1917 Enfield Eddystone Serial Numbers
NYou really haven't left enough information for an accurate answer. NWhat caliber ammunition is it chambered for? NHow long is the barrel?
Eddystone Model 1917 Bolt Action Rifle. The British government armory at Enfield. Was produced in great numbers under contract in the United States.
Why the revolver? Some of you may know that I'm into Thompsons. What do Thompsons have to do with turn of the century revolvers and M1917 Rifles, you might ask? Well, they are all tied together through history by John T. Thompson, namesake of the Thompson Submachine Gun. From 1901-1903, Captain John T. Thompson was the Inspector of Pistols for the United States Army.
1917 Enfield Eddystone Rifle
It does mean the gun was not considered on the same level as either the Winchester or the Remington product. When I was young the 1917 Enfield was a prime source of actions for more powerful cartridges (beyond the.30-06 range). The guns chosen for conversion were the Winchester and Remington actions.
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 suffered from overheating in rapid fire and bore fouling. As it entered World War I, the UK had an urgent need for rifles, and contracts for the new rifle were placed with in the United States. They decided to ask these companies to produce the new rifle design in the old.303 British chambering for convenience of ammunition logistics. The new rifle was termed the 'Pattern 14'.
The person it was purchased from in the 1980's indicated it had been shortened for Navy service, but I have never found documentation to support his claim. If anyone has further information about my short M1917 Rifle, please post here, or contact me at my e-mail address listed below. The other paper items in the picture are a 1943 Base Shop Data manual for the M1917, a 1918 manual, and a 1918 Soldier's Handbook. I have also had many copies in the past of FM 23-6, which was published in two versions during WWII for the M1917 Rifle. I sold all my copies of these manuals, but I have included 2 pictures of different examples of them. FM 23-6, August 3, 1942 FM 23-6, 28 October 1943 The M1917 is my favorite bolt action military rifle.
Was left with looking at another rifle as the only viable alternative. Sometimes, timing is everything, and it was fortuitous that at the time the United States declared war, three American plants were completing production of large numbers of the “Pattern 1914” rifles under contract for Great Britain. Face aware liquify. The.303 British Pattern 1914 rifle was a slight modification of the “Enfield.276-inch Magazine Rifle,” also known as the “Pattern 1913,” which was a modified Mauser design chambered for an advanced.276-cal.
All, Thank you for this fun thread! Here is a picture of my Eddystone M1917 Rifles, along with my Model 1903 Colt New Army Revolver.
Given a choice, the average Doughboy would have probably preferred an M1903 Springfield to an M1917 due to the former’s lighter weight and better handling characteristics. There were also several features of the British rifle that some American soldiers found, at least initially, to be somewhat objectionable. For example, the M1917 has a cock-on-closing action, while the ’03 cocked on opening. This resulted in many complaints against the M1917’s operation, primarily due to lack of familiarity. Also, the M1917 did not have a magazine cut-off, which meant that the follower blocked the closing of the bolt when the magazine was empty. This often caused some consternation and awkwardness during close order drill.
Assistant Secretary of War Crowell later commented, “It would have been well if the same course (waiting for final specifications) had been followed at the Winchester plant, for word came later from Europe not to send over any rifles of Winchester manufacture during that period.” Eventually standardized manufacturing specifications and drawings were finalized, and large numbers of Model 1917s began to flow from all three plants. While the interchangeability problem was never totally eliminated, a 95 percent interchangeability rate was established, which was acceptable to the Ordnance Dept. Eventually the interchangeability problems with early production Winchesters were eliminated, and later rifles were equal in all aspects to the Remingtons and Eddystones.
Was not particularly difficult. The M1917 possessed a strong, nickel-steel action that could handle the pressures of.30-’06 Sprg. With no problems. The fact that the Pattern 1914’s predecessor, the Pattern 1913 rifle, was originally designed for use with a rimless cartridge (the.276) actually made the M1917 more suited to the rimless.30-’06 Sprg. Than the rimmed.303 British round. On May 10, 1917, each of the three manufacturers sent Springfield Armory a sample M1917 for evaluation and testing.
The guns chosen for conversion were the Winchester and Remington actions. Hi LarryO1970 I do not know of any special serial numbers for a 'good' Eddystone.
Ordnance Dept. Consulted with Springfield and Rock Island engineers for ways to reduce production time and cost for ’03 manufacture but, without a substantial redesign, changes would only be cosmetic. It was apparent that the combined output of these two national arsenals could not meet demand, and large numbers of additional service rifles would soon be needed. The Ordnance Dept. Had two options for procuring additional rifles: Seek additional manufacturing sources for the Model 1903 or adopt a second service rifle to augment the ’03. The former was explored at length, but the lag time required to find suitable firms capable and willing to manufacture the ’03 rifle, negotiate contracts, procure the necessary materials and machinery, then train workforces would be too great to alleviate the potential crippling shortage of rifles within a reasonable period of time. Thus, almost by default, the Ordnance Dept.
Regards, Walt.
When production was shifted from Pattern 1914 to US Model 1917, Winchester was ahead of Remington and Eddystone in converting their production line and actually began production ahead of government acceptance. With no direction as to serial numbers, Winchester followed what they had done for the and prefaced their serial number with a W. Of course initiative was punished and the serial method was changed. This gun is one of the last produced before the change. I later found this rifle, W3521, in the pile. I would not say punished as much as they just had to change to the appearance deemed right per the US Army.
Entered the war, it had a similar need for rifles. The had delivered approximately 843,000, but due to the difficulties in production, rather than re-tool the Pattern 14 factories to produce the standard U.S. Rifle, the M1903 Springfield, it was realized that it would be much quicker to adapt the British design for the U.S.30-06 Springfield cartridge.
Suffice to say, when you can smack one with a hammer and it shatters, you have a problem. All's well till a primer pocket leaks or a case head splits, then you the makings of a grenade.
1917 Eddystone Rifle For Sale
By the time of the Armistice, some 1,123,259 M1917s had been shipped to France; 800,967 issued to troops and 322,292 “ floated in bulk” (unissued in reserve). Of this figure, 61,000 were reportedly issued to the U.S. Marine Corps and 604 to the U.S. In addition, 127,000 M1917 rifles had been issued to U.S. Military personnel still in the United States and another 70,940 were on hand at various ordnance facilities and military installations. These figures represent substantially fewer than the more than 2 million M1917s eventually manufactured, as manufacture continued after the Armistice but prior to cancellation of the production contracts.