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
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
modification and production of the
British .303 caliber.303 British, or 7.7x56mmR, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun cartridge first developed in Britain as a blackpowder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee-Metford rifle, later adapted to use smokeless powders...
P14The Rifle, .303 Pattern 1914 was a British service rifle of the First World War period. A bolt action weapon with an integral 5-round magazine, it was principally contract manufactured by companies in the United States. It served as a sniper rifle and as second line and reserve issue until being...
rifleA rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
developed and manufactured during the period 1917-1918.
History
Before
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
developed, the British had as its 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 EnfieldThe .276 Enfield was an experimental military rifle cartridge developed in conjunction with the Pattern 1913 Enfield rifle. Development was discontinued by the onset of World War I.-History:...
cartridge, ease of manufacture was also an important criteria. 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 logistic commonality. The new rifle was termed the "Pattern 14." In the case of the P14 rifle,
WinchesterThe Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...
and
RemingtonRemington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only U.S....
were selected. A third plant, a subsidiary of Remington, was tooled up at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in
Eddystone, PennsylvaniaEddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,442 at the 2000 census.-Early history:The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, one of the early settlers from New...
. Thus, three variations of the P14 and M1917 exist, labeled "Winchester," "Remington" and "Eddystone."
World War I
When the U.S. entered the war, it had a similar extreme need for rifles. Rather than re-tool the 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.
.30-06The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...
cartridge, for which it was well-suited. Accordingly, Remington Arms Co. altered the design for caliber .30-06, under the close supervision of the U.S. Army Ordnance Department, which was formally adopted as the
U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1917. In addition to Remington's production at
Ilion, New YorkIlion is a village in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 8,610 at the 2000 census. Ilion is a name for the ancient city of Troy.The Village of Ilion is at the north town line of the Town of German Flatts...
and
Eddystone, PennsylvaniaEddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,442 at the 2000 census.-Early history:The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, one of the early settlers from New...
, Winchester produced the rifle at their
New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
plant. A 16.5-inch blade bayonet, the
M1917 BayonetThe M1917 bayonet was designed to be used with the US M1917 Enfield .30 caliber rifle, as well as with the Winchester Model 1897 and M12 trench shotguns. The blade was 16 inches long...
was produced for use on the rifle, and would later be used on several other small arms. Winchester produced 465,980 rifles; Remington 545,541 and Eddystone 1,181,908.
Design changes were few; the magazine, bolt face, chamber and rifling dimensions were altered to suit the .30-06 cartridge, and the volley fire sights on the left side of the weapon were deleted. The markings were changed to reflect the model and calibre change.
The new rifle was used alongside the M1903 Springfield rifle and quickly surpassed the
SpringfieldThe Springfield Armory, located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts - from 1777 until its closing in 1968 - was the primary center for the manufacture of U.S. military firearms. After its controversial closing during the Vietnam War, the Springfield Armory was declared Western Massachusetts'...
design in numbers produced and units issued. By November 11, 1918 about 75% of the
AEFThe American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
in France were armed with M1917s.
The M1917 Enfield rifle used by Sergeant
Alvin YorkAlvin Cullum York was one of the most decorated American soldiers in World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine gun nest, taking 32 machine guns, killing 28 German soldiers and capturing 132 others...
on October 8, 1918, during the event that would see him awarded the
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, is currently located at
Middle Tennessee State UniversityMiddle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
. According to his diary, Sergeant York also used a .45 Colt automatic pistol on that day. (The film
Sergeant YorkSergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
starring
Gary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
in the title role, had York using an M1903 Springfield rifle and a German
Luger pistolThe Pistole Parabellum 1908 or Parabellum-Pistole , popularly known as the Luger, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The design was patented by Georg J...
.)
After the armistice, M1917 rifles were disposed of as surplus or placed in storage for the most part, although Chemical Mortar units continued to be issued the M1917. Some American soldiers disliked the greater weight of the M1917, and favored the 1903 Springfield.
