Help please! trying to Identify my gun

[phantomchicken]

Calling on the experts, I have read through the serial number pages and can't seem to get a definitive result as to the age and place of manufacture of my gun.

The gun is a .303 fluted jacket version what mark I am unsure.

On top of the cooling jacket it is marker H43 on the front at the side of the jacket it is simply marked 'L'

I think perhaps it is possible that the feed block has been changed at some time it is marked MA42 and V303.

On the breech end of the barrel it is stamped 46453

There is also a 'U' buy itself on the body of the gun.

The external spring cover is marked VSM as are the working parts inside.

The top cover is also marked VSM

The tripod dial is marked as a mark IV but I understand that may have been paired with the gun at any time.

I bought the gun in 1995 with my first months wages when I left school at sixteen at a gun shop in Sandy Bedfordshire.

Any help with identifying the gun or its history would be greatly appreciated.

[woodsy]

Your gun is a Mark I and was made in 1918 at the Erith factory of Vickers Sons & Maxim (VSM). Over the years it has had many parts mixed and matched, hence the Lithgow feed block. The U on the body could signify South African ownership. The SA mark usually incorporated a broad arrow in the middle of the U. The VSM parts are probably original to the gun. I hope this helps!