London Small Arms Co. Ltd
The London Small Arms Company Ltd was a British Arms Manufacturer from the years 1866-1935.
Based in Tower Hamlets, London, London Small Arms Co. Ltd (LSA Co) was formed in an effort to compete against the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield by the gunsmiths who made up the London Armoury Company, which had gone out of business as a result of the end of the US Civil War.
Like their counterparts at BSA Co, LSA Co were contractors to the British Armed forces and produced many British Service Rifles- notably the Martini–Henry, Martini–Enfield, and Short Magazine Lee–Enfield rifles. They also produced a number of sporting arms and shotguns for the civilian market.
Unlike BSA and RSAF Enfield, however, LSA Co never managed to achieve high levels of production, preferring to focus on maintaining a greater level of workmanship on their firearms. Indeed, LSA Co guns are highly regarded by modern collectors of British military firearms because of their higher quality workmanship, which has led most of the existing and surviving LSA Co guns to be in (generally) better condition than their contemporaries from other manufacturers.
The market for military and civilian arms dropped markedly in the inter-war years, and London Small Arms Co. Ltd finally closed down in 1935, unable to compete with the more efficient factories of BSA Co and RSAF Enfield.
References
The Lee-Enfield Story (1993) Skennerton, Ian. Arms & Militaria Press, Gold Coast, QLD ISBN 1-85367-138-X
External links
See also
- London Armoury Company
- Royal Small Arms Factory
- Birmingham Small Arms Company
- Martini–Henry
- Martini–Enfield
- Lee–Enfield