Sterling 7.62

Sterling 7.62
Type	Battle rifle Light machine gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Production history
Manufacturer	Sterling Armaments Company
Specifications
Cartridge	7.62×51mm NATO
Caliber	7.62 mm
Action	Lever-delayed blowback, open bolt
Feed system	30 round L4 Bren magazines 20 round L1A1 SLR magazines
Sights	Iron Trilux nightsight

The Sterling 7.62 was a battle rifle/light machine gun variant of the Sterling submachine gun which was manufactured in the 7.62×51mm NATO calibre. It used lever-delayed blowback to handle the more powerful rounds and was fed from 30 round Bren magazines as well as 20 round magazines from L1A1 SLRs.^[1] A bipod and detachable fixed stock could be added as well as a Single Point IR/Trilux night sight. To prevent ammunition cook-off, the weapon fired from an open bolt. In the same way that the Besal was in World War II, the 7.62mm NATO calibre Sterling was intended as a standby emergency design to be produced in case of attack during the Cold War.

References

1. Forgotten Weapons (20 December 2010). "British .308 Sterling prototype". Forgotten Weapons. Retrieved 15 December 2011.