28th May : The Sterling L2A3 Sub-machinegun

Name      :     Sterling SMG L2A3


A.K.A.     :     C1 Sub-machinegun, the Sterling, the Patchett

Caliber      :     9x19mm Parabellum


Capacity    :     34 Rounds


Weight      :     5.9lbs or 2.7kg (unloaded)


Length      :     27.16in or 690mm


Action       :     Blowback, semi and fully automatic Sub-machinegun


Origin        :     United Kingdom 


Motorcycle racer and enthusiast George Patchett spent much of his early life engineering motorcycles and later during the outbreak of World War Two worked under Gorge Lanchester, designer of the Lanchester sub-machinegun, at the Sterling Armaments Company in Essex, England.  Patchett was assigned his own design team to build an sub-machinegun for a Royal Army Trial, he patented his first design and built his first prototype in 1942.  In September of 1942 Patchett demonstrated his design to members of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as "A Lanchester with no butt or sights", the trigger mechanism was however completely of Patchett's own design.  Though results were generally favorable, the military officials advised Patchett to take it away and put a butt and sights on it and resubmit the weapon.


Patchett did as the military officals requested and again submitted the weapon in February of 1943 were the design was put up against other hopeful entrants.  Unfortunately the Patchett weapon didn't meet expectations with accuracy being abysmal and more seriously it failed the mud test, becoming jammed almost immediately after being submerged in mud then quickly wiped off.  Upsetting as this set back may have been for Patchett, he was not deterred and still saw merit in his design, and the fix he would institute in the  weapon would become one of its greatest features.  Patchett added grooves to the outer surface of the bolt which pushed and foreign objects like dirt or mud out of the weapon through a special slot in the receiver with the cycling of the weapon.  With this new modification the sub-machinegun was put forward for troop trials in 1944, were it was carried by airborne troops during the Arnhem offensive of Operation Market Garden where the weapon praised universally by troops.


After the war, the British military showed little interest in replacing the STEN gun in service, though some trials were eventually held in 1947 with the Patchett design and others from BSA and Australia were trialed, after a few inconclusive results and and re-submissions the Patchett Machine Carbine was chosen in 1951 as the official replacement of the STEN gun in British service.  Eventually after further fine tuning in 1953 it was issued to troops as the Submachine gun L2A1.  Various modifications were made to the L2 during it service life with the L2A3 becoming the final successor.  A silenced version of the L2 was produced as the L34, though it generally only ever saw service with the Special Air Service (SAS).  


Though it was originally known by troops as the 'Patchett' the L2 became known to troops as the 'Sterling' due to the company that manufactured the weapon.  Many Commonwealth nations would follow England's lead and eventually opt to acquire the Sterling, such as Canada who made there own version of the weapon under licence as the C1 9mm Submachinegun.  The Sterling was sold to more than 60 countries throughout the world and as of 2012 it can still be encountered.  


INTERESTING FACT :  The Sterling with some cosmetic alteration was used as the "E-11 Blaster Rifle" used by the Imperial Stormtroopers in Star Wars Episodes IV, V and VI.

Star Wars E-11 Blaster Prop

PRO's   :   Reasonably Accurate, Extremely Reliable, Easy to Stow, Very Well Made


CON's   :   Side Mounted Magazine was a concern for some. 

23rd May : Owen Gun

Name      :      The Owen Machine Carbine


A.K.A.     :      The Owen Gun, The Diggers Darling
                              
Caliber      :     9x19mm Parabellum


Capacity    :     32 Rounds


Weight      :     9.4lbs or 4.2kg


Length      :     32in or 813mm


Action       :     Open Bolt, blowback,  Semi and full automatic sub-machinegun


Origin       :     Australia


Evelyn Owen from an early age was fascinated by firearms, he enjoyed shooting, modifying and even attempting to produce his own designs.  Evelyn had first started designing his sub-machinegun when he was 16 in 1931 and had his final prototype finished in 1938.  Evelyn tirelessly worked on making the weapon reliable, and it showed, but unfortunately at the time the Australian Ordnance department viewed the weapon as having very little merit.  With the outbreak of World War Two Evelyn signed up for the Second Australian Imperial Force, but shortly before shipping out to Egypt, he had left his prototype sub-machinegun in a bag against some stairs at the back of his parents house.  A neighbor from across the road happened to discover what was lying in the bag, as fortune would have it Vincent Wardell the neighbor was the brother of Gerard Wardell an executive at Lysaghts.  Evelyn explained the background and testing he had done with his sub-machinegun and the unsuccessful attempts he had made to get it tested by the Australian Ordnance department.  Gerard contacted Sir Percy Spender then Minister of the Army, who took heed of Gerard's request and had Evelyn transferred to the Army Inventions Board to continue working on the sub-machinegun.


Considerable effort was made to test the now named "Owen Machine Carbine" against its most notable rivals, the American Thompson, the British STEN and the German Bergmann Sub-machinegun.  Overall testing concluded that the Owen was by far more reliable in all extreme condition tests and also compared very favorably on both control during automatic fire and accuracy.  The latter is often attributed to the construction of the barrel, unusually for a sub-machinegun the barrel has seven groves in the barrel, thus stabilizing the bullet very well.  The Owen entered active service in November of 1941 and continued to be widely used and thoroughly praised by troops until it was replaced by the F1 Sub-machinegun in the mid 1960's.


The first noticeable characteristic of the Owen is it's vertically mounted magazine, one of the characteristics that made the weapon very reliable.  With gravity aiding the spring to push rounds down into the mechanism.  with spent casing being ejected straight down through the bottom of the receiver.  Though apart from some initial concern by soldiers over having off-set sights as a result of this design choice, it was quickly accepted, much the same as the BREN light machinegun. Unusually for a weapon of its type the Owen also had a quick barrel removal facility, the user simply needs to lift a catch in-front of the magazine well and pull the barrel forward, though some have speculated that this was a barrel 'change' facility rather than just for cleaning, but it would be unlikely. 


Internally the Owen is very well thought through,  it was widely considered un-jamable with good ammunition.  Use of a small bulkhead inside the receiver isolated the bolt from other working components like the cocking handle.  The slots cut for the movement of the cocking handle are a common way for dirt and other foreign materials to build up and seize an action.  Unique to the Owen is the ejector being built into the magazine, this aids removing the bolt for cleaning.


INTERESTING FACT :  The Owen was the first indigenous Australian Sub-machinegun.


PRO's   :  Accurate, Extreme reliability, easy to clean, very controllable


CON's   :  Heavy, 

30th April : Heckler & Koch G36

Name     :     Heckler & Koch G36


AKA       :     The Bundeswehr Rifle

Caliber     :     5.56x45mm NATO


Capacity   :     30 Rounds or 100 round Beta C Magazine  


Weight     :     7.94lbs or 3.6kg (Standard Model)


Length     :     39.3in or 998mm (Standard Model)


Action      :     Gas operated rotating bolt locking, semi, burst or Fully Automatic


Origin      :     Germany


Since the late 1960's the West German Army looked to replace the G3 from standard service for a easier to handle weapon which could maximize the accuracy potential of its troops.  Heckler and Koch through a long and extensive development period produced the G11 caseless ammunition rifle, a rifle that performed very well through testing, that 1000 prototypes were manufactured.  The Germans were however well aware that the financial implications if they decided to arm everyone with the G11, thus consideration was given to procuring a 5.56mm standard type rifle for second-line or rear echelon troops in the form of the Heckler and Koch G41 Rifle.  Unfortunately for the Germans NATO standardization and the economic situation at the time called the end of the G11 rifle, but the need to replace the G3 was ever present.


The G36 was born out of the HK-50 project of the 1990's, this project moved away from the roller locking mechanism of Heckler and Koch fame toward the popular piston based, rotating bolt gas system.  This project was met with high praise from the German Military after testing had proved the rifle very handy and modular and an order was placed for the new Rifle to placed into service as the G36 in 1997, followed later by the Spanish Armed Forces in 1999.


The Standard G36 rifle has a steel reinforced polymer receiver, and makes extensive use of polymer throughout the rest of the rifle.  As standard the German Army rifle comes fitted with with an 3x optical sight.  The magazine is of interest as it is semi transparent allowing the user to inspect at a glance how many rounds are remaining in the magazine, also the magazine has clips on the side of it that allow other magazines to be connected to it to allow fast magazine changes should it be required.  The stock is of a folding type which also has small holes in it that allow the insertion of the disassembly pins so they are somewhere safe when dismantling the rifle.


