Pattern 14 Rifle

[Gildwiller1918]

The Pattern 14 Mk1 rifle was a bolt action rifle used by British and Commonwealth forces in WW1, as well as WW2. It was chambered in .303 rimmed, and had a internal capacity to hold 5 rounds. When the war started in 1914, the main contractor, Vickers could not make them fast enough with demand for machine guns rising as well. So most of the Pattern 14 or P14's were made under contract by American companies such as Winchester, Remington and Eddystone. Unfortunately each one of these manufacturers made their parts slightly different, leading to issues with interchangeability. By the time all the issues were worked out, these rifles had been surpassed by the SMLE rifles. So most of the P14s were used for rear duty troops, snipers or marked "DP" for drill purposes. A little over 1.2 million were made in the P14 pattern, however once the US entered the war in 1917, it also found itself in need of rifles. It took some re-tooling but rifles were converted from .303 to 30-06 and the US version of the rifle was called the M1917 Enfield. 

Before WW2, many of these rifles were undergoing modifications at the Weedon Ordnance depot, where items such as the volley fire sights were removed, unit discs or repairs as need and was designated the No3, Mk1. These rifles once again came into demand after losses at Dunkirk, and were widely used by forces in England. The US also sent rifles to England however these were in the 30-06 caliber, so a red band was painted on the stock to show the caliber difference. The rifle was finally made obsolete in 1947, but remained a popular hunting rifle, and many sporterized versions can still be found today. The rifle itself is very robust, weighing nearly 10 pounds. 

The example below is a deactivated version that was used for drill purposes as annotated with DP on several parts. It is made by Eddystone and dated from 1916.

[Gildwiller1918]

Home Guard members getting instruction of the P14 rifle. 

Local Defense Volunteers getting some rifle practice in on the P14