Waisted, Lightened Jungle Carbine Trigger Guard

Auction is for one unused No5 Trigger Guard-- shown with Long Tom , SMLE and No 4 for comparison but are available if required.

The Rifle No. 5 Mk I, was a derivative of the British Lee–Enfield No. 4 Mk I, designed in response to a requirement for a shorter, lighter, rifle for airborne forces in Europe. However most of its operational use was in post-war colonial campaigns such as the Malayan emergency - where it gained its common nickname of the "Jungle Carbine".

Production began Mar 1944, and finished Dec 1947.

The term was colloquial and never applied by the British Armed Forces, but the Rifle No. 5 Mk I was informally referred to as a "Jungle Carbine" by British & Commonwealth troops during WW II and the Malayan Emergency.

The No. 5 was about 100 mm shorter and nearly a kilo lighter than the No. 4 from which it was derived. A number of "lightening cuts" were made to the receiver body and the barrel, the bolt knob drilled out, woodwork cut down to reduce weight and had other new features like a flash suppressor and a rubber buttpad to help absorb the increased recoil and to prevent slippage on the shooters clothing while aiming. Unlike modern recoil pads the No. 5 buttpad significantly reduced the contact area with the users shoulder increasing the amount of felt recoil of the firearm.

The No. 5 iron sight featured a rear receiver aperture battle sight calibrated for 100 yd with an additional ladder aperture sight that could be flipped up and was calibrated for 200–800 yd in 100 yd increments.

It was used in the Far East and other Jungle-type environments (hence the "Jungle Carbine" nickname) and was popular with troops because of its light weight and general ease of use, although there were some concerns from troops about the increased recoil due to the lighter wgt.

According to official recoil tests the No. 4 yielded 10.06 ft-lb recoil energy and the No5 14.2 ft-lb [ an extra 1.44 ft-lb was due to flash suppressor ]