| Sterling submachine gun | |
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| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See text |
| Wars | Suez crisis, Aden Emergency, Cold War, Falklands War, Northern Ireland, The Gulf War (final batch) |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1944 |
| Number built | 400,000 + |
| Variants | See text |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 2.72 kg |
| Length | 690 mm (483 mm folded stock) |
| Barrel length | 198 mm |
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| Cartridge | 9x19mm Parabellum |
| Action | Blowback |
| Rate of fire | ~ 550 round/min |
| Feed system | 34 rounds |
 External images |
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| Sterling submachine gun | |
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Full view |
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Trigger mechanism |
The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from 1953 until 1988 when it was phased out with the introduction of the L85A1 IW (Individual Weapon).
Contents |
Overview
In 1944 the British General Staff issued a specification which any new submachine gun should conform to. It stated that the weapon should not weigh more than six pounds, should fire 9 mm caliber ammunition, fire at no more than 500 rounds per minute and be sufficiently accurate to allow five single shots to be fired into a one foot square target at 100 yards.
Design
The photos show the Patchett experimental silenced carbine and its pistol grip/trigger group. To meet the new requirement, Mr G. W. Patchett, the chief designer at the Sterling Armament Company of Dagenham submitted a sample weapon of new design in early 1944. The army quickly recognised its potential and ordered 120 examples for trials. Towards the end of the Second World War, some of these trial samples were used in combat by airborne troops at Arnhem and elsewhere, where it was known as the Patchett submachine gun. Given that the Patchett/Sterling can use straight Sten magazines as well as the normal curved design, there were no interoperability problems.
After the war, with large numbers of Sten guns in the inventory there was little interest in replacing them with a superior design. However in 1947 a competitive trial between the Patchett, an Enfield design, a new BSA design and an experimental Australian design with the Sten for comparison was held. The trial was inconclusive but was followed by further development and more trials. Eventually the Patchett design won and the decision was made in 1951 for the British Army to adopt it. It started to replace the Sten in 1953 as the Sub-Machine Gun L2A1. The weapon is constructed entirely of steel and plastic and has a folding butt which folds up underneath. Although of conventional blowback design, there are some unusual features: for example the bolt has sharp grooves around it which cut away dirt in the receiver and help to keep it clean. The magazine follower, which pushes the cartridges into the feed port is equipped with rollers to reduce friction and the firing pin is arranged so that it does not line up with the percussion cap on the cartridge until the cartridge has entered the chamber. Sterlings have a reputation for excellent reliability under adverse conditions and (allowing for the fact that a blowback action is used) good accuracy. The Sterling can be difficult for left-handed users to operate, due to the inherent asymmetry of the design. In particular, the weapon is designed to be used resting on the right side of the body. However, contrary to popular movie and other contemporary depictions, the weapon should never be used with the left hand holding the magazine, rather the barrel jacket should be gripped. Spent shell ejection to the right constitutes an additional hazard for left-handed use.
Users
A total of over 400,000 were manufactured. Sterling built them for the British armed forces and for overseas sales, whilst the Royal Ordnance Factories plant at Fazakerley (near Liverpool) constructed them exclusively for the British military. A Canadian version was also manufactured under licence, called the Submachine Gun 9 mm C1 made by Canadian Arsenals Limited. It replaced the later versions of the Sten submachine gun from 1953 onwards. A similar weapon, the "Sub-Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 1A1" is manufactured under license by the Indian Ordnance Factory at Kanpur, along with a "Sub-Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 2A1" which is a copy of the L34A1 integrally-silenced version. Still at the beginning of the 21st century, these two weapons are being manufactured by OFB and used by the Indian Armed Forces. The recent start of manufacture by the very same Indian Ordnance Factories of the Zittara Multi-Purpose Carbine (an Indian licensed version of the Israeli IWI Micro Tavor assault rifle), and plans by the Indian Ministry of Defence to adopt it in significant numbers may lead to the removal of the Sterling gun from Indian service. If this happens it is likely that, at least in the medium term, existing submachineguns will be stored as war reserve weapons intended for emergency use. The Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps uses Sterling SMGs as their parade weapon. About 90 countries purchased various quantities of the gun, including Ghana, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Tunisia and some Persian Gulf states.
