This experimental submachine gun was
developed at Small Arms Ltd. in Canada in 1944, by a design team consisting
of Anton Roscziszewski, Fred Keary, and Don Miller. It was a modification
of the Canadian Sten Mk.II, featuring an unusual rotary magazine that was
operated by the movement of the breech block. Every time the bolt came
back, it tripped an indexer in the magazine, causing it to rotate a fresh
cartridge into the chamber. The magazine, shorter in length than a
standard Sten magazine, held 50 rounds. The extremely simple trigger
mechanism of the Sten gun was also replaced with a more complex two-stage
trigger giving single shots on the lower and automatic fire on the upper.
The SAL Model 2 was essentially built for research purposes and there was
never any serious consideration given to it as a serviceable military
weapon. Small Arms Ltd. seems to have been interested in developing
different types of magazine feeds for the Sten gun, and in 1947 (after
reorganizing into Canadian Arsenals Ltd.) they developed an extensively
modified Sten known as the XP-54, which fed its magazines under the length
of the receiver.
Gallery
(click to enlarge)
