Australian F1 Submachine Gun

2442i. $.af-.rftar,

N...fiTl.** ANOTHgR AUSTRALIAN NATIVS

r^xdffi3r*o.

G.AQI-L

\ utdu

t

ufld

t ,

2361t g^ttcL

,.'"*,fS,* ThC 9MM Fl SUBMACHINE GUN T:a'ifiJ*'''o Ian skennerton

22\ I

r\fJq

lgar \<1,1,,

i 260l&

a'fif**

'€::-

irSbtt -...__. !qrct$*r r(.bra a4,re

+.--:f,.'&,..rr .,

jlsts. *eif, l{ 3_x.{\*,)

€d.r

?stt7 \€aaR

:t,ri $.i:.;G

2614 rt!4c_

:rerv:6o& ?6122

(ldoq i

431$ l|.l* *AA6Qrc

The X3 (.Aust) was a tials model protot!'pe of the 9mm Fl, developedto be lighter and more easily manufactured than the Owen gun, and to have a lower cyclic rate of fire.

|

I I

,}4rtar

?tras dtfr

a4e.

an^tt.

2tar6 2&b Oqrt *rre

ltan

At the end of World War 2, Lysaght's Works Ltd., Port Kembla, forwarded the Owen gun drawings and tooling to Lithgow. Certain improvements were made to the original designsas well as to the Lysaghts trials Mk 2 model, which resulted in prototlpe Mark 4 (1946) and M a r k 5 ( 1 9 5 7 ) O w e n d e s i g n s .S o m e improvements had already been applied to the original Mk I Lysaghtsmodels in a large-scale upgrade and Factory Thorough Repair program from 1947. TheseFTR's were marked and designated the Owen Mk 2/3, which have a semicircular safety slide catch fitted at the rear ofthe tube and a bayonetfixing studunder the barrel forward of the front pistol grip.

9mm XI & X2 (Aust.) proto|'pe models

Refcrcnt'es. '.4ustralion

Service Machine (iuns' Skennerton '9nrnt S.4.15. No. 3, Ov'en & Austen Mk I' Skennerton I'ortous.[actorl' records, 5 .1.F.Lithgov' ln.funtn Training Vol. l, lrtfantrt' Platoon ll'eopons Pant

A questionnaire was sent out to combat troops at the end of WW2 regarding user requirements for an improved submachine gun. This resulted in the 'Kokoda' but its poor balance and overheating ended up with ongoing development through the 'Machine ike its predecessor, service the Carbine, Experimental Models'in the late f Owenmachinecarbine,the 9mm 1940's;MCEM I in 1947 and MCEM 2 I .Fl r waspeculiarto Australia.It was the following year.The prototype Kokoda developed by the Army Design and MCEM's have the stick magazine Establishmentand manufacturedat SAF mountedvertically, positioned underneath Lithgow from 1964 until 1973. The instead of on top of the action like the renownedOwen servedAustralia well Owen. On the MCEM models. it was throughthe jungle campaignsof World positioned through the rear pistol grip. War 2, ensuingconflict in Malaya and This series was tested conjunctly with Borneo,Koreaandduringtheearlyyears British 9mm SMG trials and compared of the War in Vietnam.The Fl continued side by side with the Patchettand Sterling that legacyof dependability. developments.

Aaus a Mturann Cottecroa No. 2l

53

n r l ! r i l . / i n icl n ( lo l l s c t : i q h t s l i k c l l r c ( ) u c n . l - i t l t g t r $ S . \ l r l l c t o n p r o t l r r e l i t r nc o r l c t \ \ c r c l t ( ) tr n l l k c t l t l n I l t c r r el r p o n .l t o r i c t c r ' t h c t r p i c u l l - i t l r g t r up l o o l ' l r n t li r r s p clei o r r n l l f k s r l r c l i r t t n t lo n \ i t r - i ( ) u|\l u t s s u c l ) l l \ b l r r c l l r r t t l h r c c eI r l r l o ek . l I r i c l r s c r r c t r r c o n l l r n r i 1 so r - i g i r r .