Variants
- British Army
- L2A1 - (Patchett Machine Carbine Mark 2) adopted in 1953.
- L2A2 - (Sterling Mark 3) adopted in 1955.
- L2A3 - (Sterling Mark 4) adopted in 1956. Last regular version in service with the British Army.
- L34A1 - Suppressed version (Sterling-Patchett Mark 5). Held in reserve by the British Army.
- Sterling Mark 6 - a semi-automatic-only version for police forces and private sales, also known as the Police model.
- Sterling Mark 7 "Para" - shortened barrel, no stock.
- Canadian Army
- C1 Submachine Gun
- Indian Army
- SAF Carbine 1A - Indian made Sterling L2A1
- SAF Carbine 2A1 - silenced carbine
References
- Ian Hogg, The Complete Machine-Gun, ISBN 0-7026-0052-0
See also
External links
- Video of L34A1 (suppressed version) being fired
- Another video of L2A3 being fired
- Modern Firearms including several pictures of the various models.
- Sterling L2A3 sub-machine gun including an image.
- Sub-Machine Gun Carbine 9mm 1A1, Sterling L2A3 machine-carbine manufactured under license by Indian State Ordnance Factory Board.
- Sub-Machine Gun Carbine 9mm 2A1, Sterling L34A1 silenced machine-carbine manufactured under license by Indian State Ordnance Factory Board.
- Image of a MK7 (para)
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| Side-arms (Self-loading Pistols) | Browning L9A1 • L47A1 (Manuhrin produced Walther PP) • L105A1 • L107A1 • L102A1 (Compact) |
| Rifles, Carbines, & LSWs | L1A1 SLR • SA80 series (L85 IW, L86 LSW, L22A1) • L108A1, L110A1 (Para) • L101A1 • M16/A1/A2 • L119A1 (Diemaco SFW) • L100A1 |
| Sniper rifles | L42/A1 • L96/A1 • L115A1 • L82A1 • AW50F |
| Submachine guns | L2A1 to L2A3, L34A1 • L80A1, L90A1 • L91A1, L92A1 |
| Shotguns | L32A1 • L74A1 (Remington 870 Wingmaster) |
| Machine-guns & other larger weapons | L3 • L4 • L7 "GPMG" series (L7, L8, L19, L20, L37, L43, L44) • L2A1/L111A1 Heavy Machine Gun • L17A1/A2 • L67A1 • L1A1 (LAW) • LAW 80 • L14/A1 • L2A1 (ILAW) • L142A1 (AT4CS HP) • L9A1 51 mm Mortar • L16/A1 81mm Mortar • MILAN • Javelin |
| Modern cartridges used | 5.56x45mm NATO (.223 Remington) • 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Win) • 12.7x99mm NATO (.50 BMG) • .338 Lapua • 9x19mm Parabellum • 12 gauge |
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| Pistols | Beaumont-Adams Revolver · Webley Revolver Mk. I–VI · Enfield No. 1 & No. 2 Revolvers · Browning Hi-Power |
| Rifles and Carbines | Brown Bess Musket · Ferguson rifle · Baker Infantry Rifle · Enfield 1853 Rifled Musket · Snider-Enfield |
| Submachine guns | Lanchester · Sten · Sterling L2 |
| Machine-guns | Gatling gun · Maxim gun · QF 2 pdr "Pom-Pom" · Vickers Gun · Lewis Gun · Bren gun |
| Anti-Tank Weapons | 2 pdr Anti-Tank Gun · 6 pdr Anti-Tank Gun · PIAT · Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55 in, Boys · L6 Wombat |
| Field guns & Misc. weapons | 25 pdr Field Gun · Congreve rocket · SBML 2-inch Mortar · Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar · No.2 "Lifebuoy" Flamethrower · Stokes Mortar |
