US M2 45 acp submachine gun, precursor to the M3 series “Greasegun”.
By Dan Shea
The SAR Expeditionary Force in the Ministry Of Defence Pattern Room, Nottingham, England
It was a cold December day when our three man squad left the relative safety of our various locations in the United States and crossed the Puddle to that rainy island on the other side. (Grizzled veterans of the Road Wars know that the Atlantic is the “Puddle” and the Pacific is the “Pond”). Headquarters had intel that the Brits were planning on cutting up their collection again- a bi-annual event it seems, but after the events several years back where the Blair government managed to disarm most of the legitimate citizens of this great island, chopping up their firearms and leaving them prey for the criminal element, well, who really knows what the government might be capable of.
The thought that this wondrous collection of history and martial technology might be destroyed has thrown much of the small arms world into an uproar. In typical fashion, the Small Arms Review had to take action, and what we are limited to is trying to record what is there photographically, and to get the message out to the firearms, law enforcement, military and scientific communities what is in danger there.
We found ourselves warmly welcomed by the Staff at the MOD Pattern Room, and settled into a daily routine of shooting studio photos of whatever seemed unique and pricelessly historic. 700 frames and one week later, we left and started the task of preparing to bring this information to the readers. This article provides a taste of the information in the Pattern Room- considered by many to be one of the premier Working Reference Collections in the world. We hope that you enjoy this opening essay, and will continue to bring this information to you in the form of articles as they are completed. The 700 photos that we took could barely scratch the surface of the history and technology that exists in the MOD Pattern Room, and we plan to return as often as possible to continue the studies. We supplied photography to numerous authors who have been unable to get to the UK, for their work.
The SAR Expeditionary Force hopes to continue to bring this information to you, the readers, and to continue to make SAR into a reference library that you can use forever. It is our fear that if current fashion continues, that only the photographs may remain, and we will all be poorer for that- including the very governments that sometimes hold their nose in disdain at the martial community. Only when it is necessary to “Break the glass in case of emergency”, and dust off the relics of former wars in order to learn how to defeat some modern threat will they truly understand what has been lost. The MOD Pattern Room contains such phenomenal items as Sir Hiram Maxim’s Number One, every conceivable prototype of the British firearms development, and modern pieces from the enemies of Freedom. The personnel there are outstanding, and carry an immense amount of “Institutionalized” knowledge. To deny this resource to the world community is a mistake of grandiose proportions, and we hope that the UK Government stays its hand, and finds a solution to the dilemma of the MOD Pattern Room.
We look back in history to see forward to the future, and hope to learn the lessons others have learned to help us solve problems we encounter today.- Raffica
Try that when you have destroyed your reference library. Save the Pattern Room!
SAR would like to thank Mr. Herbert J. Woodend, Curator and Mr. Richard Jones, Assistant Curator, for their gracious hospitality and patience with us as we worked in their Collection. We would like to thank other friends there, who will show up in future articles as we print them- including the mysterious “Q”, who is rumored to have not left the “Pistol/Submachine gun Room” in almost fifteen years. For those interested in a history of the Pattern Room, SAR Volume 1 Number 6 has a wonderful article by Virginia Ezell.
SAR Expeditionary Force Armorer Willam Vallerand with Australian F1 Submachine Gun. Middle: SAR Expeditionary Force Intelligence Specialist Dr. Philip Dater is lost in thought as he grips the legendary Croatian Agram 2000 SMG with suppressor. Right: “Q” prepares for a little “Bit o’ fun” with a real Cold War exotic- a Soviet redesigned integrally suppressed Makarov pistol. More to come on this little gem- we took it down to nuts and bolts and did a full photo essay on it.n original Delisle Carbine. This .45 acp caliber suppressed bolt action rifle has reached legendary status for the covert work it has done around the world. The prototypes are at the MOD Pattern Room, as is this production example. The detailed thought that went into the Delisle included a wedge of hardwood inserted into the bolt handle where it strikes the receiver, in order to muffle closing the bolt.Bill found the Shepherd-Robinson Machine Carbine Model 11 off in a corner of the “Pistol Room”, which is also the SMG room. Details of the rotating barrel give the appearance of external rifling, which makes no sense until you realize that this is the locking system. More on this one later in SAR as well.One of the few Japanese “Garand” rifles that are in captivity today- this is a 7.7mm Type 5 rifle, which has been refinished.Russian AKM with original issue suppressor.The Salesman’s sample miniature Maxim in .30 Mauser, and the “Extra Light” Maxim in .303 caliber were extraordinary pieces. The condition was marvelous, and the attention to detail in the working miniature was outstanding. (Marking photos are from the “Extra Light” Maxim”.)Maxim, serial number “1” sits at the head of the Maxim display. “60 lbs” means just for the gun- the first model tripod- the “Table” weighs so much that the whole set up is difficult for two men to move- something that the soldiers noted in field use.
