Lanchester submachine gun

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Lanchester

Type Submachine gun
Place of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service history
In service 19411960
Used by United Kingdom
Wars World War II
Production history
Manufacturer Sterling Armament Company
Produced 1941
Variants Mk I, Mk I*
Specifications
Weight 9.57 lb, 4.34 kg
Length 33.5 in, 851 mm
Barrel length 8 inches, 203 mm

Cartridge 9x19mm Parabellum
Action Blowback, Open bolt
Rate of fire 600 round/min
Muzzle velocity 1,245 ft/s, 380 m/s
Effective range 150m
Feed system 32 or 50 round detachable box magazine

The Lanchester was a submachine gun used by the British during World War II.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1940, with the Dunkirk evacuation completed, the Royal Air Force decided to adopt some form of submachine gun for airfield defense. With no time to spare for the development of a new weapon it was decided to adopt a direct copy of the German MP28, captured examples of which were at hand for examination. The period was so desperate that the British Admiralty decided to join with the RAF in adopting the new weapon, and played a key role in its design. By a series of convoluted events, the Admiralty alone actually adopted the Lanchester into service.

The British MP28 copy was given the general designation of Lanchester after George Lanchester who was charged with producing the weapon at the Sterling Armament Company, the same company that went on to produce the Sterling submachine gun that is presently the standard submachine gun of many nations.

The Lanchester was envisioned as a weapon that could be used for guarding prisoners and accompanying naval landing and assault parties. It was a very solid, extremely heavy submachine gun, in many ways the complete opposite of its direct contemporary, the Sten. The Lanchester had a heavy wooden butt and stock, a machined steel action and breech block, and a magazine housing made from a favorite naval construction material, solid brass. A few details typical for the era were added, such as a mounting on the muzzle for use of a long bladed British bayonet. The rifling differed from the German original in details to accommodate various lots of 9 mm ammunition then being acquired for service use. The Lanchester also used furniture from the Lee-Enfield SMLE.

[edit] Operation

The magazine for the Lanchester was straight and carried a useful, if quite heavy capacity of 50 9 mm cartridges. Stripping of cartridges into the magazine was aided by a catch on the top of the receiver. The very first model, the Lanchester Mk I, could fire either single shot or automatic. On the Lanchester Mk I* this was changed to full automatic fire only, and many Mk Is were converted to Mk I* standard at Royal Navy workshops.

[edit] Service

The Lanchester was a copy of a German design, but gave good service to the Royal Navy throughout the war and for some years after. The Lanchester was far heavier than the Sten and had a similar tendency to accidentally discharge if the gun was dropped or knocked on a hard object while cocked and loaded. The last examples left Royal Naval service in the 1960s and are now collector's items.

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