Allied weapons of WW1

Personal weapons of the ordinary Digger in WW1
	Trench club, cast iron head on a rough timber shaft, marked S&W, 1914/18.


The standard issue bayonet for the Lee-Enfield rifle was about half a metre long (blade was 43cms, handle extra) and when on the end of a rifle held by a cranky ANZAC was a fearsome weapon. ANZAC's were on average taller, heavier built and stronger than Europeans and the idea of an Australian bayonet charge became a thing of fear amongst German troops.

SMLE (1914-18) and (1939-1945)

The .303 Lee Enfield rifle, introduced in 1895, was the main military service rifle of the British Empire and her Commonwealth countries for over 60 years, over this period of time it went through various upgrades and modifications. This model had a five round magazine. It was a single shot, (cock after every round fired) design. The most notable alteration being the adoption of a single size of rifle in 1903 for both the cavalry and infantry use. This rifle, known as the Short Magazine Lee Enfield, or SMLE was still Britain's service rifle in 1939 and was not declared obsolete and officially replaced until 1941 with another Lee Enfield, the No 4 rifle. Both models stayed in use until the end of WWII.

The rifle originally introduced in 1895 was designed by James Paris Lee (1831-1904), a Scottish born firearms designer who worked chiefly in the USA and Canada. His design incorporated a "cock-on-closing" bolt with rear locking lugs and a detachable 10 round magazine.

This action was combined with Enfield rifling to create the Lee-Enfield. It was the common British practice at the time to designate their service rifles with the name of the action and rifling, hence, the Lee-Metford or Martini-Henry etc.

Canvas breech cover for .303 rifle

It wasn't until 1926 that the British re-designated their rifles and adopted a number series to identify their ordinance, at this time the SMLE became officially known as the Rifle, No1 Mk III.

SMLE MkIII. Manufactured by Enfield. Nice dark woodwork - later version and clearly stamped on the fore-end with the Enfield mark. Same serial No on bayonet Lug as to receiver (S293). Original woodwork between receiver and rear-sight.

Lee Enfield No 4Mk I. Original dark woodwork, aged knocks and dents. Very crisp and tight action. Original Mk 3 leaf sight. Woodwork, foresight and fore-end bands all marked with Canadian stamps.

For more detail see The .303 Rifle including Lee Enfield

Metal pull through gauze for .303 rifle


Gauze cleaning patches. Each box contains 200 patches. These patches were used to remove any fouling from the bore of a rifle. The picture is from a military training pamphlet showing how they are applied to the pull through. It also says that any soldier wishing to use one must first ask permission from his officer.

<< Mills Bomb

No 5 Mk 1 Mills Bomb

Mills Bomb No 5 Mk 1

This is a Model 36 Mills Bomb. The ones in use during WW1 were mostly Model 5. There is VERY little difference. They were still in use in the mid 1960's.

Each one had to be assembled by the user, unlike today's grenades that come ready to use . Each battalion had a "Bombing Platoon" that specialised in explosives, mostly Mills Bombs and Gun Cotton.

Grenades (small bombs thrown by hand) were first used in the 16th century. In the opening months of the First World War the British Army used Grenade No 1. This was a cast-iron canister on an 18 inch stick.

Soldiers soon discovered that they were dangerous to use when in a front-line trench. There were several cases of soldiers being killed when the grenade hit the front of the trench.

In 1915, a grenade developed by William Mills, a Birmingham engineer, began to be used by British troops. The bomb had a central spring-loaded firing-pin and spring-loaded lever locked by a pin. Originally it had a 7 second fuse which required that the bomber held the bomb for 3 seconds after ignition otherwise the enemy could throw it back before it exploded. In the newer models once the Mills Bomb was in the air, the lever flew up and released the striker, which ignited a four-second time fuse, allowing the thrower to take cover before it exploded. When the grenade went off the cast-iron casing shattered producing a shower of metal fragments.

The grenade developed by Mills soon became very popular with British soldiers and remained in short supply until the end of 1916. By the time the Armistice was signed, more than 33 million Mills Bombs had been issued to soldiers in the British Army.

The Egg Grenade

British egg grenade No 34 Mk III B (named 'Osterei' (Easter egg) by the German soldiers) .

This early model grenade was dug up in 2001 as part of the 300 tons of ordinance dug up every year.

The manufacturing year 1917 is still readable.

Explosives. Great Britain used guncotton, which was issued in tin cases containing 14 1.0-lb (0.45-kg) slabs in the explosive’s wet form for demolition purposes and in boxes of six tin tubes that each contained ten primers in the dry form for detonators

WEBLEY Revolver Mark 6 (.445 cal.) Mainly a personal side arm for officers and senior NCO's. Sometimes an individual digger would scrounge one from a wounded or dead comrade and the AIF used to turn a blind eye. Adopted in 1915, it was the "ultimate" Webley .455 six-shooter. Mark 6 featured redesigned, more squared grip, 6 inch (152 mm) barrels, removable front sights.

Lewis machine gun

The Lewis Gun, a light machine gun, was developed in the United States in 1911. At 12 kg it was far lighter than the Vickers Machine-Gun and in 1915 the British Army decided to purchase the gun for use on the Western Front.

Another advantage of the Lewis is that six of these guns could be made in the time taken to produce one Vickers gun. Although too heavy for efficient portable use, it became the standard support weapon for the British infantry during the First World War. It used either a 47 or a 97 round cylindrical magazine.

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