L i t I t , q t t I t t t t t , I t tI Lt y 1 , . t ' f t ' L ! t ' t - , ' t t . , - a|t\''Lt ' r I o t t l r o l l l ) ( ) ( 1 . \\' t. ( l n l ) ( ' ( l ( ) n l ) t r t ' t ' r , l I-hc lt l is no*

I lre lirllou ing

\l(

| \l

I

tlcri!lrt rrlts lltc llst ol tltis rcttcr ltntl hr It)5().lr nc* \ r r . 1 r l rl r i i l r l r ' ( ) t ( )t \ l r e \ \ i l s turtlcrgoins trilrl:. tlcsignlttcrl '\ tlre l'. I Iri: ncn tle:rgrr

I ' l t c I : l r c p l l r ec t l t h c ( ) n c n \ l k I I i t t . \ t t ' l t r r l i r r lt ' t ' i\ r r l i o n t I ( ) 6 - 1 .I l r c r o l c o l l l t c s c r r i c c n r l c h i n c ei l r b i n c ( ) l sttb-mtrclrinc sLln llr: clltttgcrl nlrrkcrllr or cr tltc p l s t r l c c l r t l c .a : l l r s t l r e . \ t r s t l u l i u r r. \ r - r n c t l : o re e : r c c l t t i r c n r c t t lt..o l t l ri s r - c r . l \ ( ) n t h c l : l l r sl s r r l r - r r r u e l r igntcr n \ \ i r sI r ( ) tl c n c l l t l l r r c p l l e c t l i n s c r \ i ec . S p c ei l l i s t l i r r c c : s u c h l l \ t h c \ . \ S r r s c( ) r n r r r Ilccklcr & Koelt \ll'i r r t r i l n t : .l t sr l o s l u t cp o l i ec r r r . \ L t s t r l l i lrrr l t c l c t l t c r ci s s r r e l r lr rcrlrrilcrrrcnl.

r , r r : ' en t r r , r l r ' t ] , r . t .l r , : . i " l i { . t l t r l r l - . t l l r ' r ' r , l l l r ' l l l r l l l r l rl j i t. l l r i l i : l r t l c r c l o p n r c n l l r r r t li n l 1 \ L r r l n r l i rirt c r o l r c r l t l t r o L r s h ll,lt 1l11 . q 1 , ,li.l q\ l i r r l ' r t r l : r n , li I j ? j ,,!;'

{i

j11 l()(rl.

I ltc ()rnnt \.j

ri lrs

f ( ) l r \ r r l c l c ( ll o b c s u e e e s s L r rr elt()Ll!l) t() \\ iu-t-lnI I]llutulrittLrrc ol lr hltntl-tnlttlctuttl l r l r n t l - l l t t i : l r c t l r l r l e l ro l ' l r l c u tlozcn stttt: rrt I.itlt!rori Iirr' c r l c r r t l c t l 1 r ' o o pt l i l r l s . tlltttttt

\bi,Lrt liltr

\ I tcsl nroticl:

o b s o l c t c . u i l l t t l n r un l i o n t

\ c r \ i c c u i t h t h c . \ r r s t n r l i u .r \rr ' n r c tll: ( ) r e c\. V i r t u r l l r u l l o l ' . \ L t s t t r r l i l ' :l t I ' s r i c r c I ' c P ( ) r ' t cl(tls l r c i n g s r r c l t c t l r l o r rr r u t I ) o r l K c r n b l uu n r l l l l o k c r r l l i l l . I r r l . c c p i n su i t l r s ( ) \c n l n c n l p o l i c r r l r r r r n sl l r c I ( ) ( ) 0 ' ' . s ( ) n r c\ \ c l c s o l r lt o \ l l l l n . i l r . r r l t l r t r r r gt l t r : l l n t ( ) u n t c (l lo o n l t t \ \ c n t \ sc\cn gun\ ()l tltc t()till I r t o t l t t r ' l i l,n' l l i . I l t ' r r r t i l . .

