Well Known Photo of RCN Beach Commando

[Voltigeur]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...chesterSMG.jpg

[Tanker Mike]

I wonder why the Lanchester SMG did not gain the popularity the Sten did, I realize the Sten was dirt cheap to make but the Lanchester appears to be a better product, more sturdy, better machined with a larger magazine.

[Voltigeur]

Originally Posted by Tanker Mike

I wonder why the Lanchester SMG did not gain the popularity the Sten did, I realize the Sten was dirt cheap to make but the Lanchester appears to be a better product, more sturdy, better machined with a larger magazine.

http://www.historicalfirearms.info/p...chine-guns-the

[Blackadder1916]

Captioned as:

Able Seaman Armand Therien of the Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commandos, England, 20 July 1944.

http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/...3Apam&lang=eng

[edstorey]

The photograph of Able Seaman Armand Therien is a popular image that has been used in many publications and displays and had long intrigued me when it was a prominent part of the permanent displays at the old Canadian War Museum on Sussex Drive in Ottawa back in the 1970s and 1980s. His issue Mk III Helmet, 1942 Pattern Battle Jerkin, Lanchester SMG and Commando insignia have always been of interest to collectors although unfortunately without knowing the story behind the photograph, broad-brush statements like "some early models issued to Commando units such as the one seen above" invariably get published in articles like that seen in Chalk & Cheese: Britain’s Submachine Guns - The STEN & Lanchester.

Collecting information from multiple sources broadens knowledge which allows a much better answer to a question. Chalk & Cheese: Britain’s Submachine Guns - The STEN & Lanchester is one of those internet articles that could best be described as a starting point into discovering more about the Lanchester and Sten Machine Carbines, to use the terminology of the time. Unfortunately the article has all of the hallmarks of a work that was compiled from multiple internet sources such as both grainy and professional images and no accreditation of sources. The story of the adaption and production of these automatic small arms goes well beyond the simplistic approach taken by the article and involves the requirements of the three services, manufacturing capabilities and the availability of other weapons systems such as the Thompson from the United States. Not surprisingly, no mention was made of the various Marks of Sten, or even of the Mk V which could be considered the 'Cadillac' of Stens, and like the Lanchester employed wooden furniture. Omissions such as these cause me at least to question the validity of the article.

For those seeking more information on RCN Beach Commando 'W', here is a link through Wilfrid Laurier University to an article I co-authored with RCN Commando Veteran E.G. Finley for Canadian Military History Magazine back in 1997.

http://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewconte...59&context=cmh