In
April of 2004, I read a
post on the ezboard.com Martini-Henry
Forum
from a fellow named John who claimed to have a
Martini-Henry Mark IV Infantry Rifle with a BSA
& M Co. maker's code, and an 1895 manufacture
date. I was a bit surprised by this, having
believed that all Mark IV's were made exclusively
by RSAF Enfield (as is stated in several printed
works on the Martini-Henry). Turns out, his rifle
was not a Khyber Pass Special, but is indeed a
genuine British-made example. A few correspondences
with Ian Skennerton on the matter made things
pretty clear...
Hi
again,
Looking more closely at the marking... the date...
'95' is per individual stamps, marked later. We've
observed this on other Martinis as well, turn of
the century. H.R.B. & B.E. Co. are prime
examples with some of their .303 carbines, mostly
Metfords. Note the '9' and '5' don't align
perfectly. Also, new made as a Mk IV body, under
the steel batch proof (crown with arrow
incorporated), there should be a 'I' to indicate a
1st class arm. It isn't there as some have been
faced off, presumably by Kirkee.
So what do we ascertain?
BSA must have manufactured some unfinished rifle
bodies in 18?? (Probably about 1890) and these
ended up with other long lever spares, in India. I
assume the '95' was stamped in Kirkee Arsenal. Note
the style of the numbers, sans serif. The '1' and
'8' and '9' are serif types, the '5' is later sans
serif type, like the KK marks in 11.08. Also the
stop after '5'. Not typical.
So I assume the rifle has been assembled from
spares, using a BSA mfg. spare action body, in
November 1908. Interesting however that BSA did a
War Office contract of Mk IV bodies after RSAF had
turned over their machinery. Maybe BSA had the
original dies from Enfield, as they cleared
everything out for the new magazine rifle
production in 1888.
Cheers,
Ian
Hi
again Jason,
I knew we had something about BSA somewhere but
I've done so many books with
such a variety of information, sometimes I think
that I dreamt about it!
Go to the Martini bible, pge. 510 (Vol. III on the
markings) for the BSA
order for India, for action bodies only. We have
seen 2 or 3 such BSA Mk IV
rifles and pulled them apart (just spoken with
Barry Temple who reminded me)
and all the parts are marked with Enfield
inspection stamps, but the bodies
are BSA, so they must be from the Indian
refurbished batch with new BSA
bodies, done in India.
Presto!
Sorry for the runaround... maybe I am becoming
forgetful in my old age? Or
there is too much stored away to index quickly.
Cheers, Ian
Hi
Jason,
Just going through old paperwork and saw your
e-mail of 26th last regarding
the M.H. Mk IV with Kirkee Arsenal marks. I replied
on that one, but notice
your comment 'RSAF was the only maker of Mk
IVs'.
1. I recall seeing a nice condition Mk IV long
lever (although from memory
it may only have had a short lever fitted as
original) in South Australia
over 25 years ago, made by the National Arms &
Ammunition Company. The logo
comprised of a circular belt with the National Arms
& Ammunition Company
inscribed within the belt that was almost as large
as the right face of the
receiver. Have never seen another since.
2. BSA Co. Mk IV, I agree that I've never seen
another maker (apart from
NA&A Co.) apart from Enfield, but the late date
makes it more credible as it
could have been a replacement. Using old Enfield
machinery is a possibility,
maybe a late order came in to the War Office or
Enfield and it was passed on
to BSA. Tasmania ordered new M.-H. Mk III rifles
after 1900 as they still
had lots of ammo on hand.
Cheers,
Ian
FROM PAGE 510 OF THE MARTINI
TREATISE...
"On 8/2/1894, the BSA Co was given an order
by the WO for the supply of spare parts for M-H
arms to India, and the parts ordered included
action bodies as follows...
Artillery Carbine - 1316
Rifle Mark II - 2310
Rifle Mark III - 326
Rifle Mark IV - 1237
They were for use in conjunction with the other
parts of damaged or salvaged weapons to rebuild
arms of the various patterns mentioned. The bodies
were marked with the BSA factory code, and the year
1895, so on casual examination, the rebuilt arms
would appear to have been made by that company at
that time, but although the BSA Co had made one
small batch of M-H AC.I for the Indian Government
in 1893, they had ceased production of R.II and III
by June, 1890, and had never made R.IV at all, so
the arms mentioned could not possibly have been
made by the company in that year."
So,
the assumption is that this rifle was assembled at
the Kirkee Arsenal in India in November of 1908. It
is unclear whether the damaged action body of an
existing rifle was replaced with this newly made
BSA action body, or whether the entire rifle was
newly constructed from spare parts and the new BSA
action bodies. It is assumed that all of these
action bodies were used to first repair
unserviceable Mark IV's, and in all likelihood, the
remaining bodies were used to construct new rifles
from spare parts. It will probably never be known
which rifles were repaired, and which were newly
assembled with these action bodies.
Here
are some detailed pictures of John's BSA Mark
IV.
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