Sterling L2A3 NZ contract

[Peter Laidler]

I don't think it is a standard grub screw Vince. Feel free to correct me, but the ejector screw has a small round locator on the end that fits into a corresponding hole in the mag housing. The grub screws were brought in as grub screws but were modified at Sterling then phosphated.

Luger fan, thread 7. All Ordnance stores, weaponry, ammunition, clothing etc etc were pooled stores there. So while you started a tour there with NZ commercial Sterlings you could end up with UK ones or vice verca. Same as rifles, Australian/UK made Land Rovers, Ammunition

[lugerfan]

Thanks vince - PM Sent on the offchance that it may be correct, but don't got to to much trouble if it's a pain. Dont have access to a lathe etc, but I can ask a chap at work to modify it if it is a simple job.

Thanks Peter, that's interesting info, hadn't considered that at all. I guess the next question is what happens when they all went home, would it have been possible that NZ weapons etc (where they were almost common models as in this instance) could have ended up in uk stocks, or did they have a big sort out, which I guess would have been easy enough where they are marked such as the l2a3.

I presume there's no way that the British stores system could cope with a bunch of NZ l2a3's getting in the mix long term?

[Peter Laidler]

To be honest, it didn't make any difference what rifles or SMG's went where. The UK ended up with loads of Australian or NZ rifles and no doubt they ended up with UK made ones too. It wasn't uncommon to find them all over the place. Just a feature of mixed Ordnance stores. To the blanket stackers at Ordnance, a rifle was a rifle and an SMG was an SMG. But in Malaya, once the first AR15's came on stream - followed by the decent M-16's, the UK NZ and Australia returned their Sterlings, Owens and F1's to Ordnance. Never saw them after that

Ammo was all mixed too from NZ CAC made, UK made and Australia and 556 from the US

[lugerfan]

I guess the advantage of a common weapons specification :0)

[Vincent]

You’re right, Peter. It’s called a Hex Drive Full Dog Point Socket Set Screw.

[Peter Laidler]

.......... I couldn't for the life of me think of what the parallel part of the screw was called. Yep, that's it..... dog point!

[Brit plumber]

I think 'Screw Thingy' is a bit more catchy!

[bigduke6]

Thingamajig (Thing-a-ma-jig) or whatchamacallit (what-cha-ma-call-it) are two I was brought up with, of course put a Scouse , Geordie, Glaswegian accent in with these two and folk think your talking double dutch......

[mrclark303]

They were supplied to NZ in crinkle finish. It seems to me that yours has been stripped off and just the original phosphate finish remains

The ejector screw is simplicity itself to make. You just need a philips headed bolt of the correct UNF thread and machine the short shoulder on it. Sterling bought them in as that and machined the shoulder.

NZ guns were sold to a UK dealer, originally to be sold on as serviceable weapons to other nations. But by then, SMG's were obsolete. So they remained unsold until they went out to the deact market where nobody really wanted them either!

I guess all the ex NZ L2A3's must have been refurbished a few times during their service Peter.

I think all the NZ contact examples I have seen have always been Suncorite finished.

I always assumed it was only the Faz L2's that had the crinkle finish applied, you learn something every day!

It's funny, but in the last five years or so, old spec L2 Sterling's​ "were" fetching strong money, especially if they were the sympathetically deactivated examples chopped by the likes of Charnwood Ordinance.

[Flying10uk]

lugerfan, your deac Sterling, old spec does look to be in lovely condition and a good buy for you. There did seem to be a number of collectors who were "panicked" into selling or down sizing their collection just before the 2nd of May. If the law ever changes so that older spec deacs can be legally sold/traded you could very well see a significant increase in value of your Sterling over what you paid for it.

I paid less than £100, if memory serves me correctly, for The Guns of Dagenham not that long ago. Just keep your eyes skinned, especially on eBay.