Milsurp After Hours

Im kind of new to this forum but thought I would post pics of my 1917 Lithgow. It has the mag. cut off and has no stock repairs. It went through FTR in 1954. All numbers match also

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That is one lovely looking No 1Mk111, the FTR looks almost to have been sensitive.

Thanks for sharing, how does she shoot?

gator, Really one of the nicer Ishapore FTRs I've ever seen...congrats.

Regards, Brad

Im still learning about these enfields so any help is appreciated. From what I can tell its a early Lithgow that went thru FTR in 54. All the numbers match on the rifle. The question that I have is why someone would have put the wrong stock on it or is this something they normally did since stocks are so hard to come by? There are no stamps indicating that it was in India.

Gator, Your rifle is wearing a late style Ishapore fore-end. Two posibillities...it was replaced in India (quite a few Lithgows were FTR'd there for some reason) or it was replaced by a previous owner. In one of the photos it seems there is a screw running through the fore-end, which leads me to think the work was done at Ishapore.

Regards, Brad

It's wearing an Ishapore forestock alright and the import mark is right for one of the recent batch of imports from India---but the FTR marks are standard Australian, not Indian.

Australia FTR'd a large quantity of Lithgow and other SMLEs in the '50s and sold some number of them to India---this one would seen to be one of those.

I assume it got an Ishapore forestock---and maybe other wood bits---because the Coachwood this would have worn from the 1954 FTR was/is such a poor gunstock wood.

Gator, pull off the rear handguard and look for a barrel date on the left side---I'm betting it isn't wearing it's original 1917 issue barrel.

-----krinko

It also wears the large headed front nosecap screw, another Indian feature.

Couldn't agree more on coachwood, one of the world's worst stockwoods.

Eoin.

krinko, Please lend me a hand as my one and only Ishy and one and only Lithgow wern't FTR'd...how are the Lithgow and Ishapore FTR marks different?

Thanks, Brad

Brad,

I have not seen an "FTR" marked Indian rework---and I am not sure that India ever used the "FTR" mark at all. "FR" marked rifles---I have a couple---are the closest thing to a British "FTR" that I have found, but these seem to have been taken a step or two further that the Brits did with theirs.

At any rate, if the Indian's replaced a barrel, you should see the Ishapore Proof:

I do have an Aussie FTRd rifle, though, a 1941 Lithgow with a 1950 rebuild and the marks are in the same positions as they are on gator's rifle:

krinko, Thanks for taking the time and effort to show the difference!

Take Care, Brad