De Lisle carbine
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| De Lisle Commando Carbine | |
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 Folding stock version |
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| Type | Carbine |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1943-1965 |
| Used by | United Kingdom, British Commonwealth |
| Wars | World War II, Korean War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | William G. De Lisle |
| Designed | 1942 |
| Manufacturer | Ford Dagenham (17 prototypes) Sterling Arms |
| Produced | 1942-1945 |
| Number built | 129 |
| Variants | Ford Dagenham Prototypes Folding stock Parachute Carbine, only one example produced |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 8 lb 8.5 oz (3.74 kg), unloaded |
| Length | 40.5 in (894 mm) |
| Barrel length | 8.27 in (210 mm)[1] |
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| Cartridge | .45 ACP |
| Action | Bolt-action |
| Rate of fire | 20-30 rounds/minute |
| Muzzle velocity | c. 600 ft/s (180 m/s) |
| Effective range | 200 yd (185 m) |
| Maximum range | 400 yd (365 m) |
| Feed system | 7 or 11-round detachable magazine |
| Sights | Ford Dagenham - Winchester rifle sight at rear, simple ramp with modified P-14 front sight protector at front. Sterling models -Lanchester Mk I rear sight (later changed to Lanchester Mk I*),windage adjustable front sight. Airborne model - Lanchester Mk I rear sight, windage adjustable front. |
The De Lisle carbine or De Lisle Commando carbine was a specialist British carbine used during World War II.
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[edit] Description
The designer was William De Lisle. It was based on a Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield Mk III* converted to .45 ACP by modifying the receiver, altering the bolt/bolthead, replacing the barrel with a modified Thompson submachine gun barrel, and using modified magazines from the M1911 pistol. The primary feature of the De Lisle was its very effective suppressor which made it very quiet in action - indeed working the bolt to chamber the next round makes a louder noise than firing a round.[2] The De Lisle carbine was used by British commandos and special forces, and was accurate to 250 metres.
The De Lisle was made in very limited numbers; 129 were produced during the period of 1942 to 1945 in three variations (Ford Dagenham Prototype, Sterling production and one Airborne prototype). Thompson submachine gun barrels were modified to provide the .45 calibre barrel, which was ported to provide a slow release of high pressure gas.
The suppressor, 2 inches in diameter, went all the way from the back of the barrel to well beyond the muzzle (the suppressor makes up half the overall length of the rifle), providing a very large volume of space to contain the gases produced by firing. This large volume was one of the keys to the effectiveness of the suppressor. The Lee-Enfield bolt was modified to feed the .45 ACP rounds, and the Lee-Enfield's magazine assembly was replaced with a new assembly that held a modified M1911 magazine. Because the cartridge was subsonic, the carbine was extremely quiet, possibly one of the quietest guns ever made.
The De Lisle was used by special military units during World War II and the Malayan Emergency.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bastards Inc.. .45 Delisle Commando Carbine. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
- ^ Hogg, Ian; John Weeks (1977). Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. Arms & Armour Press, page 128. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8.
[edit] References
- Skennerton, Ian, SAIS No. 13: Special Service Lee-Enfields... Commando & Auto Models, Arms & Militaria Press, 2001, ISBN 0-949749-37-0
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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