Enfield MkII: Better Than the MkI, I Guess

Jonathan Ferguson of the Royal Armouries explains that the L85A1's fundamental design flaws, such as the ejection port size, could not have been fixed by Enfield even if the company hadn't been sold. While improved quality control might have reduced malfunctions, the inherent issues would have persisted, making the SA80 platform problematic regardless of manufacturing.

The Enfield MkI, adopted in 1880, was the British military's first interchangeable revolver, designed by Owen Jones and featuring a unique forward-sliding cylinder for extraction. Despite its innovative design, it suffered from a significant safety flaw discovered in 1886, leading to a retrofitted hammer safety. It used the .455 Enfield cartridge, considered underpowered compared to American contemporaries.

The Enfield MkII revolver, an update to the MkI, featured design improvements like a snag-free sight and simplified machining, but still suffered from mechanical issues like cylinder locking and the 'bullet jumping' problem. It used the .476 MkIII cartridge with a larger heeled bullet to improve sealing and accuracy. Despite its improvements, the MkII was short-lived, replaced by the Webley MkI in 1887.

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