\itt

ttl I

I ttitll rttn

l,,tt,,n,t litt r!

\\ rrc it\\clrlllctl ttsinq \ iltr()u\

l o y g , t ' , 1 ) \l l l t ( l : i , , l t t s . \ I g r r n s u c r c r t t l r l k c tll. s r r el r o n t l r c r c i r r \ i g h th l o c k .u l l L r . c t lI J l i l i : h . l - 1 - r tSl l e r l i n g n t l g l r z i n c s . I)c'tgtt rl olk ol tlrc \ I \ . 1 s c r i c sl t n d r r e n l L n l I I r i l r : c l l l ' l ' i c (tlr r r th r . \ l ) 1 . ( \ L t : t n r l i l r r lr) c s i g r r I : t l b l i s l t n t c n )t i n \ | c l l r o r r l n c .l L r l l - s e l r rl cr l r r r r r I l r c t Lor l 'ct h c \ 1 . r ' cr l c s i g n r r l c t h l c S I .l l \ 1 . \ ( l l l \ l : ( i [ \ ( ) r r r nIt l . r - o n t n t c ncet l i n ] ( ) ( r l \ i t h l l r r ' l l r ' : t P r - o t l t t c t i o n - t ' u: n . u r ) sl r c i n g : c r r t l ( ) \ l ( ) l ' ci r t I ( ) ( r - 1 . l l r c ( ) r r r r r\ l d i l l r ' r : l i t l l c l r o r r rl l t c l : 1 . \ ( ) l n e - ! u l r \ i n s c n i ec l l r r c b c c n n o t c r ll t s \ I e t , t t rc t s i t t n s . I l t c n t o : t o b t i t r t r s t l i l l c l c n e c h c t u c c r rl l r c \ I u n d i l s l r I \Llr.c:\()r' is in lltc lrlrlrcl locking i r r r l n s el n en t u t t h c n r r r z z l c t l r c l : l l t r s l r t l r t e l r c rt t t c e l l r n i s r t( t) n t l r c l ) ( ) ( l \r r l r c r c t r s

t h c ( ) r rc r r .c r c n a l'tcr' \l k I -l c()ll\ crs()ll d r r r i n gl r I I { a t l.ithso\\ in thc cllrl) I ()50's. \\l\

that lillllr\

Pllrts \\cfc lt()l irttcrchunsclblc. cspcciallr thc

barrcl

l u s s c nbr I i e s . ()rnllr

lj I

prodrrctiorr c o n r r n u r c c ci rl t I()()+ unrl it r c t i u n st h c t o p r.rtorrntcrl

't, ,t I l t i ; t , t l : t i 1 t, 1 1 1 l, t1r r t t L t t , n t , t t l i / i tr l l t r t tt ' /l, l't,tlttt Iirtrt

\ll('

A R M S & M t L t r A R t AC o t t r c r o a N o . 2 1

y e a r o f p r o d u c t i o n .T h u s , g u n n u m b c r A D 6 7 0 2 3 15 r v o u l dh a v eb e e nt h e2 , 3 l 5 t h gun producedin 1961. Fl scrialnumbers are 7-digitafier the 'AD' prelix and were re-commencedeachyear r.viththe serial '00001' affer the ncw year numbcr.

