Patchett Machine Carbine Mk I
Sterling Engineering Company · Submachine Gun · Prototype · 1944
Also known as: Patchett Machine Carbine, Patchett 9mm Mk I, Patchett Mk 1
Overview
The Patchett Machine Carbine Mk I was a British wartime prototype submachine gun designed by George Patchett of the Sterling Engineering Company. Built around a Sten-derived receiver tube with a Lanchester-style magazine well and ventilated shroud, it introduced the helical bolt ribs that would become a Patchett trademark, clearing fouling from the action. The prototype was a precision-machined trials weapon submitted to the British Ordnance Board in 1944; it won the competition but, with the postwar drawdown, was not adopted until it had been refined into the production Sterling submachine gun in the 1950s.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3400 g (119.9 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 3860 g (136.2 oz) |
| Barrel Length | 198 mm (7.80") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 32 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Effective Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 550 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Open Bolt, Helical Bolt Ribs, Folding Stock, Left Side Magazine Feed, Bayonet Lug, Pistol Grip At Balance Point
Service history
Operators
- United Kingdom (Ordnance Board trials)
Conflicts
- World War II (1939-1945)
Production
Estimated total produced: 110 · Production years: 1943-1945
Trials weapon; an Imperial War Museum specimen is stamped 'PATCHETT MACHINE CARBINE MK 1 No 078'. Refined into the Sterling SMG, adopted by Britain in the 1950s.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Designer: George William Patchett
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
Distinct from the production Sterling/L2A3: this is the WWII experimental machine carbine (~110 made, straight 32-round Sten-type magazine on early examples), not the mass-produced postwar weapon with its curved 34-round magazine. Sources vary on exact weight (a quoted 8.5 lb includes bayonet, sling and loaded magazine) and on whether ~20 or ~120 trials guns were ordered.
Background
Legend holds that a handful of prototype Patchetts were jump-tested by paratroopers at Arnhem in 1944; three serial-numbered trials guns vanish from British paperwork around that date, fuelling the story, though it has never been confirmed.