Charlton 303 Machine Gun |
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303Guy
Senior Member Joined: July 10 2012 Location: Auckland Status: Offline Points: 495 |
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Posted: August 28 2012 at 4:01pm |
This would be taking modifying the SMLE to extremes. Are you ready for this?
Pretty cool! First time I heard of it was today when I came across this specimen advertised for sale in a local paper. Cheap at the price! NZ$9000. It is believed to one of three examples on the planet. I would like to take the opportunity to bask in the fact that this machine gun was a Kiwi innovation. (Kiwi being New Zealander). It was a wartime mod so no relics were destroyed. Have a look at this link; http://www.guncity.co.nz/303-charlton-machine-gun-c-cat-xidp129426.html |
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303Guy
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LE Owner
Senior Member Joined: December 04 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1047 |
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Not sure but I think they used the Lee Metford or early LE action bodies for these conversions.
It would be super cool if a legal semi-auto version were made available. Original blueprints for the conversion were found some years ago, and offered for sale. I had downloaded the images from that site but lost them when the PC I was using got fried. There were several select fire or semi-auto conversions developed, and similar conversions of several types of turn bolt action or straightpull rifles (the Ross for one) were attempted, with varying degrees of sucess.
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Cookie Monster
Special Member Joined: January 22 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7510 |
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Nice looking rifle very interesting ! but a Maintenence nightmare
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flanker
Senior Member Joined: March 30 2012 Location: Aberdeenshire Status: Offline Points: 338 |
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Wow! That's the first picture I've seen of one of these. I think they were produced as an emergency measure when there was an extreme threat of a Japanese invasion of New Zealand - weren't most of them destroyed in an accidental arsenal fire shortly after the end of the war?
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Life is full of possibilities, 50% of them are likely to good....
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hoadie
Moderator Group Joined: March 16 2006 Location: Niagara/Canada Status: Offline Points: 9003 |
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would be easier to just stick with the Bren gun!
Hoadie |
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Loose wimmen tightened here
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flanker
Senior Member Joined: March 30 2012 Location: Aberdeenshire Status: Offline Points: 338 |
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I think they were hard to find at the time |
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Life is full of possibilities, 50% of them are likely to good....
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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Wow so many places to get a finger stuck! *cringe*
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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caseyjay
Special Member Donating Member Joined: August 26 2012 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 8 |
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Fascinating, never heard of these thanks for sharing
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303Guy
Senior Member Joined: July 10 2012 Location: Auckland Status: Offline Points: 495 |
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I had never heard of them either until yesterday when I happened to glance at a page of gunsale specials. So I looked it up on the net and found the one on sale. Fascinating! I do believe these were built on MLE actions and not SMLE's as pointed out (just going by the pictures).
I'd say it would have been easier to just build a new design machinegun using LE barrels (?) rather than to modify a Lee Enfield but by now the thing is its rarity and collectors interest (not to mention the amazing ingenuity of it all!) And indeed, one would want to keep one's fingers away from all the moving 'finger cutting off' parts! The sights seem a little optimistic! How would one see them with the thing jumping around during firing?
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303Guy
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John Sukey
Senior Member Joined: December 29 2011 Location: Tucson AZ Status: Offline Points: 89 |
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Letrs not forget the Howell, a conversion of the No1Mk3 with a 10 round magazine intended for the Home Guard
Then there was the South African Reider, again with a 10 round mag Of course there was also the Charlton Automatic Rifle, Electrolux model The Australian self loading rifle And last of all The Howard Francis self loading carbine chambered for the 7.63 Mauser pistol cartridge Last of all the Slazenger .22 Hornet on a No1Mk3 acdtion (have one of those) not a conversion but rather built as such for hunters
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flanker
Senior Member Joined: March 30 2012 Location: Aberdeenshire Status: Offline Points: 338 |
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Wow! Anyone got pictures of these?
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Life is full of possibilities, 50% of them are likely to good....
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Canuck
Special Member Donating Member Joined: January 17 2012 Location: Agassiz BC Status: Offline Points: 3535 |
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Amazing information, I did not know of their existance!
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A square 10
Special Member Donating Member Joined: December 12 2006 Location: MN , USA Status: Offline Points: 14452 |
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very innovative and pretty complicated ,
oh , BTW , for those who dont know about john sukey , he probably has a copy of this in his closet somewhere , along with a copy of the others he mentioned ......
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LE Owner
Senior Member Joined: December 04 2009 Status: Offline Points: 1047 |
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Was that also a self loader?
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Lithgow
Senior Member Joined: October 25 2005 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 1417 |
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No they were a bolt action sporter.
They used to be quite common in Australia and you still see them for sale every now and then.
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Story
Groupie Joined: August 30 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 26 |
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There's at least one gunsmith over on the weaponeer forums working on a modern semi-automatic copy of this -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlton_Automatic_Rifle Also, as mentioned, the Canadians where trying self-loading designs based on the Ross during WWI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huot_automatic_rifle |
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