( ot'kittg ltutttllt

tltsigtt tlturtgc

ProductionSomeF I parts arc fionr L lA I ritle production, its alloy bLrttplatc andu ooden p i s t o lg r i p . M i n o r a l t c r a t i o nus c r e r n a d e , suchas the groovc/reccsslbr rotationof thesafcty'selectorovcr thc grip. T h c b L r tut a s d e s i g n e dt o u t i l i s cr e ' j e cot r p a r t i a l l ys p l i t L l A l b u t t b l a n k sa s i t i s smaller.Othcr partstiom ritlc production includcthc triggcr guard and pistol grip cover.pistolgrip platcandscreu,butt trap springand scres and thc cockinghandlc leat'spring. A t'eu snrallchangesu'ercmadeto thc F l d u r i n g p r o d u c t i o n ,c l c c u r r i n gb c t n c ^ c n I 966 and I 968.The changesarc r c c o r d c dh c r c p c r g u n s c r i a l nur.nbcrs. (' Iruttgc'Ptti tt! i tt .51n't i Iiur I itttt.s ; 4 D 6 6 0 0 0 0 1 C h a n g cp o i n t tiom pin straightheadless,to S c l - l o kp i n . A l s o s t o ps e a r housing& trigger r n ec h a n i s m . A I ) 6 6 0 17 6 9 C h a n g ep o i n t tirr Bodics;S[:L quenched altcrbrazing. n D 6 6 0 l - l l l - C h a n - uien designF . r o n ts * i v e l . n D 6 6 0 2 6 6 1 -D e l e t i o no f l ) l u n s e rh. a n d l e c. o c k i n g . A D 6 8 0 1 0 0 9 C h a n g cd es i g n ; Handle,locking assernbly. n I ) 6 8 0 l 2 l t l C h a n g ed e s i g n i n t i r i n g p i n p r o t r u s i o n.;0 3 4 "- . 0 3 7 " . n D 6 8 0 3 1 9 5 C h a n g cd c s i g n ;S l i d e . cockin-h uandle. 4 D 6 8 0 3 . 1 7 . 1S l i d c ,c o c k i n gh a n d l e hardened& temperedto I[30degrees.

AccessoriesPull-through:As firr 7.62rnmRitlc Ll A l. The pull-throughweight rvasused to loosen or tighten the barrcl nut fbr strippingthe barrel out. No magazinc flller or specifictool was on generalissue.

Exccptfirr thc fervpurchascdby Malaysia, TECHNICAL DATAt h c c n t i r c o r d e r s r v e r e s u p p l i e dt o t h e O p e r a t i o n : B l o w b a c k . AustralianArmy, Navy and Air I'orce. Cartridge: 9mmparabcllurn. I I 5gn projcctile. 1,250fps rnuzz,le velocity. Drill PurposeGuns9 m m n o m i n a l . 3 5 6 "- . 3 5 9 " DP guns u'eregenerallyasscmbledfiom C a l i b r e : 28.2 ins. without bayonet. unserviceablc or scrapcomponents.The Length: fbnn of dcactivationwill be fbundto have 3 6 . 2 i n s .w i t h b a y o n e t . 7 lbs. 3 ozs.w/o magazinc. b e e n r e l a t i v e l yc o n s i s t e n d t u e t o t h e Weight: lirnitedserviceapplicationof the9mm F | . 8 lbs. 7 ozs. rv/ lillcd rnag. 9 lbs. 8 ozs.lv/ bayonct SectionizedGuns& lillcd tnagazinc. A s s e r r r b l e df b r i n s t r u c t i o n a lp u r p o s e s , M a g a z i n e : 3 4 r o u n d s ;i n t c r c h a n g e a b l with British Stcrling. sorneX3 rnodelswere so convertedatier 1 0 . 2 5o z . c m p t y . returnto store.The fbrrnof vie*'cuts will b c l b u n dt o b e q u i t ec o n s i s t e n t . I lb. 8 oz.tllled. Barrel: 8 . 3 5i n s .l o n g . 6 groove,concentric,Rl{ Afier the 9mrrr Fl was withdrawn and Rilling: placedinto resen'estorage,it was declared twist. I in l2 in. twist. obsolete.With storageneededfbr 7.62mm Fire Rate: 600-640rds/min(cyclic). L l r i f ' l e s .a l l F l s w c r e s c h e d u l e dl b r Front Sight: Blade,right of mag guide. destructionby srnelting.Hence,very t'ew Rear Sight: Aperturein lblding leaf', stampedsheetrnetal. of the F I SMGshavesurvivedto this dav. S i g h t R a d i u s : 1 0 . 6i n s . Bayonet: L lA2. I lb. I oz. with scabbard. 8 i n . B o w i eb l a d e . Fire control is effected via the trigger rathcrthan with a selector s w i t c h . l ' o r s e p a r a t es h o t s ,i t i s p r e s s e dt o t h e f l r s t s t a g e , f b r automatic tlre it is squeezed firmly to the rear.The selectlever l o c a t e do n t h e l e f i s i d e o f t h e trigger group is only a saf'ety catch. Body MarkingsRight sidc of triggcrhousingtab: S U B M A C H I N E G U N9 r n r F l AD6602789(seriulnumber)

