Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors The Savage Model 99...at War

I had to post this. I was watching a National Geographic channel the other night on England preparing for the German invasion that never came.

An instructor was showing two women with the Home Guard how to load the rotory magazine of a Savage 99. I was dumbfounded, did not expect to see a Savage 99 rifle defending the shores of England. Likely a "Lend Lease"
Model 99. I wonder if we got it back after the war?? Likely one of you guys have the rifle with "British Proof Marks" stamped on the barrel.

Doc

There were a number of small arms that were voluntarily sent from our country (largely through the efforts of the NRA) to England during that time of the war to help mitigate the losses they suffered in small arms at Dunkirk. The 99s you mention were probably part of that effort and we're not produced as Lend Lease items. On the other hand all of the surplus Enfields (SMLE) that are stamped US Property on their receivers were specifically made under the Lend Lease program by Savage for England; which reminds me that I need to find one nice example for my Savage collection.

Probably ended up on the ocean floor afterwards, sadly. If you happen to remember the name of the show, post it up please.

I remember hearing that they rounded up all those guns and dumped them in the ocean.

Can't trust civilians with guns you know...

Rory types faster than I do....

Correctomundo.

Maybe instead of complaining about what England did with all those donated weapons we ought to be celebrating the American spirit, ingenuity and generosity that was behind it in the first place! I'm sure I just pissed some folks off with that downer but some stories do have a positive side, like winning WWII. Sheesh...

I have a couple of Savage rifles, a 1920 and a 45, that came from Australia. IIRC, they are stamped "Not British Made" and British proof marks on the left side of both the receiver and the barrel. I don't know if they were shipped directly to Australia or if they went to the UK as donated guns for the home guard, then went to Australia, and from Australia to Nebraska.

All manufactured America guns between certain dates were marked Not British made something to do with importing exporting
The series on TV first aired out here about 3 years ago
I tried to re watch it on the computer but it was the one part of the series that had a copy write dispute on it, as I had hoped to post it here
One thing I think I recall is that while showing the women how to load he was holding a 303 British round
But will stand corrected on that point

If they were civilian guns sent to England, they were part of this program:

Help for the beleaguered nation came from both the American government and from the American people, the latter through the "American Committee for Defense of British Homes." In late 1940, the committee sent an urgent appeal -- which, of course, appeared in American Rifleman -- for Americans to send "Pistols - Rifles - Revolvers - Shotguns - Binoculars" because "British civilians, faced with the threat of invasion, desperately need arms for the defense of their homes." Thousands of arms were collected and sent to England, one of which was a .30-'06 Model 1903 target rifle owned by Major John W. Hession. Hession was one of the pre-eminent highpower rifle target shooters of his day, and he used that rifle to win Olympic gold at Bisley Camp in England in 1908. The rifle, unlike the majority sent, was returned and can now be viewed int he national Firearms Museum.

The "American Committee for the Defense of British Homes"

If it was one of these arms it would just letter to the original buyer, Joe.

I have one lettered, that also shipped directly to Austrailia, and spent it's whole life there till it made it's way back to New England.

Some of the above mentioned arms were returned, as noted by the return of Major Hession's 03 target rifle, Joe.

There is a picture in the November American Rifleman, on page 24 if I remember correctly, that showed British home guard posing wth donated American rifles. At least one was a 99.