| Sterling submachine gun | |
|---|---|
 Sterling L2A3 (Mark 4) submachine gun |
|
| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Suez crisis, Aden Emergency, Cold War, Falklands War, Northern Ireland, The Gulf War (final batch) |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1944 |
| Number built | 400,000 + |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2.7 kg (empty) |
| Length | 686 mm (481 mm folded stock) |
| Barrel length | 196 mm |
|
|
|
| Cartridge | 9x19mm Parabellum |
| Action | Blowback |
| Rate of fire | ~ 550 round/min |
| Feed system | 34 round box magazine |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2009) |
The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from 1953 until 1988, when it was phased out with the introduction of the L85A1 assault rifle.
Contents |
History
In 1944 the British General Staff issued a specification for a new submachine gun. It stated that the weapon should not weigh more than six pounds (2.7 kg), should fire 9x19mm Parabellum calibre ammunition, have a rate of fire of no more than 500 rounds per minute and be sufficiently accurate to allow five single shots to be fired into a one foot square target at 100 yards (91.44 meters).
To meet the new requirement, Mr G. W. Patchett, the chief designer at the Sterling Armaments Company of Dagenham submitted a sample weapon of new design in early 1944. The army quickly recognised its potential and ordered 120 examples for trials. Towards the end of the Second World War, some of these trial samples were used in combat by airborne troops at Arnhem and elsewhere, where it was known as the Patchett submachine gun. Given that the Patchett/Sterling can use straight Sten submachine gun magazines as well as the curved Sterling design, there were no interoperability problems.
After the war, with large numbers of Sten guns in the inventory there was little interest in replacing them with a superior design. However, in 1947 a competitive trial between the Patchett, an Enfield design, a new BSA design and an experimental Australian design was held, with the Sten for comparison. The trial was inconclusive but was followed by further development and more trials. Eventually the Patchett design won and the decision was made in 1951 for the British Army to adopt it. It started to replace the Sten in 1953 as the Sub-Machine Gun L2A1. Its last non-suppressed variation was the L2A3, but the model changes were minimal throughout its development life.
Amusingly, the use of the Sterlings, as well as other WW2 era weapons (notably the German MG42 and MG34) to arm the Imperial troopers for the Star Wars series of movies lead to a resurgence in the popularity of the type among collectors. It has been noted that these weapons fit in rather well in these futuristic movies, although the prop guns were usually made of a rubber compound.
Design details
The Sterling submachine gun is constructed entirely of steel and plastic and has a folding butt which folds up underneath the weapon. Although of conventional blowback design firing from an open bolt, there are some unusual features: for example the bolt has helical (spiral) grooves around it which cut away dirt in the receiver and help to keep it clean. A significant improvement on the troublesome Sten magazines, the Sterling feeds from a 34-round curved double-column feed magazine of advanced design, which is inserted into the left side of the receiver. The magazine follower, which pushes the cartridges into the feed port, is equipped with rollers to reduce friction and the firing pin is arranged so that it does not line up with the percussion cap on the cartridge until the cartridge has entered the chamber.
There is a variation of the Sterling submachine gun (L34A1) that is suppressed, where the only sound during its firing was from the action reciprocating and the barely-audible explosive discharge, while the bullet speed is reduced to a subsonic velocity using a ported barrel so that it does not break the sound barrier.
The Sterling has a reputation for excellent reliability under adverse conditions and, allowing for the fact that it fires from an open bolt, good accuracy. While it has been reported that the weapon poses no problems for left-handed users to operate,[1] it is not recommended without the wearing of ballistic eye protection. The path of the ejected cases is slightly down and backward, so mild/trivial burns can occasionally be incurred.
A bayonet of a similar design as that for the L1A1 SLR was produced and issued in British Army service, but was rarely employed except for ceremonial duties. Both bayonets were derived from the version issued with the Rifle No. 5 Mk I "Jungle Carbine", the main difference being a larger ring on the SLR bayonet to fit over the rifle's muzzle. When mounted, the Sterling bayonet was offset to the left of the weapon's vertical line which gave a more natural balance when used for bayonet-fighting.
The correct position for the left hand while firing is on the ventilated barrel-casing—not on the magazine, as the pressure from such a grip can increase the risk of stoppages, and a loose magazine can lead to dropping the weapon. It provides a more solid hold of the weapon, so the right-hand can intermittently be used for other tasks. Again essential if bayonet-fighting is likely.
Manufacture
A total of over 400,000 were manufactured. Sterling built them for the British armed forces and for overseas sales, whilst the Royal Ordnance Factories at Fazakerley near Liverpool constructed them exclusively for the British military. ROF no longer makes full weapons but still manufactures spare parts for certified end users.
A Chilean variant was made by FAMAE as the PAF submachine gun but was different externally as it had a shorter receiver lacking the barrel shroud.
Canada also manufactured a variant under licence, called the Submachine Gun 9 mm C1 made by Canadian Arsenals Limited.[2] It replaced the later versions of the Sten submachine gun from 1953 onwards.
A similar weapon, the Sub-Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 1A1 is manufactured under license by the Indian Ordnance Factory at Kanpur, along with a Sub-Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 2A1 which is a copy of the L34A1 integrally-silenced version. At the beginning of the 21st century, these two weapons were still being manufactured by OFB and used by the Indian Armed Forces.
