Pattern 1914 Enfield

Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield - .30-06

Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield sniper variant fitted with telescopic sight - .30-06

Sporterized Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield - .30-06

M1917 Enfield - .30-06

The Pattern 1914 (P 14) was chambered originally in a high velocity .276 caliber and then changed to .303 British when the experimental caliber proved to be troublesome. Remington and Winchester manufactured the rifle for the British in WW1. After the U.S. joined the Allies it was easy to convert the rifle to 30-06, which was important when the Federal Springfield Armory found it could not produce enough of the 1903 Springfield rifle to meet war demands. When the United States entered the war in 1917, they had approximately 600,000 Springfield rifles ready to go, but with a heavy recruitment rate (4,000,000 enlisted men before the end of the year) and the difficulty of producing 1903 Springfields (an average of 5,000 new rifles a month), the United States opted to mass-produce the Pattern 14 chambered in 30-06 for use overseas, renamed as the US Rifle, Caliber 30, Model 1917, though it was more commonly known as the Enfield 1917 in tribute to its birthplace, or even the P 17. Although United States troops carried both the 1917 Enfield and the 1903 Springfield in World War I, the Enfield was the primary United States service rifle during the war, by nearly a 3-to-1 margin.

Specifications

• Weight: 9 lb. 3 oz. (4.17 kg)
• Length: 3 ft. 10.25 in. (1175 mm)
• Barrel length: 26.0 in (660 mm)
• Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield (7.62x63mm)
• Action: Modified Mauser turn bolt
• Muzzle velocity: 2700 ft/s (823 m/s)
• Feed system: 6-round magazine, 5-round clip fed reloading

The M1917 Enfield rifle and variants can be seen in the following:

Film

• Carried by Laotian troops in The 317th Platoon (1965)

• Posse member in Night of the Living Dead (1968)

• American Solders in Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

• Seen on Col. Robert Neville Charlton Heston in The Omega Man (1971)

• Seen on a Gun Shelf in Dawn of the Dead (1978)

• Hunter in Out of Africa (1986) (Very possible that the rifle is a sporterized Pattern 1914 in .303 British)

• Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in The Untouchables (1987)

• Used by several U.S. Army soldiers in King Kong (2005)

• Used by Nationalist Chinese soldiers in Assembly (Ji jie hao) (2007)

• French soldiers in Days of Glory (2006)

• Richmond's soldiers in Richard III (1995)

• U.S. honor guard soldiers in Spawn (1997)

• Rick Schroder as Major Charles Whittlesey in The Lost Battalion (2001)

• André Vippolis as Pvt. Lipasti in The Lost Battalion (2001)

• Rhys Thomas Miles as Pvt. Bob Yoder in The Lost Battalion (2001)

• Arthur Kremer as Pvt. Abraham Krotoshinsky in The Lost Battalion (2001)

• Daniel Caltagirone as Pvt. Phillip Cepeglia in The Lost Battalion (2001)

• Michael Goldstrom as Pvt. Jacob Rosen in The Lost Battalion (2001)

• US Army soldiers in The Lost Battalion(2001)

Television

• Doctor Who (New Series)

• Australian New South Wales Police in Police Rescue (1989-1996)

• American troops in Anzacs (1985)

• Arthur Lowe as Captain George Mainwaring in Dad's Army (1968-1977)

• John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in Dad's Army (1968-1977)

• Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jack Jones in Dad's Army (1968-1977)

• James Beck as Private Joe Walker in Dad's Army (1968-1977)

• Ian Lavender as Private Frank Pike in Dad's Army (1968-1977)

• John Laurie as Private James Frazer in Dad's Army (1968-1977)

Video Games

• Forgotten Hope 2 (2005) (Both M1917 Enfield and scoped Pattern M1914 (P 14) Enfield)

See Also

• Royal Small Arms Factory - A list of weapons produced by RSAF Enfield