The LSA rifle was a British prototype self-loading rifle that was produced by London Small Arms Co.
History[]
The LSA rifle was designed by Thomas R. Ashton and patented in 1910. A prototype was submitted for testing by the Automatic Rifle Committee of the British Army, but performed poorly in endurance tests and was considered unsuitable for further testing. Feedback was given to LSA but as far as is known, no improvements were made to the design and it was abandoned.
Design[]
The LSA rifle operated on a long-stroke recoil principle with a tilting breech. The firing pin was struck by a hammer, and the barrel and bolt recoiled backwards upon firing, pushing the hammer down into the trigger sear. The bolt would be pushed against a relining plate in the rear end of the receiver, causing it to tilt forward, creating an opening in the breech whereupon the spent cartridge would be ejected. As the barrel returned to its original position, the bolt would follow behind and chamber a new cartridge from the magazine.
The rifle fed from SMLE-type 10-round magazines and was chambered in the experimental, high-velocity .276 Enfield cartridge. The stock was interchangeable with that of the SMLE.