Serial Number Question |
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Floyd
Newbie Joined: September 18 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Posted: September 18 2007 at 7:22am |
I recently purchased an Enfield No. 4 Mk 1 made at Fazakerley in 1943. The serial number is DB29317A. Can anyone tell me what the "DB" means? I was told that the "A" means there is something not "correct" although I'm not sure what this could mean either. Thanks for any help you can give me.
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Cookie Monster
Special Member Joined: January 22 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7510 |
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Floyd I will research this for you? What are the other proof marks?
CM
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Cookie Monster
Special Member Joined: January 22 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7510 |
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Oh the "A" is part of the serial Number I do not think it means something is incorrect. I looked thru my armorer's marks and "A" is not there.
CM
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Floyd
Newbie Joined: September 18 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Hi, Sorry to be so long replying! I appreciate your willingness to help. I did check a book on the Enfield and you are right, the "A" doesn't mean that something is incorrect, simply that the parts of that particular rifle don't interchange well with other No. 4's.
There is a crown and what looks like crossed swords on the band on the stock just under the bolt handle and a mark that looks like a number 7. Hope that helps. Floyd |
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Green Mist
Senior Member Joined: February 07 2007 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 119 |
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Hi Floyd, according to the tables in strattons book, a prefix BD was used in 1943 by ROF Maltby, could you have read the mark wrong? cant find the DB reference anywhere. B
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When all else fails, call in the Artillery.
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Floyd
Newbie Joined: September 18 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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No, it definitely is DB which is very perplexing. I have checked several sources on line for serial number series and it doesn't show anywhere. Yet it is very clear on the bolt and the band on the stock under the bolt. Thanks for trying to help!
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jona
Senior Member Joined: October 24 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 94 |
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Each plant was assigned a range of numbers to use for se3riallizing their rifles. They made MANY more rifles than they had numbers for , so they were given letter prefixes. they would start with A12345 and work through the alphabet. when the end was reached, they would atart over with AA12345, so on and so forth. Yours with a DB prefix was a late manufactured rifle.
The "A" suffix, indicates it contains non-standard parts, something that required hand fitting. This would alert the armourers to that so they could expect to run into them. that part could be anything, no way to tell which one. |
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jona
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Floyd
Newbie Joined: September 18 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Thanks, Jona, I appreciate the information!
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