The Sterling
Developed from a 1940 design by George William Patchett and initially built by Sterling Engineering Company of Dagenham-Essex, England, the L-2 SMG was adopted by Britain and all Commonwealth nations in 1953. Subsequent manufacturers include the Royal Ordnance Factory of Fazakerley, Landcastershire, England, and Canadian Arsenals, Ltd. The Sterling's bolt is made from multiple forgings that are precision machined, and features self-cleaning ribs that cut fouling from the inside of the receiver during bolt reciprocation and drive it from the weapon via small holes in the receiver. Stampings are used for the folding stock and magazine. Stock panels are of reinforced, shockproof plastic, and the receiver itself is made from seamless tubing. Many of the Sterling's close fittings are machined to exacting tolerances. The result is an SMG that performs brilliantly under a wide variety of conditions and possesses a long service life but is somewhat expensive and time-consuming to produce. Thus , it is clearly a peacetime weapon design regardless of how well it performs. A favorite close-combat weapon of the famed Special Air Service (SAS), the Sterling has been continuously refined to its present version , the L-2A3. The L-2A3 differs from its L-2A1 and L-2A2 predecessors in that its: 1. Buttplate locking design guarantees alignment at all times when the stock is extended. 2. Folding stock has been redesigned and is now made as a complete stamping, with a brace that extends for its entire length. 3. Rear sight release lever has been omitted. 4. Pistol grip screw is no longer interchangeable with the barrel-retaining screws, resulting in loss. 5. Front sight blade is now adjustable and retained by an Allen screw. 6. Chamber has been modified to 9mm NATO specifications. 7. Triggerguard is now removable for cold weather use with gloves. The Sterling is one of the most prolific SMGs of the post-WWII world. It is a highly refined second-generation design and can be found in the armories of more than 40 nations. It is light, compact, well designed and built to be accurate, robust and functionally reliable, particularly in cold climates. Its buttstock is rigid when extended and positively locks into place when folded for storage or airborne use. It has excellent, well-protected sights, a safety/selector lever that is easily operated by the firing thumb and an angled bolt handle to allow easy operation with either hand. If anything, the Sterling is too well engineered for its SMG mission and is excessively expensive and time-consuming to produce. However, these points in no way diminish the fact that, from an operator standpoint, it is one of the world's finest SMGs. Any comparison of the STEN and Sterling must take into consideration not only the technical characteristics of their respective designs, but also the political and economic climates of the time period during which they were developed. From a purely technical perspective, the Sterling is without question far superior to the STEN. On the other hand, considering its immense wartime success and subsequent influence on SMG design, it would be an error to dismiss the STEN as being a piece of junk just because of its bizarre appearance. There is an old dictum to the effect that function follows form, and history shows the STEN to be as efficient as any other SMG that achieved service adoption. On that basis, it is my feeling that, while it may not be up to the standard set by the Sterling, it is, in fact, a satisfactory submachine gun and worth betting your life on if necessary.