Lee-Enfield is a British 7.7 mm manual repeating rifle from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and both world wars. The first prototypes of this rifle appeared in the first half of the 1890s, and the weapon entered production in 1895. Over 14 million pieces of this weapon were created in its course! The initial velocity of the missile was up to 744 m / s, and the effective shot range was about 500 m, with the maximum shot range of about 2750 meters. Weapon weight - version No. 4 is 4.11 kilograms.
The Lee-Enfield rifle was developed to replace the Lee-Metford rifle, which was still based on black powder. Although the latter was a successful rifle, it was decided to introduce a rifle using smokeless powder to the British Army as soon as possible, but still, of course, powered by a magazine and being a repeating weapon. The result was the Lee-Enfield rifle, similar to its predecessor, but with a completely new barrel. The new rifles underwent their baptism of fire during the Boer War (1899-1902), which showed some of their shortcomings. As a result, it was created Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield Mk I (SMLE Mk I), entered service in 1903 and entered service shortly thereafter for the SMLE Mk III (1907). The latter variant proved its very high value during the First World War. In 1931, another version of the rifle was created, designated No.4 Mk. I, which, however, on a really massive scale began to go to the British Army from 1942. In the same year, a simplified version was also created - No.4 Mk. AND*. In 1944, a version intended for the troops fighting in the jungle was created (No. 5 Mk. I). The quality of the rifle can be proved by the fact that after modernization it remained in the British Army until 1955!