Does anyone know if Birmingham Small Arms Rifle records are available as to dates of manufacture and purchasers? Thanks.
Contact John Knibbs
http://www.ukgunroom.com/dealer-directory/viewDealer.jsp?id=330Knibbs wrote a book on the history of BSA called the Golden Century after he retire from BSA.
In regards to the BSA Francotte Martini's there is a great deal of contradiction between catalogs from one year to the next, Knibbs book and other sources. If I remember right that most of the BSA records were destroyed in WWII bombing raids.
Even if the records survived they wouldn't do you much good as, in general, BSA didn't sell directly to the public. The records would reflect a sale to Parker Hale or one of the other British retailers.
I was sent every day to Armoury Road in 1965-6 for basic engineering training and was always looking in the stocking shop, I half inched (google this phrase) a 30-06 and walked it out the gate up my trouser leg then lost my nerve and dumped it in a canal. I will be paying at the pearly gates for that one. My memory seems to say that the actions were made in the Redditch plant. But it was a long time ago.
My uncle was there during the war years and he told me that there was a direct hit on the main factory one night and a lot of folk were sheltering in the basement as they wanted to get back onto the overtime rates as soon as the all clear sounded, I think 175 people lost their lives when the building totally collapsed and they then rebuilt the factory on top of them without clearing away the bodies - as it was wartime and the government was in a hurry for replacing lost kit.
Martin
Us Scots try to avoid "The Smoke" (we got air pollution enough in "Auld Reekie") but does "half inch" perhaps rhyme with "pinch"? For shame! (We call that a "Lunch Box Special").
Seriously, the Blitz had to have been God-awful. When I and my new wife wandered all over the Old Country by thumb in the summer of '68, there were still "bomb sites" in London and the Midlands. Sobering (and I didn't sober easily in them days!).
Joeblack, I have seen several BSA marked sxs shotguns. Don't know if they sold rifles with their names, but haven't we heard of air rifles marked BSA ?
Paul, pages 108-111 of British Gunmakers by Nigel Brown give serial numbers of rifles and air rifles and BSA product codes. The book states that John Knibbs International, Hillside, Shawbury Lane, Shustoke, Warks B46 2RR [ph 01675 481006 and fax 01675 481984] has the surviving records for BSA shotgun, rifle, and air rifles. Peter Martineau of BSA has later been able to update airweapon serials.
Daryl, BSA rifles were fairly available (don't know how "common") here in the 1960s and 1970s. They sold a bolt action high-powered rifle in common US calibers that was neat and light and often equipped with a very Cutts-looking muzzle brake, partly to compensate for the recoil of the light rifle. Remember one of these on a turkey shoot line with me, a .308--man was that a barker! Seemed like great rifles for hunting, not much for prolonged paper punching. Don't know if they made the actions, but they were "short Mauser" type.
There are also generations of BSA .22s, some of quite unique design.
I own a few BSA Lee Speeds and Martinis. 2 of them were retailed by A&N CSL and I have the sales records for them. The funny thing about BSA is that the same well known Birmingham makers who, in their advertizing, disparaged "machine made" rifles and shotguns made by BSA actually owned the company.