There has been a long term
controversy over the presence of two infantry weapons, and their possible
employment by the British 1st Airborne Division, Glider Pilot
Regiment, and associated Airborne Forces during the Battle of Arnhem (Operation
Market Garden 17 – 25 September 1944). Those weapons are the 9mm Inglis Pistol
No.2 Mk1*, and the 9mm Patchett Machine Carbine Mk I/II. Sources ranging from articles
in the National Rifleman (magazine of the US National Rifle Association) to
Osprey Publishers various books on the subject, have contended their use at
Arnhem. In one case there is a detailed print depicting a soldier of the 2nd
Bn South Staffordshire Regiment (Airlanding) crouching at Arnhem, with what purports to be a
Patchett Machine Carbine Mk 1 (with a curved magazine no less, definitely wrong) at the ready. In addition the figure is wearing a
South Staff/Glider title, not issued until after the war as a commemorative honor. Rather than just
stating a position, please allow the author to cite some historical records
bearing on the question.
First let’s address the
Canadian manufactured 9mm Inglis (Browning) semi-automatic pistol. As readers
may already know there were two basic versions of the weapon manufactured. The
initial Chinese contract model, being configured with fairly complex tangential
rear sight, and a slotted back strap that was capable of receiving a wooden
shoulder stock/holster. These pistols were designated No.1 Mk 1/No.1 Mk 1*, and
all carried a “CH” prefixed set of serial numbers. The second basic
configuration was designated the No.2 Mk1/No.2 Mk 1*, had a simple fixed rear sight and
no slotted back strap. All of these pistols carried a number (range from 0 to 9)
followed by a “T” (for Toronto, place of manufacture) prefixed set of serial numbers.
“By December of
1943 the Inglis company had produced a few test pistols and on January 14, 1944
the first preproduction Inglis pistols were going through test trials. On
January 31, 1944 the first production of the Chinese Hi-Power pistols which
became known as the No.1 was completed. The financial authority to provide the
180,000 pistols to China was approved with Order-in-Council PC 9865 on January
18,1944 with a price tag of $6,804,000 including tax, but delivery costs were
extra. At the end of 1943 the British version was also approved for funding by the MAB
(Mutual Aid Board) with requisition AID-GB-464 which had a cost of $1,890,000
for 50,000 pistols and 2 years worth of spares plus a management fee of $1.50
per pistol for the Inglis company. The British were interested in the Hi-Power pistols for their covert forces such as the SOE (Special Operations Executive) that was established by Winston Churchill and ordered 50,000 pistols through the MAB program.The first shipment of pistols
to Britain occurred in March of 1944 with 1,000 being sent.”
“In June of 1944 the first shipment of
4000 pistol to China began on board ships to Karachi, India which
was the closest point which could be reached by sea. At this point one would
think that with pistols on the way that every thing was as it should be, save
for an attack by the enemy. When the pistols arrive in India, the commander of
the American forces in the China-Burma-India theater, General Joe Stilwell felt
that the Chinese should be equipped the same as his own forces and he had
already supplied many of the Chinese with .45ACP pistols. A second problem to
crop up was that it had already been agreed upon by the U.S. and Canada that
when the stockpile of material in India that was destined for China reached
12,500 tons, that no further goods would be accepted. It was also realized that
due to the state of confusion, corruption, and inefficiency in China, along
with the virtual cessation of operations by them against the Japanese as well
as the growing communist Chinese army, that all future MAB pistol
shipments should be suspended. This decision was further aided by a letter
dated July 29, 1944 from the Canadian Ambassador to China to the Canadian
Sectary of State which stated that pistols would be given a very low priority
in shipments from the Indian sub-continent over the hump to China.”
“Even though they were instrumental in starting the
production of Hi-Power pistols at the Inglis plant, and that there were 14,485
pistols at the Longue Pointe Ordnance Depot in crates awaiting delivery, the
Chinese contract was canceled in September of 1944 with China receiving only
4,000 of the 180,000 pistols that they had ordered. On September 3, 1944, the
British SOE acquired 6,008 of the remaining 14,485 pistols that were in
storage, while the rest were acquired by the Canadian Army Overseas(CAO). It
should be noted that the Chinese contract was restarted in June of 1945 with a
shipment of 19,000 pistols being delivered to Shanghai, China. This second
contract ended on November 31, 1945 with the total pistols sent to China, including the initial 4,000, being 43,760.”