Variants
- British Army
- Unassigned: Patchett Machine Carbine Mark 1 (trials commenced in 1944)
- Unassigned: Patchett Machine Carbine Mark 1 & Folding Bayonet (same as above but with folding bayonet, never accepted)
- L2A1: (Patchett Machine Carbine Mark 2) Adopted in 1953.
- L2A2: (Sterling Mark 3) Adopted in 1955.
- L2A3: (Sterling Mark 4) Adopted in 1956. Last regular version in service with the British Army.
- L34A1: Suppressed version (Sterling-Patchett Mark 5). Held in reserve by the British Army.
- Sterling Mark 6 "Police": a semi-automatic-only closed-bolt version for police forces and private sales. A US export version had an elongated barrel to comply with BATF regulations.
- Sterling Mark 7 "Para-pistol": Special machine pistol variant issued to commando and plainclothes intelligence units. It had a shortened 4" / 108mm barrel, fixed vertical foregrip, and weighed 4.84 lbs. / 2.2 kg. If used with a short 10- or 15-round magazine, it could be stowed in a special holster. It also could be used as a Close Quarters Battle weapon with the addition of an optional solid stock.
- Canadian Army
- C1 Submachine Gun: Adopted in 1958, replacing the STEN gun in general service.[3] It is different from the British L2 in that it made extensive use of stamped metal rather the more expensive castings used by British production SMGs.[3] It also had an enlarged arctic trigger guard (for use with gloves) was a standard option and used a new 30-round magazine.
- Indian Army
- SAF Carbine 1A: Indian made Sterling L2A1.
- SAF Carbine 2A1: Sterling Mark V silenced carbine.
Users
Argentina: Used L34A1 by Buzos Tácticos in the Falklands War.
Bangladesh
Canada
Chile: Used L34A1s.[4]
Cyprus[5]
India: Still manufactured to this day by the Indian Ordnance Factories. It is sold as the Sub Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 1A1.[6] A silenced version is also available which sold under the label of Sub Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 2A1.[7]
Jamaica: Used by the Jamaica Defence Force as a personal defense weapon for auxiliary units.[8]
Lesotho[9]
Malaysia: used by Malaysian Armed Forces and Royal Malaysian Police before it was replaced by the Heckler & Koch MP5.
New Zealand: Used the L2A3 and L34A1 until the Steyr AUG entered service in the late 1980s.
Papua New Guinea: L2A3.[10]
Philippines: L34A1s used by Naval Special Warfare Group.[11]
Sri Lanka: Uses the 1A carbine from India.[12]- United Kingdom
See also
- List of submachine guns
- F1 submachine gun
- CETME C2 submachine gun
- Sten submachine gun
- Lanchester submachine gun
References
- ^ Sterling 9mm MK4 SMG Sub Machine Gun (YouTube video)
- ^ Kitsune (2001). "Sterling L2A3 Submachinegun". http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Subs/Sterling_L2A3.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ a b "C1 Submachine Gun". http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/weapons/smgs/c1smg.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ "World Infantry Weapons: Chile". http://worldinventory.googlepages.com/wiw_sa_chile. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ Jones, Richard (2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009–2010. Jane's Information Group. p. 894. ISBN 0710628692.
- ^ "SUB MACHINE GUN CARBINE 9 mm 1A1". http://ofbindia.gov.in/products/data/weapons/wsc/8.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ "Sub Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 2A1 (Silent Version)". http://ofbindia.gov.in/products/data/weapons/wsc/9.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ http://www.jdfmil.org/equipment/weapons/weapons_home.php
- ^ Jones, Richard (2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009–2010. Jane's Information Group. p. 898. ISBN 0710628692.
- ^ "World Infantry Weapons: Papua New Guinea". http://worldinventory.googlepages.com/wiw_as_papuanewguinea. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- ^ "M3 Grease Guns Re-issued". 2005-02-22. http://www.timawa.net/m3/m3.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ "World Infantry Weapons: Sri Lanka". http://worldinventory.googlepages.com/wiw_as_srilanka. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
- Hogg, Ian V., and John H. Batchelor. The Complete Machine-Gun, 1885 to the Present. London: Phoebus, 1979. ISBN 0-7026-0052-0.
External links
 External images |
|
|---|---|
| Sterling submachine gun | |
 |
L2A3 (Mark 4), stock collapsed |
|
L2A3 (Mark 4), stock extended |
|
L2A3 (Mark 4), partially disassembled |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sterling submachine gun |
- Sterling SMG - Official User's Manual
- Modern Firearms including several pictures of the various models.
- Photos of an early Patchett SMG, showing its strong resemblance to the Sterling
- Sterling L2 at SecurityArms
- Sub Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 1A1, Sterling L2A3 machine carbine manufactured under license by Indian State Ordnance Factory Board.
- Sub Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 2A1 (Silent Version), Sterling L34A1 silenced machine carbine manufactured under license by Indian State Ordnance Factory Board.
- Image of a MK7 (Para Pistol)
- Image of a FAMAE PAF (Chilean Manufactured)
- Video #1 of L2A3 being fired
- Video #2 of L2A3 being fired
- Video of Sterling Mk5 Silencer (L34A1) (Japanese)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
