Technical Writing: Process and Product

Stratton, Charles R.

Literature & Fiction

HOLT. RINEHART AND WINSTON

At the start of World War II, Great Britain was badly under armed. The disastrous campaigns in France in 1940 which resulted in the massive evacuation under fire of British and Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk and Calais further depleted her inventory of arms. Massive shipments of military arms from the U.S. Government and sporting arms from private American citizens helped to ease the situation somewhat, but it was the amazing production program that the British had put into effect as early as September 1939 that saved the British Army. 
In the first few years of the war, the tired old Lee-Enfield Mk I and Mk III carried the brunt of infantry fighting. Most of these rifles had been built before 1918 and were wearing out quickly. In the 1920s, the British army had begun development of a new, easier-to-manufacture version of the bolt action Lee-Enfield. The result was the Mk V with its receiver sight and stiffer barrel. Some 20,000 were produced for trials but then the labor governments of the late 1920s and early 1930s saw no reason to continue the development of armaments. Hadn't the League of Nations promised to settle all future international disputes? 
But in 1939, as Hitler's Germany was crushing Poland, a crash development program was instituted to put the Mk V Enfield into production was begun to make up for lost years. By 1941, the new rifle by now rechristened the No. 4 Enfield was pouring out of factories around the country. Production was begun also in Canada and in the United States. 
The new rifle was equipped with an improved receiver rear sight that brought the aperture nearer the eye and improved the solider's marksmanship. The heavy nose cap was gone, replaced by a lighter band with protective ears to guard the front sight. The long Pattern 1914 bayonet had been replaced by a short spike useful for guarding prisoners and little else an implicit recognition that the static, trench-oriented warfare was gone forever, replaced by maneuver warfare spearheaded by mobile columns of armor and infantry. A new, stiffer barrel was installed to improve the rifle's accuracy. Otherwise, it remained remarkably similar to its earlier incarnations. 
The No. 4 Enfield was produced in a wide number of variations, most having to do with ways to cut production costs and time. The rifles poured out of the factories and were shipped to the soldiers in the front lines and training camps as fast they could be made. The No. 4 provided excellent service in the British tommy's hands from the Arctic Circle to the North African Desert to the steamy jungles of Burma. 
As the rifle production program began, the British Army, impressed by the havoc wrought against the Red army by Finnish snipers in the Winter War of 1939-40, also began development of a new sniper rifle. The private firearms firm of Holland and Holland, famous for the sporting rifles and shotguns, developed a sturdy mounting system for the 32 Telescopic Sight and the No. 4 Mk I (T) was born. This rifle in the hands of British snipers in the regular Army and in such special warfare units as the Secret Air Service and the Commandos, inflicted casualties and havoc on Axis troops far beyond their number. 
In 1944, it became clear that a smaller, lighter rifle was needed for combat in the heavy jungles of Southeast Asia. A team of Enfield engineers stripped the No. 4 rifle to its essentials, shortened the barrel and developed a flash-hider to shield the soldier from the heavy muzzle concussion and flash, and added a padded butt plate. The No. 5 rifle popularly known as the British Enfield Jungle Carbine served well during the remainder of World War II and through the communist insurgencies that plagued Southeast Asia during the early Cold War years. 
"The British Enfield, Vol 2., The No. 4 and 5 Rifles," continues Charles R. Stratton's excellent series on British rifles of the 20th Century. The No. 4 and No. 5 rifles are dissected wit

British Enfield Rifles, Lee-Enfield No. 4 and No. 5 Rifles, Vol. 2 (For Collectors Only)

Engineering & Transportation

Engineering

North Cape Publications

At the start of World War I Great Britain was woefully short of small arms of all types. 
The American firms of Remington Arms and Winchester were asked to supply 1.1 million rifle according to a new pattern established in 1914. When the United States entered the war in 1917, the U.S. government took over the contracts. The caliber was changed from the British .303 to the U.S. .30-06 and 3.7 million U.S. Model 1917 Enfield rifles were produced. The M1917 proved to be one of the most reliable and accurate bolt action rifles ever developed. Sgt. Alvin York was armed with a M1917 Enfield and a Colt Government .45 ACP pistol when he captured most of a battalion of German troops in France. Both the British P-14 and the U.S. Model 1917 Enfield served well into World War II with Allied Forces from Russia to China. 
This book provides a part-by-part description of both of these famed rifles. Collectors will find all the codes, markings, finishes and other information needed to determine originality and even service units. The book is well illustrated with line drawings of parts and photographs of complete rifles, telescopic sights and other important parts. 
This is volume four in a five volume series on the British Enfield Rifle.

British Enfield Rifles, Vol. 4, the Pattern 1914 and U.S. Model 1917 Enfield Rifles

History

Military

Charles R. Stratton continues his very successful series on British military rifles with the little known but widely available Pattern 1914 and U.S. Model of 1917 Rifles. Often called the American Enfield, the Pattern 1914 in .303 caliber was the only British military rifle ever built wholly in the United States even though it was designed by the engineers at Enfield Arsenal, in England. The U.S. Model 1917 was the same rifle, but rechambered for the American .30-06 cartridge. Over 1.2 million Pattern 1914 rifles and 2.5 million Model 1917 rifles were built during World War I by three American companies, Winchester, Remington and Eddystone. More American soldiers, including Sergeant Alvin York, were armed with the Model 1917 Enfield than with the Model 1903 Springfield. The demand for this book has been so great that the author and publisher decided to skip over Volume 3 The Long Lee Rifle and Its Conversions for the time being. Volume 4, The Pattern 1914 and U.S. Model of 1917 Rifles is being published out of sequence to meet this demand. The Model 1917 Enfield has long been a favorite American collectible. Over the years, it has been sporterized for hunting and restored for collecting by thousands of shooters. Parts are commonly available and many P-14 parts are interchangeable with M1917 parts, making it quite easy to return a given rifle to original condition. As in the previous two volumes, Mr. Stratton has provided a detailed description of each rifle on a part-by-part basis and noted whether or not the particular part is interchangeable between the two national models. He provides a series of charts and explanations for the markings, codes and inspection stamps that appear on each part and tells how to determine which were originally manufactured for the P-14 or the M1917. He also provides a complete history of the rifle s development and use in both World War I and World War II. Also a complete description of the two sniper rifle variations of the P

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stratton, Charles R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Stratton, Charles R.