Charlton Automatic Rifle
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| Charlton Automatic Rifle | |
|---|---|
| Type | Self-loading rifle/Light machine gun |
| Place of origin |  New Zealand |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1942-1945 |
| Used by | New Zealand |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Philip Charlton |
| Designed | 1941 |
| Produced | 1942-1945 |
| Variants | Electrolux SMLE Model |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 16 lb (7.3 kg), unloaded |
| Length | 44.5 in (1150 mm) |
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| Cartridge | .303 British |
| Calibre | 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) |
| Action | Gas-operated semi-automatic |
| Rate of fire | 600 rounds/minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 2,440 ft/s (744 m/s) |
| Effective range | 1,000 yards (910 m) |
| Maximum range | 2,000 yards (1830 m) |
| Feed system | 10-round magazine or 30-round Bren gun magazine |
| Sights | Sliding ramp rear sights, fixed post front sights |
The Charlton Automatic Rifle was a fully automatic conversion of the Lee-Enfield rifle, designed by New Zealander Philip Charlton in 1941 to act as a substitute for the Bren and Lewis gun light machine guns which were in chronically short supply at the time.
The original Charlton Automatic Rifles were converted from obsolete Lee-Metford and Magazine Lee-Enfield rifles dating from as early as the Boer War,[1] and were intended for use as a self-loading rifle with the full-automatic capability retained for emergency use.[2] It used both the 10-round Lee-Enfield magazines, and also the 30-round Bren magazines.
There were two versions of the Charlton: the New Zealand version, as designed and manufactured by Charlton Motor Workshops in Hastings, and a version produced in Australia by Electrolux, using the SMLE Mk III* for conversion.[3] The two designs differed markedly in external appearance (amongst other things, the New Zealand Charlton had a forward pistol grip and bipod, whilst the Australian one did not), but shared the same operating mechanism.
Approximately 1,500 Charlton Automatic Rifles were manufactured in New Zealand,[4] and nearly all of them were destroyed in a fire at the Palmerston North service storage facility shortly after World War II.[5]
An example of the New Zealand-manufactured Charlton Automatic Rifle is known to survive in the Imperial War Museum in London, but only three examples of the Electrolux-made Charlton Automatic Rifles are known to exist – one in the Waiouru Army Museum in New Zealand, another at the Singleton Infantry Centre in Australia, and the third at the Imperial War Museum in London.
[edit] External Image
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Skennerton, Ian: The Lee-Enfield Story, page 183. Arms & Militaria Press, Australia, 1993
- ^ Skennerton, Ian: The Lee-Enfield Story, page 184. Arms & Militaria Press, Australia, 1993
- ^ Skennerton, Ian: The Lee-Enfield Story, page 185. Arms & Militaria Press, Australia, 1993,
- ^ Skennerton, Ian Small Arms Identification Seriess No. 13: Special Service Lee-Enfields; Commando & Auto Models, page 33. Arms & Militaria Press, Australia, 2001
- ^ Skennerton, Ian: The Lee-Enfield Story, page 185. Arms & Militaria Press, Australia, 1993
[edit] References
- Skennerton, Ian The Lee-Enfield Story (1993). Arms & Militaria Press, Australia. ISBN 1-85367-138-X
- Skennerton, Ian Small Arms Identification Series No. 13: Special Service Lee-Enfields; Commando & Auto Models (2001). Arms & Militaria Press, Australia. ISBN 0 949749 37 0
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