random question about WWI weaponry

[blueraven95]

Does anyone know what the standard gun was for a British soldier during WWI and where I could find a pic? I don't know anything about guns (or much about how the military works) in general...and I need this info to add authenticity to a story. Assume the soldier is a private...just starting out.

I really appreciate any help. Thanks.

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. The SMLE...

Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield, calibre .303, bolt action, ten rounds, fed with two 5-round stripper clips.

The Lee-Enfield is generally considered the best military rifle of the period; it had a short bolt throw (60 degrees, as opposed to the 90-degree throw of Mauser-based designs), and the bolt travel was the length of the cartridge case, making it faster to operate than any other military rifle of the bolt-action era. British riflemen were actually trained in rapid-fire technique; the record was 54 rounds on a 200-yard target in one minute (and this is with reloading five times). Thanks to this, German regiments facing British troops early in WWI actually thought they were facing machine-gun fire.



The standard sidearm was the Webley Mark VI revolver, chambered in .455 British.

[Zuni]

2. I can't really add to that

I own a Lee-Enfield Rifle No. 4, which is similar to the SMLE. It was the British and Commonwealth standard rifle for WWII. It is a fine weapon, and I prefer the bolt to the Mauser action.

I would say that the Lee-Enfield Rifle No. 4 is perhaps the best military bolt action rifle ever built. It holds 10 rounds to the Mauser's 5, it has a higher rate of fire and it is very durable. I have read the Mauser is more accurate, but I haven't noticed any inaccuracies in the Enfield

I also own 2 Mauser 98s, one a German and one is Turkish

[Anarcho-Socialist]

4. Wow, that's pretty cool - it sounds like quite a collection you have

I believe the Mujahadeen were using Lee-Enfield Rifles against the Soviets in the 1980s, that's quite a testament to how good the rifle was.

[Zuni]

3. If you have any questions on WWI British army, just ask me

I have a quite large library on the conflict and the various armies, weapons, battles etc.