MagazinesT h e 3 4 - r o u n d9 m r n F l m a g a z i n ei s s i r n i l a rt o i t s B r i t i s h 9 m m L 3 4 4 . l Althoughlistedat 34 rounds, The X3 was marked: counterpart. scrviccinstructionswereto fill with a f'ew M A C H I N E C A R B I N E9 M M (AUST) X3 N' I l4 (serialnumher) lesscartridgesso asnot to weakenor over compressthe magazineplatfbrrnspring. Steel Batch/Heat Treatment S e r i a ln u m b e r s - c l fA u s t r a l i a ' 9 s m r nF I ' A D ' Lithgorv indicator rnarkings MarkingsSAF or such arc prelircd by likc the Lith-uorv ' A D ' Australian F I rnagazine Barrcl: progrcssivclyare absent on the , L l A l r i f l e s . i s T . 6 l n r mL l A l a n d markingsat all. S A , S B , S C ,S E , W M . r c p o r t e dt o i n d i c a t e' A u s t r a l i a nD e s i g n ' . thereareno identifrcation Breechblock: progressivelyLikc its 7.61rnnrriflc counterpart, the tlrst These rnagsare usually chemicalmattTA. TB, TC, TD, TE. tuo numbersot-theserialnurnberdenote black finished,like their gun counterpart.

ARMS & MtLtrARtA Cotttcroa

No.2l

55

SAF Lithgow sectionised 9mm Fl Sub Mochine Gun. This example was originally a trials 9mm X3 model but it hos been retitted and upgraded to FI con/iguration when it wos sectionised. Movie Ordnance Old.

APPENDIX I Deliveriesand allocationsAD6400001 S.A.F.LithgowMuseum AD6400002- AD6400420 AustralianArmy, 2BOD Moorebank AD650000r- AD6500600 AustralianArmy, 2BOD Moorebank AD6600001- AD6603968 AustralianArmy, 2BOD Moorebank AD6603969- AD6604l8l AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana - AD6604187 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland AD6604182 AD6604t88- AD6605330 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD660533r- AD6605381 R.A.A.F.,Dubbo AD660s382- AD6605500 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD670000r- AD6702308 AushalianArmy, ICOD Bandiana - AD67023t4 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland AD6702309 - AD6706580 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD6702315 AD6706581- AD6707177 R.A.A.F.,Dubbo AD6707178- AD6707399 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland AD6707400- AD6707528 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana 4D6707529- AD6707653 R.A.A.F.,Dubbo AD6707654- AD6707677 Export to Malaysia - AD6707853 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland AD6707678 AD6707854- AD6709300 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD6800001- AD6802720 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD6802721 Forwardedto Canbena AD6802722- AD6804003 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD6804004- AD6804006 Exportto Kuala Lumpur AD6804007- AD6804100 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana - AD69007t4 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD6900001 AD7000001- AD7001723 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD7r0000r- AD7100820 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD7200001- AD7200186 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD7200t87 - AD7200461 AustralianArmy ? AD7200462- AD7201076 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana AD720t077- AD720t950 AustralianArmy ? AD730000t- AD7300009 Not recorded/ Privatesales,DP guns

56

Aaus a MtLffAnA Couecroa Na.2l

APPENDD(2 Annual Prcduction1962-3 c.120X3 (trialsmodel) 1964 420 t965 600 1966 5500 t967 9300 1968 4100 1969 7t4 t970 1723 t97l 820 t972 1950 1973 9