonet was also produced and used on several other small arms.
The new rifle was used alongside the M1903 Springfield rifle and quickly surpassed the Springfield design in numbers produced and units issued. By November 11, 1918 about 75% of the AEF were armed with M1917s. After the armistice, M1917 rifles were disposed of as surplus or placed in storage.
Before and during World War II, stored rifles were reconditioned for use issue as reserve, training, and Lend-Lease weapons; these rifles are identified by having refinished metal (sandblasted and Parkerized) and sometimes replacement wood (often birch). Many were sent to Britain for use by the British Home Guard. These were prominently marked with red paint to avoid confusion with the earlier P14 that used different ammunition.
A continuing source of debate among historians concerns what rifle was used by Sgt. Alvin York during his famous action against the Germans in WWI. While York claimed to have used a Springfield, the weapon issued to him was a M1917. (The film starring Gary Cooper as Sgt. York had him using a M1903 and a German Luger pistol.)

Design

While developed at the same arsenal, the M1917 is not a version of the .303 caliber rifle of c. 1890-1955, the Lee-Enfield (such as the SMLE version). Both were developed at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield (arsenal) in the United Kingdom. The M1917 was actually a development of the Mauser 98 rifle. Due to the use of rimmed cartridges in the P14, the magazine capacity for the smaller diameter 30-06 was 6 rounds, although stripper clips only held 5 cartridges.
The action was used as the basis for a variety of commercial and gunsmith-made sporting rifles between the world wars and after; surplus receivers and tooling were used by Remington to produce their Model 30 series of rifles in the interwar period. Some (approximately 3000) M1917 rifles were produced in 7 mm and sold to Honduras around 1930.

External links

★ Olive-Drab.Com - M-1917 Enfield rifle

★ Modern Firearms - The M-1917 Enfield rifle

★ SurplusRifle.Com - M-1917 Enfield rifle

★ FM 23-6 Basic Field Manual: U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1917, 20 October 1943

See also

★ List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces