Lanchester (SMG)

History of Lanchester (SMG)

After the heroic evacuation of Dunkirk survivors and the subsequent fall of France in 1940, Britain's future is disturbing. Hundreds of tanks, artillery, small arms and personnel fell victim to capture or destruction by advancing Axis forces.

At this point in the war, the British soldier was mainly armed with his trusty service rifles and bayonets, while the German military effectively used portable automatic weapons in the form of submachine guns - mainly the MP38 series (later improved to the MP40) early in the war . For the British, the apparent lack of main submachine guns on the front led to some hasty homegrown moves - one production won the war and the fabled STEN series, while another short, limited run spawned the "Rancher" ster".

While the former mentioned on this page deserves its own story, the latter has its origins in the UK local production version of the German MP28 submachine gun that fires the 9x19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. The genre had its own origins in the MP18 of World War I and evolved into more refined forms such as the MP28 in 1928.

The loss of France as a territorial buffer between England and Europe was catastrophic for the British Empire, forcing critical thinking about how best to protect the British Isles from an impending German invasion - first Air, then land/water. Inevitably, the main target would be the valuable airfield providing cover for the ground forces of the Super Sea Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes, as well as the various heavy fighters and bombers in service with the RAF at the time. To help protect airfields, the RAF became interested in a personal defense weapon that could display massive firepower over short distances to repel or at least advance German infantry at a high cost. In addition, the weapon can also play a security role. Due to time constraints, the authorities decided to simply adopt the German MP28 scheme from some existing examples, albeit with British modifications to suit local tastes.

The Royal Navy subsequently worked on developing the weapon, believing it could prove useful in operations such as boarding a ship. Interestingly, the Royal Navy in time became the sole operator of new firearms during World War II.

Production of the new weapon is branded Sterling Armament Company under the direction of director George H. Lanchester. For this reason, the facelifted MP28 was renamed "Lanchester" to signify its new British heritage. The Lanchester design differs slightly from the original German offering, mainly through a refined breech, specific rifling for the available stock of British 9x19mm cartridges, and premium materials for a more reliable, professional construction. The final product proved to be a very viable weapon, albeit without extensive use of key materials needed elsewhere in the war.

However, the need is great and the solution seems obvious.

On the surface, Lanchester appears to be a replica of its previous MP28. There is a long wooden body containing the shoulder rest, pistol grip and fore rest, while the metal receiver houses key internal working parts. The stock is similar to that of the #1 SMLE rifle, the trigger assembly has an elongated ring and a curved trigger assembly attached as a unit to the underside of the metal frame.

The magazine feed was relocated to the left side of the fuselage, with the ejection port on the right. Detachable magazine, inserted horizontally into the side of the gun in an unconventional fashion. The magazine holds 50x9x19mm cartridges, giving the magazine an elongated shape - a somewhat awkward appendage in terms of compactness. The magazine is inserted into a sturdy brass box. The barrel is short, surrounded by a perforated heat shield, and the muzzle end is covered with a nine-hole flash suppressor.

The sight is mounted above the muzzle and in front of the rear of the receiver. The entire metal section of the gun is hinged at the end of the front end (under the heat shield), allowing the operator to "open" the gun and expose the interior for cleaning and repairs. In a rather novel move, Lanchester was also fitted with a bayonet mount for extreme close quarters combat (Type 1907 or Bayonet No. 1), as the Royal Navy thought it might have some value for boarding operations.

All in all, this weapon does look like a submachine gun from the 1930sperhaps more similar to Soviet products of the time.

Lanchester appeared in its original production Mk I version. This brand offers a choice of single-shot or fully automatic fire to suit the situation, while proving more complex to manufacture. Selection is made using a switch on the front of the trigger guard. Also, the rear sight is borrowed from the SMLE #1 rifle. The future simplified Mk I* did away with the single-shot capability and relied only on fully automatic fire, so was doomed to lose its selector switch.

The sight has been improved to a simpler shape for quick aiming. These were improvements to the Mk I* that made it the new standard for the existing Mk I production models, later upgraded where possible and rebuilt by the Royal Navy itself (the RAF was interested in the Lanchester project, because up) . earlier).

Notably, the Lanchester submachine gun can hold the shorter 32-round STEN series magazine, which provides a logistically friendly weapon in wartime.

The

Lanchester is produced in both variants, loosely modeled after the STEN series, which have proven to be inexpensive to manufacture and simple to operate and construct - despite their ugly, functional metal frame, which is a must for anyone Much to be desired for gun connoisseurs. However, Lanchester (like STEN) survived World War II and entered service in the 1960s when - like STEN - it was replaced by Sterling SMG.

After World War II, some Lanchesters were in foreign hands - the former Royal Navy Reserve - mainly in the Netherlands (seen in action in the Dutch East Indies) and Egyptian troops, while being specially marked.

The few RN operators who manage Lanchester find this type sturdy, reliable, and part submachine guns - no doubt, ironically, thanks in large part to Original German engineering from 1918. Due to its metal and solid wood design, it is heavy compared to more modern submachine gun alternatives, and the lack of useful safety devices means that a bored 9 can be accidentally fired if the stock is dropped on it. mm bullet.

However, this was all partly offset by the desperation of the British government in 1940 and the fact that Lanchester could fire 50 rounds of ammunition at a rate of 600 rounds per minute.

In a twist of fortune, the Germans copied the British STEN gun in 1944 and developed a cheaper derivative "MP3008" in 1945 for the ultimate defense against Germany in a failed war effort.

Approximately 95,469 Lanchesters were produced between Sterling (74,579), Greener (16,990) and Boss (3,900).

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes