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Hold the press, just found this disc pic on line, South African issue SMLE, looks strikingly similar!

Definitely not an SMLE disk. More like a chunk of badly rounded brass pinned to the left side of the butt. Nothing on the right

The plot thickens....

huntervixen wrote:Hold the press, just found this disc pic on line, South African issue SMLE, looks strikingly similar!

That is an actual Small Arms School Corps disk; if its on a South African issue rifle, then its probably not original to the rifle as, IIRC, SA did not have a branch of the SASC. Do you have any photos of the markings on the rifle itself?

NOT what it seems, it seems...

Indian/Pakistani issue maybe?

Rearlugs wrote:

huntervixen wrote:Hold the press, just found this disc pic on line, South African issue SMLE, looks strikingly similar!

That is an actual Small Arms School Corps disk; if its on a South African issue rifle, then its probably not original to the rifle as, IIRC, SA did not have a branch of the SASC. Do you have any photos of the markings on the rifle itself?

Afternoon Rearlugs, Nope sorry no more pics, found it here
http://www.enfield-stuff.com/regimental ... Africa.htm

Looks like a Small Arms School disk to me...but they seem to think otherwise!

What say you?

saddler wrote:NOT what it seems, it seems...

Indian/Pakistani issue maybe?

So it would seem!!!!!

huntervixen wrote:

Rearlugs wrote:

huntervixen wrote:Hold the press, just found this disc pic on line, South African issue SMLE, looks strikingly similar!

That is an actual Small Arms School Corps disk; if its on a South African issue rifle, then its probably not original to the rifle as, IIRC, SA did not have a branch of the SASC. Do you have any photos of the markings on the rifle itself?

Afternoon Rearlugs, Nope sorry no more pics, found it here
http://www.enfield-stuff.com/regimental ... Africa.htm

Looks like a Small Arms School disk to me...but they seem to think otherwise!

What say you?

That site looks like it creates a good story for every rifle...

Its plausible, but:

1. IIRC the South African Service Corps ceased to exist under that name in 1939. Given the typical movements of rifles within an army, not sure the "wrong" disk would have survived several further decades of service;

2. Rifles were not coated with "desert camo "sand" colored paint" in the desert; Commonwealth rifles used in the Far East did get khaki tropical paint applied under the wood, and India continued this practice with a pea-green paint. IIRC unlikely that a South African rifle served in the ME.

Some of that site's other "South African" links are bit tenuous - the units he's ascribed to 1940s rifles were mostly amalgamated or renamed by the 1920s...

Rearlugs wrote:2. Rifles were not coated with "desert camo "sand" colored paint" in the desert; Commonwealth rifles used in the Far East did get khaki tropical paint applied under the wood, and India continued this practice with a pea-green paint. IIRC unlikely that a South African rifle served in the ME.

Interesting - my No.4 (which came to me as a bare action and trigger guard) has traces of a sand or khaki paint on the receiver and trigger guard. Possibly suggesting it was issued in the Far East?

Gaz wrote:

Rearlugs wrote:2. Rifles were not coated with "desert camo "sand" colored paint" in the desert; Commonwealth rifles used in the Far East did get khaki tropical paint applied under the wood, and India continued this practice with a pea-green paint. IIRC unlikely that a South African rifle served in the ME.

Interesting - my No.4 (which came to me as a bare action and trigger guard) has traces of a sand or khaki paint on the receiver and trigger guard. Possibly suggesting it was issued in the Far East?

Yes. Its described in Armourer's Instructions (don't have the reference to hand) and the practice started in the last year of WW2, and continued with the Commonwealth base workshops in Malaya & Singapore in the 50s.

The paint was intended as an additional corrosion inhibitor because of the tropical conditions, and was to be applied beneath the woodwork. You tend to find it on the hidden part of the barrel and the lower half of the receiver.

The British and Australians used Khaki and Khaki-green paint; the Indians used a much more lurid pea-green paint.

If the paint is on the outside/ visible part of the rifle, then it might be one of the mass of ex-Rhodesia weapons that are turning up at the moment. These were often painted a green/brown/khaki camouflage scheme.