Lee–Enfield No 5 Mk 1 Jungle Carbine

Description

Facing prolonged operations against the Japanese in World War 2, it soon became apparent to British and Commonwealth forces that their standard issue Lee-Enfield SMLE‘s and No4‘s were of a length that was deemed impractical for the type of close proximity fighting experienced in a jungle environment.

As a result development of a shortened/carbine rifle was swiftly put into action. For obvious reasons, the donor weapon for its design was the current in service No4. Which, with the utilizing of many existing component, would mean that limited re-tooling of machines would be required, thus saving time and money.

The end result featured a shorter barrel length (reduced by 6.5 inches and now fitted with a flash hider), a shortened wooden stock (with added rubber butt pad) and a heavily machined receiver. These changes not only reduced the overall length of the No4, but also reduced the total weight by almost 1kg. This new Lee-Enfield carbine was designated No5 Mk1 rifle and was hurriedly excepted into service.

Operational use immediately raised design flaws, namely the shortening of the barrel producing a violent recoil (even with the newly added rubber butt pad) and a number of accuracy concerns. As a result the design was discontinued in 1947.