We don’t have much information on this piece, but it was clearly designed to make use of several parts from the Sterling submachine gun. Caliber is .308, and it used FAL magazines.
British .308 Sterling prototype
Ha! that’s an odd looking rifle.
Some say it’s semi auto and fires from a closed bolt, I just wanna know if it works..
looks like it would be easy to make an improvised version.
It’s not, and it doesn’t. 🙂 We have two of these, both open bolt, both select-fire. This one is LMG-configured, the other is more of a rifle. The lever delay bolt is relatively complex and differs between the prototypes.
Hi, where do you have these guns? is it a museum?
😀
Wow, looks like that might be a blowback .308 rifle.
I wonder what it was like to shoot!
Apprantly it was designed to be rapidly manufactured in the event of ww3 and handed out to conscripts etc in the event of ww3.
Would have been intresting to fire 7.62 from an open bolt ouch.
Hello, Martin :
For the sake of the physical well-being of said conscripts and sundry other prospective users, not to mention accuracy and controllability factors, I do hope that Sterling and the powers-that-be had intended to fit at least some sort of buttstock ( even an abbreviated one, if nothing else ) to this rifle before issuing it. Otherwise, as you said, “Ouch” :).
I have fired open bolt 30-06 BAR’s and they do kick like a mule.
the mechanism would be interesting for a automatic shotgun 20 gauge open bolt home defense
Its a delayed blowback like the French FAMAS rifle. Safe but extraction can be an issue.
If it did use lever delayed blowback, the concept of “cheap and easy” would be lost. Although roller delayed would be cost efficient and work better
Király delays are exceptionally easy and inexpensive to manufacture. Compared to roller delays, they are cheaper, and simpler for small machine shops to produce with consistent results.
I wonder if it could be made in 5.7 Johnson?
Where would I go about buying that? @.@
Construction of Bolt group Sterling 308 = Construction of bolt group french Arme Automatique (AA-52). Who was first?
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=FR&NR=949973A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19490914&DB=&locale=en_EP
It looks like unremovable IFV port gun (no buttstock, no one cares about recoil, some mounts on the reciever)
I am pretty certain that my Dad (Frank Waters) designed that gun! It would have been in the late 70’s Fantastic to see it featured here if it is the same one (I am sure it is)
Hi Jo; sorry, late response, but yes, these two weapons (one machine gun, one rifle) were your dad’s designs, with input from Sandy Cormack. You’d be welcome to come and see these and his other rifle designs at the Royal Armouries; you can email me at jonathanDOTferguson@armouries.org.uk (obviously replace the ‘dot’ with a dot!).
What type of firing mechanism does it run on?
Apparently, lever-delayed blowback (like the french FAMAS assault rifle)
Can someone say for certain if this a L1A1 or Bren magazine? Someone was saying here (https://www.forgottenweapons.com/british-308-sterling-prototype/) that this is in fact a bren magazine.