L2A3 Markings

Anyone know what the "CR. 53 GA" means?

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Kind of an interesting magazine housing. It's marked "UF" Fazakerley, but it doesn't have the flanges.

It is a slight abbreviation of B3/CR 53 GA meaning the Vocabulary of Army Ordnance Stores (the VAOS) category of B3 - indicating a sub machine gun of sorts. The CR is the Ministry of Supply Ordnance category then the part number of 53 followed by GA which indicates that it is a general assembly as opposed to an A which would be an assembly or SA which would be a sub-assembly. Later these old MoS numbers were changed to what we called NSN's or Nato Stock Numbers, which would have read B3 (it's still a sub machine gun of course....) /1005-99-960-2258

Some of the later Fazakerley dross didn't have a flange but note the quality of the braze. As opposed to the induction bronze weld of the Sterling guns.

A Fazakerley gun in civilian hands or outside the UK Military is quite unusual because the UK Government had to give an undertaking to the Sterling company that they would not sell, trade of or in any other way dispose of Fazakerley made sub machine guns that were made in a pirate, cavalier and total disregard of the normal rules of commece by the Ministry of Suppply at the whim of the Government. The Government had to pay total costs and compensation to Sterling AND to the Ministry of Supply on whom they tried to pass the blame

Sorry if I've gone on a bit with info you didn't ask for but the little Sterling gun is a pet topic of mine. Just ignore it if it's too much

Captain Laidler,

There's nothing to feel sorry about. Far from it. I am very interested and really appreciate the information. Please don't ever feel like you're going on. It's really quite fascinating to me.

It was the large amount of braze that first caught my eye. Looks like it might have been done by hand. Then I remembered reading about the flange in your book.

Most of Sterlings I come across are commercial guns. The majority have the "KR" prefix, some with the "S". I've only seen two Fazakerley's. The other one has a small 'K' over '64' marked upside down on it.

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The K64 was just an outsource inspectors/examiners mark. Nothing to do with 1964. You are lucky with the braze on your gun. It looks like it was done by a gorilla and a blow torch. If you were really unlucky, it would have been done by one of the workforce

So it's an outsourced inspector's mark. Well, I'll be. I would never have guessed they brought in inspectors.

Do you know if the UK Government was freed from the agreement not to sell Fazakerley guns after Sterling closed its doors?

Have you given any thought about having a Sterling forum here?

Sterling forum.... mmmmmmmm, I'm sure that there is already a thriving Sterling forum linkied with the UZI somewhere on the web.

I don't think that the relaxation in the sale, trade or disposal of Sterling guns manufactured soilely for the UK MoD by Fazakerley, with the unique serial number range beginning UF56 (or was it 57?)A 00001 was ever relaxed. However, where there were pooled Ordnance stockpiles, such as Malaya and anywhere else where the UK were on active service with other Sterling users (NZ that I know of.....) then stocks of L2A3 guns would be mixed and when they disposed of them, they'd be disposing of UF marked guns. When the UK were actually disposing of guns to friendly (and later not so friendly....., such as some in Africa that spring to mind) nations, they were careful to select Sterling made guns. I don't suppose that it really made any difference but that was asked for by Sterling and agreed by the High Court. The UK Government wasn't allowed to sell spare parts either unless they were sourced from Sterling.

Great little gun and it's a positive plus that while the methods of manufacture improved through its life, the same parts that fitted on Mk4/L2A3 gun number 1, still fitted on the very last gun made and vice verca

I'm more of a lurker here but i thought i'd post a link to the Uzitalk subfourm that discusses Stens & Sterlings.

Sten/Sterling Talk

The latest newsworthy item on that forum is the availability of an undetermined number of Sterling L2A2, MKIII's that are for sale. A bit out of my price range at $22,995.00. They are still in the wrapper.

I am guessing this is the correct Fazakerley trigger pack for the gun? It doesn't have the stainless steel pins.

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It's a great little gun. I am just now getting around to cleaning it. Not that it really needs it. It was filthy and still ran like a top.

You're correct.............. You need to get and thoroughly read a great little book called The Guns of Dagenham. It'll explain that the Fazakerley guns had steel axis pins while the STERLING made guns had stainless steel axis pins