My Black Friday Enfield No 2 Mk 1**

[GunnyUSMC]

One of my local pawn shops had an Enfield No 2 Mk 1** in their display case for the last six months priced at $249. I never paid it much mind due to the price, it being chambered in 38 S&W, and the fact that I think they are a little on the ugly side.
I stopped by the shop in November and saw that they had the it marked down to $199.95, well, that made it look a little better.
I needed to do a little home work because I really didn't know much of anything when it came to British handguns. After talking to a few friends, I thought I would go and see if I could make a better deal on the handgun.
So I went to the pawn shop, no Black Friday, and shot the bull a little then asked about a better price on the gun. The guy started scratching his head so I made an offer. I told him I would give him $180 out the door. He gave me a funny look and then said "What the Hell, you got a deal".
So here it is, My Black Friday Enfield No 2 Mk 1**























The "S" denotes the barrel latch was a spare component at some point in its existence. Probably fitted to the revolver during FTR refurbishment in 1952.

 

[Dr.Mall Ninja]

Looks like a good deal to me.

 

[tlatoani]

Don't know a thing about it, but it looks neat.
Good job on the pics.

 

[PabloJ]

Congratulations the Webley or Enfield made .38/200 was the best military handgun of World War II.

 

[Dr.Mall Ninja]

Enfield made .38/200 was the best military handgun of World War II.

Yeah Marine Recon and FBI HRT are really dropping the ball giving their guys 1911s

 

[GunnyUSMC]

After WWI the British Government wanted a pistol that would be easier for troops to learn to shoot. The British Co. Webley & Scott put up their Webley Mk IV revolver in .38/200 calibre. Rather than adopting it, the British Government took the design to the Government-run Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, and the Enfield factory came up with a revolver that was very similar to the Webley Mk IV .38, but internally slightly different. The Enfield-designed pistol was quickly accepted under the designation Revolver, No 2 Mk I, and was adopted in 1931, followed in 1938 by the Mk I* (spurless hammer, double action only), and finally the Mk I** (simplified for wartime production) in 1942.

Webley sued the British Government . Their action was contested by Enfield, who stated that the Enfield No 2 Mk I was actually designed by Captain Boys (the Assistant Superintendent of Design, famous for the Boys Rifle) with assistance from Webley & Scott, and not the other way around. Webley lost.

The Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield was unable to manufacture enough No. 2 revolvers to meet the military's wartime demands, and Webley's Mk IV was also adopted as a standard sidearm for the British Army.

The easy way to tell the Enfield No2 MkI from the Webley Mk IV revolvers is that the Enfield has a side plate on the left side of the frame.

 

[Lone Star]

Pablo, what have you been smoking?


By the way, that gun is a ** model. Check that out. I think those had a part deleted to speed production. It may fire if dropped on the hammer.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

At the last gun show I attended, I saw an otherwise cherry Webley Mk. V .455 revolver that had the rear of the cylinder shaved to take .45 ACP cartridges in moon clips. The guy who had it didn't understand why no one was offering to take it at the ridiculous price he was asking.

ECS

 

[Jim K]

The Mk 1* had the full cock notch removed from the hammer, so the gun was double action only. The Mk 1** had the safety stop (hammer block) removed (or not installed on new guns), so only the rebound lever kept the hammer from going forward if it received a hard enough blow.

With due respect to Webley, the Enfield was not just a slight modification of the Webley Mk IV, it was a completely different gun internally, and a lot easier to maintain and service than the Webley. Whoever designed it did a pretty good job within the requirements for a top break revolver.

The British did not depend very much on the revolver, and it was considered a symbol of office, like the officer's sword, and a defensive weapon. The normal cartridge issue was 12 rounds per gun, with another 12 rounds in unit supply. It is little wonder that British officers and tankers resorted to expedients like staking the rims of 9mm cartridges (which were easy to get) so they would extract and using them in the .380 revolvers. (The pic shows a staked rim cartridge in the cylinder of an Enfield revolver; not being completely crazy, I chose to center punch the rim of a fired case, not a live round. They also used diagonal cutters to pinch the rim.

That gun was rebuilt (FTR - Factory Thorough Repair) in 1952 and in accordance with British practice, the original factory marking was removed. But the position of the ground off marking indicates it was the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield. (The Albion markings are in a different area.)

Jim

 

[PabloJ]

Pablo, what have you been smoking?


By the way, that gun is a ** model. Check that out. I think those had a part deleted to speed production. It may fire if dropped on the hammer.

Not smoking anything. I have shot one with 145gr or 146gr Remi .38 S&W loads (original load was 200gr at about 650fps). The weapon has excellent trigger, very good sights, low recoil, and automatic ejector for quicker reload capability. This translates into excellent hit probability at normal handgun ranges. As I said it was the BEST sidearm of WWII.

 

[1858remington]

I've had 2 of these through the years, always liked the look of them.
I sold both for the same reasons:
1. 38S&W is costly and wimpy
2. I got tired of hooking up a block and tackle to help with the heavy trigger pull.

 

[F-111 John]

Gunny, You may want to have a look at this thread over at Gunboards:

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?118845-Enfield-No-2-Mk-1-Revolver-serial-numbers

I'm not sure if mayralphie is still collecting serial numbers.

@Jim K, I can't imagine shooting 9mm out of a gun chambered for the wimpy .38 S&W, but hopefully those proof marks mean something...

@PabloJ, I'm not sure what your Enfield was like, but the trigger pull on my must be 15 lbs. I never tried a block and tackle, but it might help some...

 

[GunnyUSMC]

The double-action-only Mk I* revolvers were not popular with British troops, many took the first available opportunity to exchange them in favour of Smith & Wesson, Colt or Webley revolvers.

38 S&W is a wimp of a round and I would hate to have to go into combat with a revolver chambered for it.

The Smith & Wesson Victory Model was a far better handgun then the Enfield or Webley, and you could get it in 38 SPL.


F-111 John
I picked up a seconed No2 MkI** about 3 weeks after the first one. It's ni a little better shape.
I'll add the SN# to the post at Gunboards when I get home.
Here is a pic of the seconed one. I got it at the same shop for the same price.

 

[PabloJ]

The Webley .38/200 is in no way inferior to 'Victory' or 'Commando'. The opposite is actually true.

 

[F-111 John]

Here's the one I recently inherited from my father. It is in great condition except for the grips. The grips have a few chips in the bakelite.

How's the trigger pull on your two examples, Gunny?

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Trigger pull is around 12 to 15 lbs.

PabloJ
I just don't understand where your coming from Do you own a No.2 MkI*? And have you ever shot a Mod. 10?

The Enfield No. 2 Mk I (from 1923–1957).
The Smith & Wesson Victory Model ( M&P) Which is the S&W Mod. 10. Was the updated version of the S&W .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1889. In production since 1899, some 6,000,000 of the type have been produced over the years, making it the most popular centerfire revolver of the 20th century.
During World War II over 570,000 of these pistols were supplied to the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa under the Lend-Lease program.

But this post is not about which handgun was the best. It's about an old cool looking, costly to shoot, revolver chambered in an obsolete cartridge.

 

[PabloJ]

I owned Singapore Police Webley Mark IV. I bulged the barrel through my own stupidity which pretty much destroyed half of revolver. The rest had to be used for parts. I miss it greatly. All is not Randy Clark has pocket version which I may soon buy.

 

[El Guero]

Cool gun! I'd buy one on looks alone. I guess it'd have to be looks alone since the triggers are supposed to suck and the ammo is weak