“The
adoption of the pistol by the CAO had put pressure on the National Defense
Headquarters in Ottawa to follow suit. On November 9, 1944 the Deputy Chief of
the General Staff sent a letter to the MAB and inquired about procuring 1,250
pistols right away and that a larger order would be placed if the Canadian Army
was able to dispose of their 11,000 .38 caliber S&W revolvers. MAB replied
stating that they could meet the demands of the Canadian Army if they were
willing to accept a large number of the Chinese type pistols that were left
over from the canceled Chinese contract. The Chinese pistols had a slot for a
shoulder stock on the back strap and a tangent rear sight. On November 28, 1944
the Deputy Chief of the General Staff accepted the MAB offer and in addition to
the 1,250 pistols, he requested 7,229 additional pistols. Two days later MAB
advised the Canadian Army that the quantity available would be 8,465 of the
Chinese type Hi-Power pistols. By the end of December of 1944 a recall notice
had been sent to all of the District Commanding Officers in the North American
Area(NAA) informing them of the recall of the S&W revolvers in the NAA and
that they were being replaced by the Inglis manufactured, mirabile dictu, High
Power pistol.”
"The reader should also take into
consideration that the Inspection Board of the United Kingdom and Canada as
well as the Canadian Arsenals Ltd.(CAL) quote only 60,395 Chinese
No.1(CH prefix) pistols having been produced. The Inglis company also used
the letter "T" in the serial number prefix which indicated Toronto.
This serial number variation is found on the Hi-Power pistols without the
tangent rear sight which is known as the No.2 Mk 1 model. The lowest known serial
number in this group is 0T2 and the highest is 9T3628 which indicates that at
least 93,628 No.2 pistols were produced. There are also several odd
prefix serial numbers that are known to exist with most being quite rare."
Where confusion could have initially arisen is
in the date of shipment of 1000 in March of 1944, and a second increment of
6008, delivered to Britain on 3 September 1944, both of the Chinese model pistols,
i.e. No.1 Mk 1/1*, for use by the British SOE. Production on the Pistol
No.2 Mk 1* began in the fall of 1944. The earliest photographic evidence of
issue and use of the 9mm Pistol No.2 Mk 1* is in the action of the British 6th
Airborne Division at Operation Varsity (Crossing the Rhine on 24 March 1945).
There is no known record of
the Chinese model Pistols No.1 Mk 1/Mk 1* being made available for issue to
British or Commonwealth troops. The only extremely remote probability of
personnel having access would be CALOAN officers, but they were already
deployed and integrated into British formations, including the 1st Airborne
Division (training in Great Britain). When the Chinese contract was cancelled
(initially September 1944), all undelivered Chinese-style pistols were accepted
by the Canadian military with designations of 'Pistol No. 1 Mk 1 and 'Pistol
No. 1 Mk 1*. There is one other photograph of Canadian officers, all wearing
the prescribed first pattern holster for the Inglis, dated 30 November 1944,
unfortunately none of the weapons are visible, precluding absolute positive
proof. The .45cal. Colt Model M1911A1 which was frequently carried at that time
by both British and Commonwealth troops, also fits the same holster.
Having said all of that, there is a very brief film shot taken by a cameraman of the Army Film & Photographic Unit (AFPU) attached to the 1st Airborne Division, which is of particular interest. The only question, and this is critical, was it taken during the actual preparations for Operation Market Garden, or from the footage taken subsequently by the same unit in the making of the movie "Theirs is the Glory", produced in 1946? See; http://arnhemjim.blogspot.com/2011/06/battle-of-arnhem-two-movies-on-battle.html. As readers can observe it is clearly a 9mm Inglis Browning being inspected and readied for battle. The rear sight "hump" and discernible markings, also tells you that it is a No.2 Mk1* model. Observing the image, the weapon appears newly issued by virtue of its finish. Given the one frame you can even tell from the individual's watch, that it's 11:12 in the morning. The glider serials had commenced take-off at 9:45 AM and the parachute transports at 10:09 AM. But on what day and year was the footage shot?
