Questions about Enfield No.2 Mk1*

Redcoat3340 · Oct 31, 2017

A gun my son acquired: 1941 Enfield No. 2 Mk 1*

Would like any information about this....especially what some traces of yellow paint on the barrel might mean.

Here's some pics and what I think I know:

FTR/51....means the pistol was refurbished by Enfield in 1951 (on right frame)

On right frame in front of cylinder: 767 3.5 Tons and number 38...proof testing

On the cylinder: W 13 proof with GR, crown, and EP Broad arrow with O and Q underneath D...No idea

On the outside of the cylinder: ESC. 321 Huh?

On the top of the barrel: CAL.'38. and 41 plus Broad Arrow and something I can't decipher. 38 S&W (NOT special) and British "Army" stamp

There are numbers under both left and right grip frames...see pictures.

I'm assuming we have a pretty run-of-the-mill No. 2 from 1941 and returned to Enfield for a redo. "Bluing" is spotty...I'd say about 75% to 80%. Grips are in perfect shape.

If anyone can confirm what I think...or has any additional information I'd appreciate it.

Redcoat3340 · Oct 31, 2017

More Pics of the Enfield

Absalom · Oct 31, 2017

Le me see how many tidbits I can cover

The FTR could have happened at Enfield, but also at military depots; I‘m not sure whether there is a systematic way to identify that. Looking at the side stamping, the Enfield crest with 1941 is unrelated to the FTR stamp. It looks like it got a Suncorite refinish at the FTR which has partially come off and reveals the dull original finish.

The .767 etc. are the commercial proofs applied after the gun was surplussed out; same stuff found on most S&W ex-BSR‘s.

I‘ll have to look up the details on the cylinder proofs, but they‘re unrelated to the commercial ones and from birth.

The ESC 321 is the number of the steel lot used which for a reason I once knew was noted on there.

Are the three serials (cylinder, grip frame, barrel frame) matching? They switched those around and cannibalized guns at FTR with reckless abandon.

Absalom · Oct 31, 2017

One addendum:

If you look at the attached snip from your photo, that is the cylinder serial. To me it looks like D 1057 maybe? Whatever, the letter is the important part. The serials had letter prefixes and only four digits, meaning they covered limited times, making general dating easy.

The D prefix is from 1934/35. On the other hand, if the curvature of the cylinder is distorting and it's actually an O, that would be correct for 1941. Check the frame serials underneath (see photo of my gun as example) for confirmation. We know the barrel is from 1941 because of the top stamp and the frame because of the crest stamp.

gonerydin · Oct 31, 2017

I like the Opinel [emoji3]

2152hq · Nov 1, 2017

"...On the cylinder: W 13 proof with GR, crown, and EP Broad arrow with O and Q underneath D...No idea..."

-Crown/GR is a London Proof

-EP (if it's the mark at 3 oclock on the rear face) is actually an E overlying a D. That was a mgf'rs marking for 'EnfielD'.

-BroadArrow /O & Q,, at first I thought it may be a BroadArrow Letter Code.
I've never seen one with the two letters,,makes no sense really as each letter refers to a year.
In WW2 speak, the O is 1942,,the Q would be 1940

I think it is actually a QC mark ( BroadArrow/ percentage mark) used during mfg of that particular part (in this instance the cylinder) IIRC it shows that 10% of the parts from that lot were inspected before the entire lot was accepted for use,,,something like that!

Can;t place the W 13 stamps at the moment

Questions about Enfield No.2 Mk1*

Redcoat3340

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Redcoat3340

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Absalom

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Absalom

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gonerydin

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2152hq

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