An in-depth history of the small arms made by the Sterling Company of Dagenham, from 1940 until Sterling was purchased by British Aerospace in 1989 and closed.

The Lanchester and the Patchett Machine Carbine were both developed at Sterling Engineering Co Ltd during World War Two.  With the appearance of the the earliest Patchett prototypes the military began testing in ever more rigorous trials, This let to the adoption of the MkII Patchett as the L2A1 in 1953, and the first 'Sterling' as the L2A2 in 1955.

Then came Sterling's  'Crown Jewel' the MK4, adopted as the general issue UK 'Gun, Sub-Machine, L2A3' in September, 1955. This was manufactured for over 30 years, and nearly 16000 were made.

All prototypes, military Mks, commercial and licensed production models of the Sterling are described, including the Canadian C1 SMG and the Indian 1A Carbine, The book contains notes on manufacturing methods and procedures as used at Sterling, ROF Fazakerley, Canadian Arsenals Limited and the Indian Small Arms Factory, Kanpur(Cawnpore), plus extensive notes on inter-model interchangeability, serial number ranges, quantities produced, client-country purchases of the various Sterling Marks, and accessories.

This book is an updated version of the title previously published by Collector Grade Publications as 'The Guns of Dagenham'.

Publisher: Pen & Sword this edition 2020

RRP £40.00

Authors: Peter Laidler, James Edmiston, David Howroyd.

This edition is in Hardcover with Dustjacket and has 335 pages

ISBN: 9781526773302    

There are numerous Black and White Photographs and Diagrams, the both the inside front and rear cover have Coloured Diagrams.