After World War I, a large number of M1917 rifles were released for civilian use through the NRA. Many were
sporterizedSporterising, sporterisation, or sporterization refers to the practice of modifying military-type firearms either to make them suitable for civilian sporting use or to make them legal under the law.-Modifying for sporting use:...
, sometimes including rechambering to more powerful magnum hunting cartridges, such as
.300 H&H MagnumThe .300 H&H Magnum Cartridge was introduced by the British company Holland & Holland as the Super-Thirty in June, 1925. The case was belted like the .375 H&H Magnum, and is based on the same case, as also is the .244 H&H Magnum. The belt is for headspace as the cases' shoulders have a narrow...
and
.300 Winchester MagnumThe .300 Winchester Magnum is a popular, belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963 as a member of the family of Winchester Magnum cartridges. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard length...
.
The bayonet for the M1917 was also used on all American trench shotguns.
World War II
At the time of the American entry in to
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the U.S. Army was still issuing the M1917 to Chemical Mortarmen. Perhaps due to rifle shortages at the start of the war, the M1917 was also issued to artillerymen early in the war, and both mortarmen and artillerymen carried the M1917 in North Africa.
Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Charles E. Peterson (USAR, retired; 1920–2005), a
MajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in the 101st Airborne in the Normandy action, reported seeing some M1917 rifles issued to rear-echelon US troops in France during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Other M1917 rifles were issued to the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary. After the fall of the Philippines, M1917 rifles were utilized by Japanese police forces as well as by U.S. and Filipino guerrillas.
Before and during World War II, stored rifles were reconditioned for use as reserve, training, and
Lend-LeaseLend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
weapons; these rifles are identified by having refinished metal (sandblasted and Parkerized) and sometimes replacement wood (often
birchBirch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
). Many were sent to Britain for use by the Home Guard. These were prominently marked with a red paint stripe around the stock to avoid confusion with the earlier P14 that used the British .303 round. Others were supplied to the Nationalist Chinese forces, to indigenous forces in the China-Burma-India theatre, to Filipino guerrilla forces, and to the Free French Army, which can occasionally be seen in wartime photographs. The M1917 was also issued to the Local Defence Force of the Irish Army during World War II, these were part time soldiers akin to the British Home Guard.
Korean War & After
After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the M1917 went out of front-line duty. The rifle continued to serve as a sniper rifle during the
Korean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and limited numbers saw service at the early stages of the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. This rifle was also used, unofficially, in small Middle-East and African conflicts as a military-assistance program supplied rifle.
Use Today
The M1917 is no longer in active service, but is still used as an ceremonial and drilling rifle, as with the M1903,
M1The M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
and
M14The M14 rifle, formally the United States Rifle, 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire automatic rifle firing 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition. It was the standard issue U.S. rifle from 1959 to 1970. The M14 was used for U.S...
. It is also used as a hunting rifle.
Design details
Both P14 and M1917 rifles are noted for several design features. The rifle was designed with a rear receiver aperture sight, protected by sturdy "ears," a design that proved to be faster and more accurate than the typical mid-barrel sight offered by Mauser, Enfield or the Buffington battle sight of the 1903 Springfield. Future American rifles, such as the 1903-A3 Springfield, M1 and M1 Carbine would all use such receiver sights. The M1917 sight was situated on an elongated receiver bridge, which added weight to the action, as well as lengthening the bolt. The M1917 action weighs 58 oz (1,644 g) versus 45 oz (1,276 g) for the 1903 Springfield.
