still had to be conducted using the old single-shot Springfield and .45-70 black-powder ammunition. Rifles with a serial number below 13390 (approx.) were made prior to December 31, 1898. Additional smaller purchases were subsequently made to replace lost weapons, mostly in response to a fire at the New York Navy Yard which damaged or destroyed about 2,500 rifles; around 230 rifles were condemned as unrestorable. The additional small quantity purchases by the Navy as well as all sporting models fall into the 10000–15000 serial range, purchased between the two major contracts. Some confusion arises as to production dates for the sporting rifles as many of the commercially manufactured and numbered receivers (not USN marked) were not made into complete rifles until 1902, and sales continued until 1916. Military rifles have 28-inch (71-cm) barrels and navy anchor stamp, while rifles made for civilian sale have 24-inch (61-cm) barrels and no anchor. Second contract While serial numbers 13391 through 15000 were made after Dec. 1 1898 and are not categorized as antiques by ATF, a second contract was let on February 7, 1898 for an additional 5,000 rifles at $18.75 each. This second contract (serials 15001 to 20000) began delivery in August 1898 and was completed in December 1898. Reliability in the field Overall, the Lee had a reputation for reliability in the field, though some issues were never overcome during the rifle's relatively short service life. Beginning in 1898, during the Marine expeditionary campaign in Cuba, reports emerged from the field criticizing the floating extractor design. The firing pin lock and bolt-lock actuator were relatively fragile, and would occasionally break or malfunction, while the tension in the en bloc cartridge clips proved difficult to regulate, occasionally causing failures to feed. Design and operation Magazine system The Lee's magazine system was improved over the prior navy rifle, the M1885 Remington-Lee, by incorporating a clip-loaded magazine system and an action capable of handling high-velocity, small-caliber smokeless cartridges. Designed by inventor James Paris Lee, the rifle weighed 8.3 pounds (3.7 kg) and was about 48 in (122 cm) long. It was the first American military rifle to be loaded by charging an (optional) en bloc clip of five 6mm cartridges into the rifle magazine, similar to the Mannlicher clip system (except the Mannlicher required the clip to operate). Lee later claimed in an unsuccessful lawsuit that his single-row clip-loaded magazine patent was infringed by