Finally there is another piece
of implicit evidence in the fact that while Royal Army Service Corps logistics
records for aerial resupply during Operation Market Garden reflect a
significant amount of 9mm semi-auto pistol ammunition rounds (1,272,200) being
dropped (recall the number of Sten machine carbines Mk V in use), there were
24,000 rounds of .45cal semi-auto pistol ammunition also dropped. Outside the
extremely low probability of a few stray .45cal Thompson Sub-machine guns
M1928A1, the only weapon in significant divisional inventory, using that
specific cartridge, was the .45cal Colt M1911A1 self-loading (semi-automatic)
pistol.
Summary of known production and/or
delivery;
Pistol No. 1 Mk 1/Mk 1* (under Chinese
contract) - 60,395 (actually delivered 43,760)
Pistol No. 2 Mk 1/Mk 1*
(under various Canadian/UK contracts) – 93,628
Pistols (Unknown which
configuration or the recipients) - 543
Total Production - 153,480
(According to known Inglis Co. records)
Author’s note: Today (22 July 2020), received a copy of Inglis Diamond The Canadian High Power Pistol by Clive Law. It can be definitively stated that no officially issued Pistols, No. 2 Mk I*, 9mm H.P. (Inglis Brownings) were present with British Airborne Forces during Operation Market-Garden, the Battle of Arnhem/Oosterbeek. On p.79 under the heading, British Adoption – for Airborne Forces Only, there is a reprint of a British WAR OFFICE SECRET Dispatch. It is Desp 0355 26 Nov ’44, and in the operative paragraphs state:
(a) Requirement for Airborne 20,000 Mk 1*. Of this 18,343 diverted from SOE COLLA 2896 and ALLOC 311 refer.
(b) Ultimate possible requirement for RAC 21 Army Gp not yet known but firm figure for large scale trials 5,000.
(c) If trials in (b) successful possibility subject high level decision complete re-arming present pistol users this weapon.
(d) SOE requirement under consideration but unlikely to be large.
In the case of the 9mm Patchett Machine Carbine Mk
1, Ian Skinnerton, in his book “British
Small Arms of World War 2”, cites Sterling Engineering Co. Ltd
(Dagenham) company records as having produced a sum total of 20 prototype/test
weapons by 12 January 1944, and no more during the balance of hostilities in
World War II. Ian Skinnerton is a well established author, known for his
thorough and meticulous research. It is possible however, that this is a
typographical error, i.e. 20 vice 120 (a figure that has been cited without any identified source or verification, and has been frequently perpetuated
by authors and authorities).
There is a
Patchett Machine Carbine Mk 1 in the Imperial War Museum collection which has
excellent provenance. It was issued for field trials in the fall of 1944 (after Arnhem). It
was personally carried into combat by LtCol R.W.P. Dawson, OC, No. 4 Commando
during the amphibious operation to capture the island of Walcheren (Operation
Infatuate 1 - 8 November 1944) Now this is where the story gets extremely
interesting. The weapon is clearly stamped on the magazine housing; PATCHETT MACHINE CARBINE MK 1 No
078, which immediately casts doubt on Skinnerton’s number of 20 guns, and certainly lends credence to the 120 figure ( given '20' was a typographical error). In any event, unless a unique sequence of serials was used, this fact would confirm at least 78 weapons were produced.
Sterling Engineering is the only known
manufacturer of the Patchett during World War II. Readers will note an
immediate difference from the evolved final Sterling design. The straight
magazine, is retained from the Sten, not yet the iconic (highly improved
performance) final Sterling curved configuration. Also note the introduction of the folding stock at this time.
According to this video there were only 110 Patchett Mk 1 machine carbines ever made. The Patchett Mk 2 is also shown, but without the quantity manufactured being given.
