The Howell Rifle: One of Britain’s Semi-Automatic Experiment

In the early 20th century, militaries everywhere were experimenting with semi-automatic rifles to break free from the slow cadence of bolt action fire. Britain’s attempt along these lines was the Howell Automatic Rifle, a conversion of the venerable Lee-Enfield design.  

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What Is the Howell?

• The Howell was a semi-automatic conversion of the standard British SMLE (Short Magazine Lee-Enfield) bolt-action rifle.  

• Its inventor is cited as N. Howell (little is known about Howell personally).  

• It used the .303 British cartridge — which was the standard British service round at the time. 

How It Functions

The Howell’s conversion was clever but clumsy, a real “prototype in the trenches” sort of device. Here’s how it was engineered:

• A gas piston was mounted on the right side of the barrel. When a round was fired, gas tapped from the barrel would push this piston 

• That piston engaged a contoured cam which rotated the bolt and forced it back, thus cycling the action. The original bolt handle was removed or modified. 

• The rifle retained, in many versions, a 10-round standard SMLE magazine, though some conversions used extended magazines up to 20 rounds.  

• Because the gas system and cam were external and exposed, a crude pistol grip, handguard, and a face guard sometimes were added to protect the operator’s hands/face from the moving parts.  

• The sights were offset to the left, which allowed the shooter to lean their head away from the cycling bolt.  

In practice, the exposed moving parts and the recoil forces made handling awkward; the cycling action could interfere with accuracy, especially in fast fire. 

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Why It Wasn’t Adopted (or Widely Issued)

Despite its promise, the Howell remained a footnote in British small arms development. Several reasons explain its lack of adoption:

1. Durability under battlefield conditions
   The trenches were dirty, muddy, full of grit and fouling. The exposed parts of the Howell’s conversion were vulnerable to failure. 

2. Ergonomics and control issues
   The recoil forces, combined with the exposed moving bolt and cam, made it lacking in user comfort and precision. The rifle’s balance was thrown off by the extra hardware.  Complexity vs. benefit tradeoff

3. It was easier to keep using proven bolt action designs rather than risk widespread failure of a semi-automatic conversion.

4. Cost, logistics, and conservatism
   Britain had massive stocks of SMLE rifles, parts, and a production/maintenance system built around them. Adopting a semi-auto conversion would have complicated supply, training, and maintenance.

5. Lack of strong official backing
   As with many experimental weapons, the Howell may never have had the high-level support or convincing trials needed to push it into service. Some sources say no Howell conversions were ever officially issued to regular troops.

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Rumored Reuse: Howells in WWII as an Anti-Air Rifle?

There is a persistent rumor that during early World War II, with Britain facing weapon shortages, some Howell rifles were issued to Home Guard units to be used as anti-aircraft rifles. 

However:

• There is no solid evidence in government records confirming that any Howells were formally deployed in that role.  

• Many sources treat it as speculative or unproven.  

• The notion likely comes from wartime urgency and proposals rather than actual issuance. 

In fiction and some wikis, the Howell is listed in codices or games as having been used by Home Guard AA units — but such references are usually extrapolated or fanciful.  

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A Second Chance in Trench

  In the Trench series, the Howell rifle finally sees real action in the hands of the Regiment of Britannia (R.O.B.). Once an experimental design lost to history, it is reintroduced to the battlefield as a limited-issue weapon for elite marksmen and trench defenders.

Within the story, the R.O.B. deploys the Howell during critical operations, testing its unique self-loading mechanism and adaptability under combat conditions. The rifle, often fitted with a bipod and used for both defensive fire and anti-air roles, embodies the Regiment’s relentless drive to innovate and adapt — even with imperfect tools.

What was once dismissed as an unreliable prototype in the real world becomes, in Trench, a symbol of British ingenuity under pressure. Reforged in fiction, the Howell rifle earns its second chance amid the mud, steel, and shadows of war.