SMLE carry handle and Bipod

[missingsomething]

Ok.. I pose a question..... It is widely known that Parker-Hale made a bipod and carry handle assembly for the Enfield SMLE and that it was used in WW2 as a Bren trainer as the British lost most of the in service Bren guns at Dunkirk and Dieppe.

So.... does anyone have any pictures or official documentation about their use??



Posted on Ebay at the moment:


cgi.ebay.ca/Parkerhale-Enfield-No4T-/220743091041?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3365504361


This is an experimental carrying handle for the Enfield No 4T sniper rifle. I purchased six boxed No. 4 MK1 (T) rifles from Val Forgett (owner of Navy Arms) back in the 1970's at the Columbus Ohio gun show. One mint rifle mfg by Long Branch in 1944, with a No 32 Scope, had this device installed on it. Since that time it sat in the bottom of the box, then to a shelf, then to a cardboard box..... until I lost track of it. I sold the rifle in the late 1990's to Noel Schott and I promised to sell it to him when I found it. He had reported to me, through his contacts, that this handle and a bipod was experimented with during WW2. This handle is marked "PARKERHALE" and is made of sheet metal, cast, and wood and has 95% of it's original paint finish. Questions welcomed.

Some people have speculated that this is a type of Bren trainer. No one could ever send me a vintage image that supports that statement but, that being said there seems to be modern image of a No1 Mk3 floating around the web with this set up.

Look at the carrying handle on a Bren, note that is directly over the barrel. Now look at the handle I listed. See how this is offset? That's because it circumvents the scope........................ Now, take that thought one set further. How many scoped rifles utilize a bipod? When you use a bipod you cannot sling the rifle in a normal fashion so what then becomes your carrying options? Misguided information circulating as knowledge always seems to be the truth for people who do not know any better.


Buyer pays $15.00 S&H. Overseas buyers welcome and I will take PayPal but wait for my invoice before you pay. High bidder needs to pay within seven days of the close of auction. No4 rifle is shown for display only. It is not part of this auction. .

[andrewupton]

Pictures are dead, but has a possible reference in it:

www.network54.com/Forum/28173/thread/1279681660/SMLE+Find

[britplumber]

The link shows the photo in the first post.

[Kev]

I have one myself but have never managed to find any reference to them in PH catologues or other sources.

[missingsomething]

Here is a reply that I got from Peter Laidler about it:

When the trials into the updated version of the P-H Cadet L81-A2 rifle were being undertaken here I collared Parker Hale and they looked into it for me. It was PRE war and didn't appear in the catalogues because the war overtook events and, as you can imagine, their need for war production overtook the need for these quaint 'things'. The one I had was slightly better than theirs so I let them swop. If they were POST war, then they'd feature in the catalogues......, surely. But they don't. That's why they're rare.