Operation
The Lanchester is an open bolt, self-loading blowback operated weapon with a selective-fire option (located in front of the trigger) on early versions. A tubular receiver was attached to the front of the wooden stock, which could be pivoted barrel down for maintenance and disassembly. The wooden stock was patterned after that of Lee-Enfield rifle, and a bayonet lug centred below the muzzle accepted the 1907-pattern knife-bayonet.
It used a straight 50-round magazine containing 9mm Parabellum cartridges (special pouches were produced to hold three magazines each) which fitted fed into a brass magazine housing from the left, with spent cartridges ejected on the right. It was interchangeable with the shorter 32-round Sten magazine. Stripping of cartridges into the magazine was aided by a catch on the top of the receiver.
Mk.1s featured a front blade sight with adjustable rifle-type sights, marked between 100–600 yards. Mk.1* featured a much simplified flip-up sight marked 100 or 200 yards.
Manual safety is made in the form of locking cut, made in the receiver, which engages the bolt handle to lock bolt in open (cocked) position. It proved notoriously susceptible to accidental discharge if the weapon were dropped. For cleaning the weapon had a brass oiler bottle and pull through held inside the butt stock (similar to the Lee-Enfield rifle).
Read more about this topic: Lanchester Submachine Gun
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—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)
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—Sydney Smith (1771–1845)