November 11, 2003

Rifles of the Major Combatants, Honorable Mention for Hanging in there!

This covers Canada and Australia, two of my favorite armies to work with.

The Canadians fought the war with two rifles. The SMLE and the Ross. The Ross was a home grown straight pull rifle of exceptional accuracy. It made an excellent sniper rifle, but it's aversion to dirt (and the ability to assemble the bolt wrong - leading to the bolt imbedding itself in the forehead of the harried shooter) led it's being dropped in favor of the SMLE.

The Ross was also known for it's lift gate (that thing just behind the rear sight) that helped the soldier reload and clear jams.

Here is where you get to see a No1MkIII! The representative of the No1MkIII family is this Lithgow, Australia-made rifle that went ashore at Gallipoli and found it's way to France, as well. It's equipped with a Parker-Hale target rear sight, too.

This rifle also has the Morris Aiming Tube - a .22 cal insert barrel for training without the wear and cost of full bore ammo. Not the most successful of mods, it was superseded in favor of re-tubed and rebarreled rifles. The aiming tube is the brass item sticking out of the muzzle.

Is this the time to mention that I also have british-marked bayonets that were modified to fit Turkish Mausers - after their capture at Gallipoli?

John | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | General Militaria | Guns by Nation | Observations on things Military | Rifles
Comments on Rifles of the Major Combatants, Honorable Mention for Hanging in there!
J.M. Heinrichs briefed on November 11, 2003 08:56 PM

If I remember correstly, Capt Herbert McBride, in "A Rifleman goes to War", said nice things about his Ross rifle.

Cheers

John of Argghhh! briefed on November 11, 2003 09:06 PM

And I like mine, too - but I also know that it just didn't fare well in the trenches - except in the hands of the snipers.