| Avenger | |
|---|---|
| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin | Northern Ireland |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Ulster Volunteer Force |
| Wars | The Troubles |
| Production history | |
| Produced | during 1990s |
| Number built | as high as 300 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | approx. 75cm with suppressor |
| Barrel length | 15 cm (6 inches) |
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| Cartridge | 9x19mm Parabellum |
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Barrels | unrifled, smoothbore only |
| Action | Blowback |
| Rate of fire | approx. 900-1000 rpm |
| Feed system | 32 round Sten magazines |
| Sights | no iron sights |
The Avenger is an SMG of British origin that was made during the 90's in an garage of private individual owning machine shop, somewhere near Belfast. Supposedly the loyalist paramilitary group that used the guns is eventually found by the police (RUC) after they hired an unknown air equipment company to make the suppressors for the gun, describing the product to them as some kind of an industrial muffler, and the manufacturing process was eventually connected and traced. Exact start of the gun production is unknown, but it ended in second half of 90's when the creator was captured by the police. The final number of produced guns is also not known, although it could be in few hundreds, since that some of the captured ones were stamped with serial numbers (which is very uncommon for homemade guns) exceeding 300.
The Avenger is fairly simple "home-made" submachine gun with side folding stock, silencer and a vertical magazine well. It is a "Square Section" gun, meaning it uses a square section mild steel pipe as its receiver, other parts (mag. well, trigger group, handle etc.) are also structural steel welded to the receiver. It is fed from Sten magazines with a square version of the bolt used in the Sterling L2A3, but does not adapt Sterling SMG magazines. Usage of industrially fabricated magazines in "home-made" guns is very common (especially in the history of Ulster paramilitary groups weapons), since it is maybe the most important part of the submachine gun and it practically cannot be built improvised to work reliably. The weapon is open-bolt fired, lacks a safety and is full-automatic only. Mainspring has an interesting feature; in the rear section of receiver, there is another spring, heavy coiled, that acts as a buffer. The ejector is replaceable with two screws. The barrel lacks rifling but this supposedly can in some cases increase terminal ballistics at close quarters. Suppressor is screwed on the barrel and is a sealed unit with a ported tube for 3/4 inches of its length and the final 1/4 is baffled. Exact dimensions of the gun were not published, but based on the existing pictures it could be speculated that the length with suppressor is approx. 75 cm, without supp. is 35cm, and total length of the gun with both suppressor and protracted folding stock is around 1 meter. Also, the rate of fire is, based on the dimensions of the receiver and bolt design, probably no less than 900-1000 rounds per minute. Along with the unrifled barrel, this high rate of fire will no doubt further lead to extreme inaccuracy of the gun.