STIRLING MACHINE CARBINE
THE PATCHETT/STERLING C1 MACHINE CARBINE, 9mm x19. During the Second Would War, generally, our Navy used the Lanchester while the Army used the Sten.
In the cold light of day, the Stenappeared crude in manufacture but as we have seen, it proved to be a War winning weapon for not only us but for the resistance forces wherever, even the Germans copied it.
However, this didn’t mean that other manufacturers did nothing and the makers of the Lanchester machine carbine, generally a Navy issue, had a designer, a brilliant fellow called Patchett. He developed a carbine that by 1944 was so good that it was being used operationally. It had a breechblock that blew backwards and was pushed forward that had 4 raised helical ribs that scraped off the dirt and fouling and pushed it out of a slot under the barrel. With a splendid folding stock that trapped digits causing blood blisters, and the Bowie bladed bayonet from the Lee-Enfield Rifle No.5., (jungle carbine), the Patchett came out on top in weapon trials carried out at the time.
In spite of that, the Patchett didn’t begin to enter service until 1953, gradually replacing the Sten. It was known generally as the Sterling, named after the Sterling factory that manufactured it, the same factory that produced the Lanchester during the war, although it was more commonly known by us as the S.M.G. (sub machine gun). It is one of the very best in the world. Very well made, to close tolerances, with a superb roller magazine follower, resulting in a gun that is virtually stoppage free. It was widely issued to British Armed forces along with many foreign armies. It has been copied by Indian manufacturers without the permission of Sterling and has also been copied, all be it in slightly simplified manner, by the Canadians, the example seen here.
Another superb British design that will be seen around the world for countless years