THE RIEDER AUTOMATIC RIFLE ATTACHMENT

FOR THE S,M.L.E.

by Lt. Cdr. W. M. Bisset [Military Museum. Cape Town]

In March 1981, Mrs. H. J. R. Rieder donated her husband's pre-

sentation British ,303 S.M.L.E Rifle No I Mark III (number M-45374)

with the Rieder Automatic Rifle Attachment to the Military Museum at

the Castle in Cape Town. With it were a number of photographs, letters,

documents and plans concerning this once secret invention which was

tested outside the Castle during the Second World War. Fortunately,

the documents donated by Mrs. Rieder include a list of the numbers of

the 18 rifles to which Mr. Rieder's automatic attachment was fitted and

it is hoped that the publication of this information will lead to the

discovery of some of them and be of considerable interest to their

present owners.

France surrendered on 17 June 1940 and to many a swift German

victory seemed inevitable. In July 1940, Mr. H. J. R. Rieder discussed

the simple conversion of a standard ,303 rifle to a full automatic rifle

with Lt. Col. M. E. Ross, the Staff Officer All at Cape Command

Headquarters in the Castle. Mr. Rieder, a radio and television

experimenter and inventor, was employed in the Mechanician De-

partment of the General Post Office in Cape Town. Although of

German ancestry he had served in the Royal Corps of Signals during the

First World War.2

On 22 July 1940 Mr. Rieder wrote to the Officer Commanding Cape

Command requesting the loan of "one standard service rifle for minor

alterations and fitting of conversion unit for demonstration purposes

only". Mr. Rieder added that the normal operation of the rifle would

not he impaired and that an old used rifle would be quite adequate.

In a reply dated 3 August 1940 a Lieutenant-Colonel wrote on behalf

of the Director-General of Technical Services that Mr. Rieder should be

asked "to explain the principle which he proposed to adopt and submit

drawings or sketches of his design". The writer doubted whether an

automatic rifle was of much value, since none had been adopted to any

great extent by any of the powers. He added that theammunition supply

was one difficulty.

On 23 September 1940 the Deputy Director of Coast Artillery, Lt.-

Col. H.E. Cilliers, authorised Mr. Rieder to hold in his possession one

rifle Mk III No. 45374" for experimental purposes, but on 18 November

1940 he wrote that the Senior Stores Officer was "pressing for its

return" and requested a progress report.

Mr. Rieder manufactured his automatic rifle attachment in his home,

Windyways, 37 Upper Glengariff Road, Three Anchor Bay and was

supplied with blanks with which to test it. A kingsize silencer deadened

the noise which would otherwise have aroused the suspicions of the

neighbours.3 Mr. P. D. Rieder, the youngest son of the inventor, recalls

that his father was later granted a temporary transfer to the UDF and

wore army uniform. All subsequent work on the invention took place in

an upstairs workshop in the Castle and a sergeant was assigned the task

of assisting Mr. Rieder.4 A detailed description of the Rieder Automatic

Rifle Attachment and photographs of the invention were forwarded to

 

the Senior Naval Officer, Simonstown on 2 January 1941 and to the

Director-General of War Supplies, Dr. H. J. van der BijI, the following

day.

A letter from the only cameraman permitted to be present, mentions

that separate demonstrations for the Admiralty and Director-General

of War Supplies were arranged. Fortunately, the African Film Pro-

ductions cameraman, whose name is not recorded, has included the

familiar stone walls of the Castle in some of the photographs of the

demonstrations. The camera man advised his General Manager on 14

January 1941 that permission for him to photograph the rifle had only

been granted on condition that the company work through Mr.

Wilson who was responsible for the arrangements concerning the

release of the story. However, a telegram from DFOPS Pretoria to

DECHIEF Cape Town dated 22 January 1941 stated that the negatives

of films of the invention were being returned at once care of Capt.

Stodel and that neither copies nor negatives had been made.

Mr. Rieder's automatic rifle attachment made it possible for the

ordinary service ,303 rifle to operate as an automatic weapon by using

the gas or pressure generated by the fired cartridge. Mr. Rieder

considered that the merits of the rifle attachment were its lightness

(approximately 21/2 Ibs), simple construction and fitting, relative

freedom from stoppages, low production costs and ease of loading. The

attachment did not prevent the rifle from being use as an ordinary rifle

and "single shots could be fired with automatic loading".

The only disadvantage listed by Mr. Rieder was overheating after

about 100 rounds had been fired, but this he expected to overcome. In a

letter to the Director-General of War Supplies, Director-General of

Technical Services and Mr. Rieder dated 31 January 1941, the Officer

Commanding the Technical Services Workshops at the New Drill Hall,

Maj. E. P. Edwards, wrote that during demonstrations the extractor

and loading springs had caused problems because they were made from

piano wire which did not retain the correct length and weight. This

problem and an incorrectly designed check spring were overcome in a

new model of the attachment. Maj. Edwards considered that this

invention might be as free from defects as the ordinary machine gun.

