The Magazine Lee-Metford rifle, abbreviated as the MLM rifle, was the first magazine-fed rifle used by the British Army.
Main indicators:
1. Automatic mode: non-automatic, rotating rear pull bolt, 2.Caliber: .303 British (7.7×56mm R), 3.Weight: 3.9kg, 4.Length: 1257mm, 5.Barrel length: 762mm, 6.Bullet: 7.7×56mm black powder bullet, 7.Loading method: Rear loading, 8.Ammunition supply mode: 8 rounds single-row magazine, 9.R&D country: United Kingdom,
The Development and Selection of The Rifle began in 1879, and in December 1888, the British Army officially adopted the .303 caliber Lee-Mettford magazine rifle.
In this name, the names of the two inventors are contained separately.
The term "Lee" refers to James Paris Lee (1831-1904), a Scottish-born weapon inventor (who immigrated to the United States) who designed a rotating pull-back bolt and box-shaped removable magazine for the Lee-Mettford rifle, and in the decades since, the Various Enfield rifles used by the British Army newspaper have been an improvement on this system, so this series of weapons is often collectively referred to as the "Lee's" rifle.
"Metford" refers to William Ellis Metford (1824-1899), a British civil engineer who was proficient in mechanics, who invented the .303 caliber full armor shell and the corresponding rifling, which is a slightly rounded shallow yin line, known as "Mettford rifle", which was widely used in British rifles in the era of black powder. Due to the large number of black powder burning residues used in early gunshots, the shallow circular yin line can reduce the accumulation of gunpowder residues in the gun chamber, and a similar design was popular in the era of black powder.
Firearm Model:
Mark I Rifle: The first model of the MLM rifle to be adopted, which is the same length as the Martini-Henry rifle, but is fed with an 8-round single-row magazine, so the firing speed can be greatly increased.
MLM Mk.I* Rifle: A slightly improved model that was finalized in 1892, the British Ministry of Defence used a "*" suffix in the name of the rifle to indicate that the model was only slightly changed from the original model and did not change much.
MLM Mk.II rifle: Finalized in 1893, the biggest change was the switch to a 10-round double-row magazine, which has been standard in Lee's rifle ever since.
LMC Mk I Carbine: The total length is shortened to about 1013 mm, and the magazine capacity is 5 rounds.