Various Hotchkiss guns, with a St. Etienne to the foreground.
US M1 Thompson gun, with an Enfield Suppressor, circa WWII.Iranian / Persian “Tondar”. Basically an MP5 in 9mm parabellum that was “made” in Iran. Many of the parts appear cruder than original, as in the forend “checkering”, but other parts look very good. The SAR Expeditionary Force felt that the markings should be recorded for the readers.On one of the “SMG Room” shelves, mixed in with assorted odd and rare guns, we found this beautiful example of the 9mm German “System Schmeisser M.K. 36,II” submachine guns.One of the MOD Pattern Room’s examples of the French AA-52 LMG. This example has holes drilled in the barrel, making this a drill gun- which in the SAR Expeditionary Force’s opinion was a wise choice for the AA-52.A truly wonderful example of one of the earliest submachine guns. This Finnish 1926 Suomi has a radical curve to the magazine because of the taper of the 7.65 mm Luger cartridge it is chambered in. After some examination, (Cycling, etc) we came up with the following for the selector- ìVî is safe, “KT” is Full Auto, and “YT” is semi auto.Like many of the Arab Contract guns that have been manufactured, there were “Presentation” or royal guard models. This example is a Sterling MK4 (L2A3) that has been gold plated, and has Ivory grips. Even the bayonet has been ìDone to the nines”. This is one of the more popular ìTake a pic to send home” items, while the SEF was there, numerous foreign dignitaries visiting the Pattern Room took a moment to get the memory on film, posing with this gun. Members of the SEF were somewhat appalled by this, noting how many incredibly rare pieces were in the room, but not everyone cares about these super rare items, and one has to admit there is a certain “Aura” about a Gold Sterling Submachine Gun.Pattern Room personnel were “Vague” on the background of this amazing piece, other than that it had been recovered in Afghanistan, and they thought it was Soviet in manufacture. It was a superb piece, and the workmanship was top notch. Herb Woodend, our gracious host, felt that the stock was a bit flimsy for the design. Caliber appears to be a 5.6mm Centerfire, but didn’t match any cartridges known to Pattern Room personnel or the SAR Expeditionary Force members. Note the falling block action on this piece- very simple, very sturdy, and very good for accuracy. Stock attachment was somewhat flimsy, but well made for a covert takedown piece. Note the grip safety on the forward part of the grip. Dual set trigger system revealed a “Breathe” trigger. Once the “Set” has been released, if you “Breathe” on the main it fires- the man who used this firearm had one of the finest assassination tools the SEF had ever seen. Scope mounts built into the barrel mount. Interrupted threads on the muzzle end, presumably for a suppressor, that was not captured with the weapon. This is unfortunate, because the technology in the suppressor might have helped in identifying the “Shop” that made this, as well as the time period. Besides, it would be nice to have the complete system in captivity.Czech CZ91 Skorpion machine pistol in 9mm Browning (.380)Czech Model 23 submachine gun 9mm x 19Czech Model 25 submachine gun 9mm x 19Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe copy of the CZ 23/25 series in 9mm x 19. Note the crudely manufactured buttstock / shoulder piece.Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe LDP submachine gun, 9mm x 19. This was a fairly well made “Tube” gun, and the SEF members found it to be surprisingly comfortable to “Hand”. Hopefully we can get a live fire test at some point on this interesting African gun.N. Ireland Home made submachine gun. Captured by British Forces. This somewhat ingenious gun is made from square tube, and common hardware store items. The essence of many different SMG designs are evident here, from the general “Mac” shape, to the “Sten” magazine well, to the ìS&W 76î receiver end cap (Crosspin held in by recoil spring pressure). Simplicity breeds the form here, with necessity as the mother of invention- the IRA uses many improvised weapons, and this is a prime example.Pakistani villagers are well known for the firearms they make by hand- copies of many different firearms are found there. This is an original piece that was captured in Afghanistan, and utilizes parts of numerous original firearms- note the AK underfolding stock. Caliber is 7.62 Tokarev.Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe “Rhogun”. This is a semi automatic firearms, fairly cheaply made.Top is the US manufactured OSS “Stinger” from WWII, in .22 Short. Bottom is an early version of the MAC Stinger, made by MBA in the US. Caliber is .22 LR.
This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V3N9 (June 2000) and was posted online on April 24, 2015
