Britain’s Forgotten Silencer Rifle: The Suppressed Lee-Enfield with firearm expert Jonathan Ferguson

In this episode of What Is This Weapon? Jonathan examines a remarkable and little-known piece from the Royal Armouries collection, a Charger Loading Lee-Enfield Mk I* rifle fitted with a Parker Hale Silencer. From Victorian origins to early 20th-century experiments with sound suppression, this long Lee-Enfield tells a fascinating story about Britain’s first attempts to quiet the battlefield. 0:00 Intro 0:20 The Long Lee-Enfield explained: origins and conversions 1:50 Parker Hale’s 1929 Maxim silencer: design and markings 4:45 Inside the silencer: baffles, expansion chambers, and physics 7:30 Early British suppressor trials (1909–1929) 10:35 Bayonets & accuracy myths 14:50 Trials results: nearly silent or not worth it? 17:45 Why the British Army abandoned suppressors 21:00 From the Lee-Enfield to the L403A1: the long road to modern silence 24:20 Outro Sources: Field & Stream mentions; https://archive.org/details/sim_field... https://archive.org/details/sim_field... Subscribe to our channel for more videos about arms and armour Help us bring history to life by supporting us here: https://royalarmouries.org/support-us... Sign up to our museum membership scheme here: https://royalarmouries.org/support-us... ⚔Website: https://royalarmouries.org/home ⚔Blog: https://royalarmouries.org/stories/ ⚔Facebook:   / royalarmouriesmuseum   ⚔Twitter:   / royal_armouries   ⚔ Instagram:   / royalarmouriesmuseum   We are the Royal Armouries, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Discover what goes on behind the scenes and watch our collection come to life. See combat demonstrations, experience jousting and meet our experts. Have a question about arms and armour? Feel free to leave us a comment and we'll do our best to answer it.