The rifle maintains the British cock-on-closing feature, in which the bolt's mainspring is loaded and the rifle cocked as part of the return stroke of the bolt, which aided rapid fire, especially as the action heated up. Most bolt action designs after the Mauser 98 cocked as part of the opening stroke. The rifle has a characteristic "belly" due to a deeper magazine, allowing the rifle to hold six rounds of the US .30-06 cartridge. In a manufacturing change from the Mauser 98 and the derivative Springfield, the bolt is not equipped with a third 'safety' lug. Instead, as on the earlier Model 1895 (Chilean)
MauserMauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
, the bolt handle recesses into a notch in the receiver, which serves as a emergency locking lug in the event of failure of the frontal locking lugs. This change saved machine time needed on the rifle bolt, cutting costs and improving production rates, and this alteration has since been adopted by many commercial bolt action rifle designs for the same reasons. The location of the safety on the right rear of the receiver has also been copied by most sporting bolt action rifles since, as it falls easily under the firer's thumb. One notable design flaw was the leaf spring that powered the ejector, which could break off and render the ejector inoperable. A combat expedient repair method was to slip a bit of rubber under the bolt stop spring. A redesigned ejector, incorporating a small coil spring in place of the fragile leaf spring, was developed and can be fit to the M1917 to remedy this issue.
The M1917 was well-suited to the powerful, rimless .30-06 round which was closer in overall length and ballistics to the original high-velocity round for which the rifle had been designed than the rimmed, less powerful .303 round of the
P14P14, P-14 or P.14 may refer to:* Pattern 1914 Enfield, a service rifle used by the British Army during World War I* P-14 radar, a radar used by the Soviet military* P14 , a tax form in the UK* LSWR P14 class, a type of locomotive...
. The M1917's barrel retained the 5-groove left hand twist Enfield-type rifling of the P14, in contrast to the 4-groove right hand twist rifling of the M1903 Springfield and other US designed arms.The M1917 had a long 26-inch heavyweight barrel compared to the lighter 24-inch barrel of the M1903 Springfield. With the longer sighting plane, the M1917 proved generally more accurate at long distances than the M1903, at the expense of greater weight. The M1917 weighed 9 lb. 3 oz. (4.17 kg) empty, and a rifle with sling, oiler, and fixed bayonet weighed over 11 pounds. The M1917's long barrel and issued 16.5-inch blade bayonet proved too lengthy and cumbersome for trench fighting, while its weight and overall length made the rifle difficult to use for some smaller-statured soldiers.
Many M1917 rifles were refurbished during World War II with newly manufactured High Standard and Johnson Automatics barrels which had 6-groove and 2-groove rifling respectively.
Design
While developed at the same arsenal, the M1917 is not a version of the
.303 caliber.303 British, or 7.7x56mmR, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun cartridge first developed in Britain as a blackpowder round put into service in December 1888 for the Lee-Metford rifle, later adapted to use smokeless powders...
rifle of c. 1890-1955, the
Lee-EnfieldThe Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...
(such as the SMLE version). Both were developed at the
Royal Small Arms FactoryThe Royal Small Arms Factory was a UK government-owned rifle factory in the London Borough of Enfield in an area generally known as the Lea Valley. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816...
at
EnfieldEnfield Town is the historic town centre of Enfield, formerly in the county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross...
(
arsenalAn arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
) in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Like the 1903 Springfield, the M1917 actually used the basic
MauserMauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
98 rifle design coupled with a few modifications. 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 held only five cartridges.
The M1917 action proved very strong, and was used as the basis for a variety of commercial and gunsmith-made sporting rifles in standard and magnum calibers between the world wars and after. Later, Remington Arms redesigned the M1917, removing the "ears" and changing it to cock-on-open, to become the
Remington Model 30The Remington Model 30 is a US sporting rifle of the inter-war period based on the military P14/M1917 Enfield rifle action, which was manufactured for the British and US governments during World War I...
series of rifles in the
interwar periodInterwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
. Some (approximately 3000) M1917 rifles were produced in
7 mmThis article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the to caliber range.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....
and sold to
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
around 1930. Additional surplus rifles were bought by European arms distributors and converted to 8x57 Mauser, then sold for use in the
civil war in SpainThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
during the 1930s.
Users
Used in the Latvian War of Independence From 1953 in Home Guard - Currently in service in the "Sirius Patrol" in Greenland Used by
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
And
United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Used by the Local Defence Force during the Emergency (World War II) Used after World War II Made for 7 mm used during the Vietnam War
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