In the previous article, it was told about how the creation of new third-generation submachine guns began during the Second World War. And that was sensible. This was done in the USSR, where in 1943 a new cartridge appeared, and already in 1944 new machines were created for it. They did the same in other countries. Particularly in England. We talked about the Kokoda submachine gun last time, but since the topic was not exhausted, we will continue it today.
And it so happened that at the final stages of World War II, when no one doubted the victory of the Allies, the British army began to look for a replacement for its STEN. The Ammunition Board commissioned the Royal Anfield Small Arms Factory to create such a replacement. The design department at Anfield began work on the project, which was codenamed Military Carbine Experimental Model (MCEM) in April 1945. Six MCEM prototypes were manufactured in Anfield and two more in Australia.
At that time, many foreign engineers worked in Anfield, who left their home countries due to the Nazi occupation. And the British divided the design departments by nationality. French and Belgian designers such as Georges Laloux and Dieudonné Save worked on new rifles. They developed the SLEM-1, which later evolved into the FN-49 and early prototypes of the.280 FAL. The British engineers were led by Stanley Thorpe and they created the EM-1 rifle, while the Polish design team, led by Stefan Janson, introduced the EM-2. All this eventually turned into a real "bouquet" of post-war structures. The general leadership was carried out by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Kent-Lemon. The chief designer was Stephen Jenson.
SLEM-1, designed by Georges Laloux and Dieudonné Save. This rifle, along with the FAL, was developed in Great Britain, and after the war, it began to be produced in Belgium at the FN Herstal enterprise.
But this EM-2 rifle was developed by Stephen Janson (or Stephen Jenson, as the British called him) chambered for.280 caliber (7mm). It was planned to replace both old Lee-Enfield and STAN. As you can see, more than a modern model, which can be considered quite modern even today, was created in England during the war years, and besides, it was designed by a Polish engineer.
One important circumstance should be noted here. A good weapon always starts with a good cartridge. And the British were among the first to understand this in relation to the "weapon of tomorrow", and by the end of the 1940s they created such a cartridge. The new 7x43 (.280 British) cartridge had a pointed 7mm (0.280 inch) jacketed bullet and a bottle-shaped 43mm long sleeve without protruding rim. A bullet weighing 9 grams had an initial velocity of 745 m / s, which made it possible to provide an effective firing range, good flatness and reduced recoil with a smaller mass of the cartridge and the weapon itself compared to traditional rifle cartridges. The rate of fire was about 450-600 rds / min. Weight without cartridges - 3, 43 kg.
Two teams worked on submachine guns at once: the British, led by Harold Turpin, one of the developers of the famous STEN, and the Polish, led by Lieutenant Podsenkowski. Both teams competed with each other and tried their best.
The British team was the first to finish the job. Therefore, it was named MCEM-1. But it often happens that engineers, like writers, having created one masterpiece, cannot repeat it several times. The MCEM-1 was based on the same STEN with an improved hull and a right-handed platoon. In addition, the submachine gun was equipped with a slower rate of fire and a removable wooden butt, which was inserted into a hollow tubular metal handle. The magazine was double and consisted of two magazines, each holding 20 rounds.
MCEM-1. It was the first prototype developed by Harold Turpin since STAN. It did not contain any radical innovations.
The Polish team, led by Lieutenant Podsenkowski, finished their project second, so their sample was named MCEM-2. It was completely different from the MCEM-1 and generally different from any other submachine gun created in England before. And not only did he insert the magazine into the handle. He also had a rotating bolt 203 mm long, sliding on … 178 mm barrel. That is, the bolt was longer than the barrel! The bolt could be cocked by inserting a finger into the slot located above the barrel. The sleeve was located in front of the trigger guard, which was also unusual.
The MCEM-2 was very compact and could be operated with one hand. But due to the short receiver, the rate of fire was about 1000 rds / min, which the Ammunition Committee considered excessive, especially since the magazine of this PP contained only 18 rounds. Why the designers did not make it a larger capacity, well, at least 30 rounds, not to mention 40, is unclear.
The MCEM-3 was an improved model of the MCEM-1, designed to meet the requirements of the General Staff. The retarder of the rate of fire was removed from it, and the handle for cocking the shutter was moved to the left side. The double magazine was replaced with a single curved 20-round magazine and a bayonet mount was added.
The MCEM-4 was developed by Lieutenant Kulikovsky, who developed the STEN Mk. IIS model for special operations. The MCEM-4 had a silencer and could very well be a modification of the MCEM-2. MCEM-5 is a mystery, as no records of it have survived. There is a possibility that it could be the Viper submachine gun designed by Derek Hatton-Williams, but it is not known for sure.
Derek Hatton-Williams' Viper. Amazing design isn't it? Long receiver, butt, but the trigger on the pistol grip, through which the magazine from the German MP-40 is passed.
The MCEM-6 was the last model to be submitted to the competition, and was a redesigned version of the MCEM-2, based on previous comments. It was developed by Lieutenants Ihnatovich and Podsenkovsky. Barrel length was increased by 254 mm, bayonet mount was added. The bolt weight has been increased to reduce the rate of fire to 600 rounds. / min.
The Enfield management reviewed all samples and decided to submit MCEM-2, MCEM-3 and MCEM-6 for testing. They were carried out in September 1946, and all samples, except for MCEM-3, were found unsatisfactory. Therefore, further efforts were focused on MCEM-3.
Meanwhile, in Australia, they started their own MCEM project, within which the Kokoda submachine gun was created, which was described in the previous article.
The modernized "Kokoda" received the designation MCEM-1. This often causes confusion, as many believe that the Australian MCEM-1 was the first MCEM model Anfield submitted for the competition. But this is not the case. The Australian MCEM project and the MCEM project in Anfield are two different projects.
True, its creator Major Hall, who brought it to England, ended up staying there and started developing the EM-3 rifle. Nevertheless, the MCEM-1 sample in England was modified taking into account the new specifications of the General Staff and received the designation MCEM-2. A bolt handle was installed on it on the right side. Added a flash suppressor and bayonet mount. The rear sight has been replaced with an adjustable one. Ergonomics have been improved with new handles. The MCEM-2 was tested in May 1951 and competed with the Mk.2 Patchet, Mk.3 BSA and M50 Madsen. MCEM-2 was having trouble extracting the casings and in addition it broke again. The military did not like such a "brittle" submachine gun, and they opted for the L2A1.
This is how the foresight of the British military and the talent of their engineers gave their armed forces the opportunity to get the most modern small arms at the beginning of the post-war period, and, in particular, the EM-2 rifle (see more material on VO dated March 31, 2017) After all, it was in 1951 year they even adopted the British army, but due to political pressure from the United States, this rifle remained in an experimental way. The fact is that the American rifle cartridge 7, 62 × 51 mm became standard for NATO, which is why all weapons now had to be designed only for it. And with the EM-2 it was very difficult, it was necessary to change the ammunition for it. In fact, it was necessary to do everything all over again, and time was running out. Therefore, the L1A1 (self-loading version of the FN FAL) went into service.
L2A1 "Sterling" submachine gun
But the Americans did not care about European submachine guns, and the British got their own, national "Sterling". So politics resonates with technology.
