Sterling Mk4 L2A3

[mrclark303]

Great find Mike, a very rare bird in civvy ownership in the UK, that's for sure!

[Peter Laidler]

The Fazakerley factory presented the Director of Infantry with the 1000th production Sterling SMG. And he didn't even know that Fazakerley were making them! Mind you, neither did anyone else....., especially Sterling!

[tankhunter]

The Fazakerley factory presented the Director of Infantry with the 1000th production Sterling SMG. And he didn't even know that Fazakerley were making them! Mind you, neither did anyone else....., especially Sterling!

Ha,Ha,Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Brilliant Pete! Love it!

[peregrinvs]

Had a bit of luck and have just acquired nice examples of a 1964 dated Sterling magazine pouch and a 1956 dated Sterling sling. It has the same markings as this "trials" one, but is olive green rather than khaki:

Original, Trials Pattern X9E1 Sling for Sterling SMG.

Attachment 76259Attachment 76261Attachment 76260

[tankhunter]

The pouches have always been hard to source. I have been lucky & have two of them. One was a VERY interesting & unexpected purchase surprise!......

After I had obtained a mint one, whilst I was handling it on the dealers stall. He informed me that the 'Padding' He had added inside it. Was to make it look better on 'display'.
he said he had put used newspapers in them. This was true when I pulled the potentially water absorbing newspapers out of the pouch!
Guess what I found?...............only a tag & seal attached to the pouch. This was a SEALED Pattern pouch, that was THE pouch that was THE Standard. That ALL other pouches were to be copied from!

It was also standard practice to have another TWO of these. That could & at times. & WERE, signed out by a manufacturer. To be used as a quality control sample, that nothing should be deviated from. I have observed this with Badges & such like. They have multiple dates & signiture's from various factories on a large label. Proving that they were indeed, used for quality control & retuned after a large production batch had been completed.

My pouch was not one of those, but THE sealed pattern. That ALL others were to be copied from! How lucky was that?.........

A few years ago here in the UK. The M.O.D had a VERY large clear out of anything that was obsolete & no longer in Service. It was all sold off to the civilian market. A LOT of sealed pattern, & contractors sealed pattern samples were in this disposal Trawl!
I have seen & Handled a vast amount of these. Most being badges & Insignia, & some being equipment. I did not see any more of these twin mag pouches.....

[gsimmons]

Piccies or didn't happen, tankie.

[Peter Laidler]

Until I saw one a couple of years ago, I didn't even know SMG pouches existed! As a rule, if you were carrying weapons, you were wearing standard ammo pouches as full battle order or what we called 'skeleton order'. So where did Sterling ammo pouches fit in I ask?

[browningautorifle]

Here's ours. They sat at the front as seen.

[peregrinvs]

Until I saw one a couple of years ago, I didn't even know SMG pouches existed! As a rule, if you were carrying weapons, you were wearing standard ammo pouches as full battle order or what we called 'skeleton order'. So where did Sterling ammo pouches fit in I ask?

I think they were intended for personnel armed with an SMG who weren't thought to require a large supply of ammunition. In my copy of 'The British Army in Ulster Vol.2' there's some rare pictures of a member of the RMP wearing them.

[Peter Laidler]

Nope, never saw them there either. Mind you, the Military Police are the least sort of person I'd like to see anywhere........ Stiff hats, stiff xxxxxx and xxxx-all sense!