Another advantage was that scarcely any oil was required and although

it had a dust cover it stood up well to field conditions.

Under the heading "remarks" Maj. Edwards suggested that the eye-

guard could he used for fitting an adjustable aperture sight to offset the

possible difficulty of aligning the service sight caused by the rapid

vibration of the rifle. Single shots could be fired by releasing the trigger

quickly or alternatively the rifle could he brought to service conditions

by closing the gas vein.

Although Maj. Edwards wrote that it was essential that a type of

elongated ring foresight be fitted, he pointed out that the introduction

of tracer bullets (I in 3) and using the hose-pipe method would be

useless because of the speed of modern enemy aircraft upon which the

.303 bullet had "very little effect other than the moral aspect".5

In a letter to OC Technical Services dated 16 June 1941 Mr. Rieder

requested a further extension of his temporary transfer to the Defence

Department because it had proved impossible to obtain a suitable type

of steel spring in the Union and this and other small improvements had

impeded progress. Nonetheless, he hoped that "perfection would be

accomplished in the near future".

On 18 June 1941 Mr. Rieder advised the Officer Commanding

Technical Services Workshops in writing that his experiments had

reached finality and that it would now be possible to complete the

remaining sixteen rifles for demonstration purposes. He requested a

further period of about six weeks to complete the task.

On 10 October 1944 Cdr. H. S. Grade RN presented Mr. Rieder with

the first .303 rifle (Number M-45374) to he fitted with the Rieder

Automatic Rifle Attachment on behalf of the Admiralty.6

Although three rifles fitted with Mr. Rieder's invention were sent

overseas, it was never adopted.7 Nonetheless, Mr. Rieder's ingenuity and

industry in one ot the darkest hours of the Second World War, deserve

the highest praise. Mrs. Rieder's gift, now displayed near the scene of

the two demonstrations outside the Castle and the documents and

photographs relating to it, have also helped fill another gap in the

history of our most important national monument.

.303 RIFLES FITTED WITH THE RIEDER AUTOMATIC RIFLE

ATTACHMENT

NUMBER     REMARKS

M-45374         Obtained by Mr. Rieder. Presented to Mr. Rieder

by the Admiralty on 10 October 1944. Now in the

Military Museum The Castle.

Eighteen rifles received from SSOT.

B92462*

Z39133*

F59817*          * Listed as "being partly converted to original plan

G47054*         and now at Cape Town" on 20 September 1941.

B92868*

N8109*

Z 36139*

S4X250*

F53065**

F68561**        ** Rides completed and converted to new plan now

H43785**        at Cape Town.

F45222**

H86891        "Susie". (Taken lo Pretoria by McClelland.)

Z50675           Sent to Pretoria.

RIFLES SENT OVERSEAS

8134            Converted to original plan.

F26776       Converted to new plan 25.8.41.

F59724      "Bertha". (Taken to Pretoria by McClelland on

date not recorded.)

FOOTNOTES

1. Letter from Mr. Rieder to OC Cape Command dated 22 July 1940.

2. Information provided by Mr. P. D. Rieder and obituary in The Cape

Times 23 November 1954.

3. Information provided by Mr. P. D. Rieder.

4. Ibid.

5. Letter TSW 840/1 dated 31 January 1941.

6. Letter from Cdr. H. S. Grade (Office of Commander-in-Chid,

South Atlantic) dated 10 October 1944.

7. Letter TSW 840/t dated 20 September 1941.

ABOVE: The Rieder Conversion with bolt open, showing the

linkage required to activate the bolt.

H. J. R. RIEDER

ABOVE: Test firing a Rieder Conversion mounted on a tripod in front of

Naval and Army officers. Note the cartridge cases on the ground and the

walls of the castle in the background.

ABOVE: The Rieder conversion with bolt closed, showing the conversion attachment, extra handles and extended magazine.

ABOVE: Test firing two British .303 SMLE Rifles No.1 MK.3

fitted with the Rieder Automatic Rifle Attachment, mounted on

experimental bipods. The right one having the bipod attached to

a bayonet handle and the other having a different fitting.

ABOVE: Mr. Rieder demonstrating his conversion with a

what looks like a Bren magazine instead of  the standard

10 shot magazine used in the tests.

ABOVE: The Rieder Automatic Rifle Attachment dismantled.

 

ABOVE: After the test Mr. Rieder shows his invention to Royal Naval and Army officers after the demonstation illustrated in the picture.

 

BELOW: CLICK PHOTO LINK FOR CHARLTON

AUTOMATIC RIFLE NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA

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                Last Update: 13 October 2009

The Castle Military Museum Cape Town