The Gatenby gun was a Australian machine pistol designed by a Mr. Gatenby in 1942 and produced in prototype form only.
History[]
The Gatenby gun was designed in 1942 by a Mr. Gatenby and submitted to the Australian Army Inventions Directorate. The AID was interested with the design and contracted another designer named Russ Robinson to design a 9mm version of the pistol. When tested, the Gatenby was regarded as being difficult to control and failure to feed reliably due to insufficient support of the cartridge as the barrel recoiled rearwards. The weapon would eventually evolve into the Robinson SR-11.[1] The weapon's whereabouts are currently unknown, although apparently after testing the weapon was stored.
Design Details[]
The Gatenby was a machine pistol with a recoiling barrel which slides about 1.25 inches (3.2 centimetres) back and forth. The weapon fed rearward out of the magazine, with a fixed buttress on the pistol grip with a fixed firing pin attached. When a round was chambered, friction from the chambered round carried the barrel forward against a stiff spring, with an extractor holding the cartridge against the breech face; the ejector spins the cartridge out after the barrel slides forward.
As the barrel slides forward, it hits a forward stop which forces the barrel backwards, with a finger underneath the barrel striking the next cartridge into battery. This pushes the next cartridge against a ramp which guides the cartridge upwards, while the recoiling barrel assists in chambering the next round.[1]
See also[]
- Robinson SR-5
- Robinson SR-11
- Robinson SR-14