One of the appeals of the G36 is its large assortment of variants and optional accessories, without a doubt this has greatly contributed to the large procurement of the rifle from the international law enforcement community. The models are as follows :

G36A1 - Standard German Service rifle
G36A2 - Updated A1, New scope, G36C Stock, 
G36K - Carbine version of the Standard G36 the barrel is 160mm shorter than standard.
G36V - Standard G36 with NATO bayonet fitting, Export model differing sight setup
G36KV - Carbine export model with NATO bayonet fitting, 
G36C - Compact commando model
MG36 - Heavy barreled light machinegun version.

G36C, Commando variant of the standard rifle.

INTERESTING FACT : The German military is investigating concerns regarding "wandering zero's" on the G36. After the rifle has fired enough rounds to get hot, soldiers are reporting difficulties attempting to hit targets beyond 200 meters.


PRO's : Great magazines, lots of accessories, easy to clean/maintain.


CON's : Possible wandering zero, 

COOL FACTOR : 7/10

30th March : STG 44 Sturmgewehr

Name     :   STG44

AKA       :   Sturmgewehr, MP 43, MP 44, 

7.92x33mm 

Caliber   :   7.92x33mm Kurz

Capacity :   30 Round Magazine 

Weight   :   4.81Kg or 10.6lbs

Length    :  930mm or 36.6in

Cyclic     :   500 Rounds per minute

Origin     :   Nazi Germany

In the late 1930's German military analysts had done extensive research into battlefield tactics, units and equipment used during the First World War and the then recent Spanish Civil War,  some of the conclusions found around infantry was that most firefights take place at 300 meters or less, one or two man portable machines that were light allowed troops to capture more ground increasing the pace of a battle creating a momentum and that combat was taking place within cities and built up areas.  Though most armies in the world at the time were developing and testing semi-automatic rifle's including the Germans, they were all developing them around a full sized rifle cartridge.  All nations had seen the benefit of sub-machineguns but these all fired a pistol cartridge with limited range and power. The findings of the analysts called for an intermediate weapon, something with lighter ammunition with a shorter range than the 2000 meter effective 8mm Mauser but more powerful than a sub-machinegun.  A weapon that was capable of semi automatic and full automatic fire. A weapon that was light enough to be one man portable.

A suitable cartridge was developed with all of this in mind, the 7.92x33mm round with a maximum effective range of 700 meters by a company called Polte in 1938.  Proposals were sent out to Walther and Haenel, with Haenel winning with their design. When the first prototypes were being fielded at the same time Adolf Hitler was informed of the testing.  Hitler was of the mind that a soldier needed the power of the Mauser bolt action (similar to that which Hitler himself had served with) and that the MP-40 sub machinegun already in use was sufficent, so he cancelled the project.  Realizing what a great weapon the intermediate rifle was going to be the German military continued with the project in secret referring to the intermediate rifle as a machinepistol (sub-machinegun) as to avoid a confrontation with the Fuehrer.

The initial field trails were astounding, the effect on the battlefield could not be ignored and the intermediate rifle's production went into full swing.  Haenel was never able to keep up with demand from the military brass, then the day of judgement came in 1943.  Hitler had traveled to the Eastern Front to over look operations, in a conversation with a general -

Hitler asked "What are you most in need of?"  

The general replied "As many MP-43's as you can send"

Hitler asks "What is this MP-43 ? this isn't that rifle I vetoed is it?"

(Please note there is no transcript of the conversation, but this is commonly believed to be what was said).

The general offered to Hitler a demonstration of the weapon, and Hitler by all accounts was impressed, and it is said he was the first to call it the 'Strumgewehr' or in English 'Assault Rifle' a term by which all modern select fire intermediate rifles are classed.  

The STG.44 as it became known was in too smaller number to save Germany's infantry, but this would not be the final resting place for the rifle.  The STG.44  was used by the Czech army and East German army after World War 2, and the rifle has even turned up in the hands of insurgents in the latest war in Iraq.

INTERESTING FACT   :  The Russian's took a lot of interest in this rifle after the war as they were undoubtedly the largest user of sub-machineguns.  Though heavily denied by Mikhail Kalashnikov, it is without doubt the basis and then some, of the Avtomat Kalashnikova Model of 1947 or otherwise known as the AK-47.

PRO'S  :  INOVATION, COLLECTABLE, 30 ROUND MAGAZINE, SEMI/FULL AUTO

             IT WAS A REVOLUTIONARY RIFLE AT THE TIME!

CON'S  :  HEAVY, A LOT OF USELESS ACCESSORIES, NOT ENOUGH                                       

             DISTRIBUTED.  QUALITY DEGRADED AT THE END OF WW2.

COOL FACTOR :  7/10