Photo of a Lanchester smg from a museum in London relating to the original finish.

[drm2m]

I have been trying to find a source that could confirm how these guns were originally finished.
This took me to a museum in England.

Object details:
ObjectId AAA3152
Description Submachine gun. The stock is wood with a heavy rifle butt (Lee Enfield), steel barrel and magazine housed on the left side of the weapon. The magazine holds 50 cartridges. It is fitted with adjustable sights, 100-600 yards. Blowback, automatic action. The calibre is 9mm Parabellum. It is stamped 'LANCHESTER MK 1* SA M619 5230' and stamped with an anchor. The original magazine missing. Designed by George Herbert Lanchester and manufactured by the Sterling Engineering Company, the Lanchester submachine gun was produced exclusively for the Navy from 1941. It was a copy of the German MP28/II with modifications. Quotation from 'Small Arms of the World' by W Smith (pub 1962) 'The Lanchester is fitted with a regulation type heavy rifle butt and its construction throughout is much more massive than is necessary for the cartridge it shoots, or for the accuracy obtainable from the weapon'. It is fitted with rifle type sights. Like the Russian submachine guns in its class, it lends itself to use as a support weapon'. The Lanchester was replaced by the Sterling in the 1960's.
Date made after 1941
________________________________________
Artist/Maker Sterling Engineering Co.
Place made England
Credit National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London


The finish looks very much like the finish on my Lanchester.
It is very difficult to find photos of these guns that show the original finish.
This gun is dated 1942.

David

Information

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[peregrinvs]

Thanks for that. Interesting.

(Now wishing he hadn't gone at the mag housing of his Lanchester with some Nitromoors many years ago...)

[Peter Laidler]

We refurbished hundreds of Lanchesters for the R/NZ and Aust Navy ay 40 Base workshops in the 60's. The finish was the standard Army phosphate/paint. But before that they were in a process we knew as 'controlled corrosion' or 'browned' - as in Bren guns and No2 revolvers. To be honest, it could be best described as rubbish compared to our later (and still current) workshop process.

In fact, when I left, there were still 6 or so in a rack left behind when a RN submarine based there was sold to Australia. Presumably it left before they collected the Lanchesters. We used to replace the No1 rifle butt plates and sling loops with No4 parts for ease of future maintenance and it LOOKS like the Lanchesters in the phgotos have No4 butt plates fitted. If they were from our big workshop, they'd have the 40BW mark on the butt

We shot one last week. Totally over engineered and didn't run too well until we doctored a Sterling magazine to fit. Then it seemed OK

[peregrinvs]

It would be interesting to know where the National Maritime Museum acquired that example from. I've had another look at the pictures and I note it lacks the 'arrow to arrow' sold out of service marking on the mag housing my one has.

[drm2m]

The gun that belongs to the Museum is shown in the large photo.
I have no idea where they got the Lanchester.

The gun shown in the thumbnail photos belongs to me. Purchased in Canada back in the early 70s.

David

[Peter Laidler]

I would imagine that the NMM gun was 'gifted' by the Royal Navy while the guns were still in service. Hence no sale mark

[drm2m]

I suspect that the lanchester that I own is an earlier version than the Lanchester shown in the large museum photo above.

Namely, the curved cocking handle, and the tangent rearsight.
(The date marked on my gun is 1942.)


I contacted the Museum for two reasons;
-I was trying to find a photo that showed the original finish on these guns.
- And I was trying to find period photos of these guns.

What I have so far is the large photo shown above showing the finish on the gun that they have in the museum.

I have yet to approach them to see if they have any period photos of these Lanchesters.
That is my next step......they are hard to find.

David

[peregrinvs]

I would imagine that the NMM gun was 'gifted' by the Royal Navy while the guns were still in service. Hence no sale mark

Maybe, although as we've established the pictures are of two different guns, I was wondering if the NMM gun was one of the ex-Egyptian ones imported for the UK deact market in the early 1990's which they simply bought or were donated? My gun has the green paint(?) on the mag housing, but it has an Arabic Egyptian army marking that appears to have been stamped on prior to the paint being added.

[drm2m]

Shown below 1943 dated Lanchester magazine pouch with fifty round Lanchester magazines showing 'SECo' marked Sterling magazines.

David

[Mk VII]

The Greener one I've got here appears to be that typical browned finish of prewar Enfield revolvers (inasmuch as it has any finish left).