These three news
articles were archived on a military history web site about the Canadian Army.
They describe in some detail the introduction of a new machine carbine, but not
until the spring of 1953. The last article also indicates the name change from
Patchett (the inventor) to Sterling, albeit years (1956) later.
"The
Sydney Morning Herald, 29 April, 1953
Korea
Troops Test New British Gun
The Patchett is described as
the perfect paratrooper's weapon.
It is all metal and weighs 8
½ lbs. complete with a 10-inch knife-type bayonet, sling and filled magazine.
It can be fired from the
shoulder, using sights adjustable for 100 and 200 yards, or from the hip.
A Canadian warrant-officer
said: 'Its appearance alone gives the soldier confidence which he has not
got in his Sten. Of 600 rounds I've fired, there has only been one feed
stoppage.' "
"Ottawa
Citizen, 15 June, 1953
More Details Released on New
Machine-Carbine
By Bill Boss, Canadian Press
Staff Writer
With the Canadian in Korea—A
few more details about the Patchett machine carbine, recommended for use by
Canadians in Korea, have been released by 1st Commonwealth Division
headquarters.
The
weapon has been thoroughly tested by all battalions in the division as a
replacement for the Sten carbine. Brig. Jean Allard, commander
of the Canadian Brigade,
on the basis of the Canadians' tests, has recommended that it be obtained for
use in Korea only.
Test
indicated, he said, that the Patchett is superior to the Sten, but still not
the answer to the army's search search for an automatic weapon capable of good
close-in performance, yet of accuracy at distances up to 200 yards.
It
may be reported that the Patchett is a nine-millimeter weapon, the same calibre
as the sten.
Its
rate of fire is 550 rounds per minute, about the same as the Sten.
It's
slightly curved magazines hold 34 rounds. They can be loaded by hand, and their
roller-bearing platform feeds the round smoothly, reducing stoppages. Loaders
are needed for charging Stan magazines which usually feed improperly, causing
stoppages.
WO2
George Maguire of Ottawa, the brigade's senior armorer, who conducted the
Canadians' Patchett tests, said: 'At 30 yards it cam fire 2 1/2-inch
groups, which is as good as a service rifle can do. I've been riddling tin cans
regularly with it ay 150 yards. The effective range for most nine-millimeter is
125 yards.'
Patchett
features which persuade soldiers it is better than the Sten are its appearance,
its precision machining, its weight (8 1/2 pounds) and its balance, with or
without its 10 1/2 inch bayonet.
The
fact that its butt can be flipped under and locked to the barrel, thereby
shortening it and making it suitable for both firing from the hip or close in
fighting, is another advantage.
Allard
and his staff feel, however, that though for immediate use in Korea it should
be bought, it has defects which ought to be corrected before it is adopted for
general use in the Canadian Army.
He
recommended, indeed, that Canada continue her own research for a suitable
automatic weapon.
The
Patchett is going to be rechristened too. It is proposed to call it the
Sterling machine carbine."
"Ottawa
Citizen, 20 December, 1956
Patchett
Gun Replaces Sten
By
The Canadian press
The
Sterling sub-machine-gun, formerly known as the Patchett, has been adopted to
replace the Sten gun used by the Canadian army since early in the Second World
War.
Army
headquarters announced today that the government munitions agency, Canadian
Arsenals, Ltd., of Long Branch, Ont., will manufacture the new gun with
production expected to begin next year.
The
Sterling, a nine-millimetre, fully automatic and single shot weapon, is already
in use by the British army. Test teams have fired it under all weather
conditions, including the coldest temperatures of the sub-Arctic, and found it
superior to anything now in use.
The
new sub-machine-gun is a compact weapon weighing only six pounds. Because of
its simplicity, it can be mastered in a short time and its size makes it ideal
for carrying in the cabs of military vehicles."
Based
on all the above data, the author will allow the reader to decide for
themselves. Personally I remain extremely skeptical, but the figure of 110 - 120 Patchetts produced versus 20 has implicitly gained credibility.
