2442i.

$.af-.rftar, G.AQI-L r^xdffi3r*o. N...fiTl.**

ANOTHgR AUSTRALIAN NATIVS
\
utdu t ufld ,
t 2361t
g^ttcL
22\ ,.'"*,fS,* ThC 9MM Fl SUBMACHINE GUN
I T:a'ifiJ*'''o Ian skennerton
lgar
r\fJq \<1,1,,
i
260l&
a'fif** '€::-

irSbtt -...__.
!qrct$*r r(.bra
a4,re

+.--:f,.'&,..rr .,
?stt7
jlsts. *eif, l{ 3_x.{\*,) €d.r
:t,ri
$.i:.;G
\€aaR

:rerv:6o& |
?6122 (ldoq ?tras

i ,}4rtar dtfr an^tt.

2614
rt!4c_
431$
*AA6Qrc l|.l* a4e.
I
I
The X3 (.Aust) was a tials model protot!'pe of the 9mm Fl, 2tar6

developedto be lighter and more easily manufactured than 2&b

Oqrt *rre ltan
the Owen gun, and to have a lower cyclic rate of fire.

At the end of World War 2, Lysaght's

Works Ltd., Port Kembla, forwarded the
Owen gun drawings and tooling to
Lithgow. Certain improvements were
made to the original designsas well as to
the Lysaghts trials Mk 2 model, which
resulted in prototlpe Mark 4 (1946) and
M a r k 5 ( 1 9 5 7 ) O w e n d e s i g n s .S o m e
improvements had already been applied
to the original Mk I Lysaghtsmodels in a
large-scale upgrade and Factory
Thorough Repair program from 1947.
TheseFTR's were marked and designated
the Owen Mk 2/3, which have a semi-
circular safety slide catch fitted at the rear
ofthe tube and a bayonetfixing studunder
the barrel forward of the front pistol grip.

A questionnaire was sent out to combat

troops at the end of WW2 regarding user
requirements for an improved sub-
machine gun. This resulted in the
9mm XI & X2 (Aust.) proto|'pe models 'Kokoda' but its poor
balance and
overheating ended up with ongoing
development through the 'Machine
f ike its servicepredecessor, the Carbine, Experimental Models'in the late
I Owenmachinecarbine,the 9mm 1940's;MCEM I in 1947 and MCEM 2
r .Fl
waspeculiarto Australia.It was the following year.The prototype Kokoda
developed by the Army Design and MCEM's have the stick magazine
Establishmentand manufacturedat SAF mountedvertically, positioned underneath
Refcrcnt'es.
'.4ustralion Lithgow from 1964 until 1973. The instead of on top of the action like the
Service Machine (iuns'
renownedOwen servedAustralia well Owen. On the MCEM models. it was
Skennerton
S.4.15. No. 3,
'9nrnt
Ov'en & Austen Mk I'
throughthe jungle campaignsof World positioned through the rear pistol grip.
Skennerton
War 2, ensuingconflict in Malaya and This series was tested conjunctly with
I'ortous.[actorl' records, 5 .1.F.Lithgov' Borneo,Koreaandduringtheearlyyears British 9mm SMG trials and compared
ln.funtn Training Vol. l, lrtfantrt' Platoon of the War in Vietnam.The Fl continued side by side with the Patchettand Sterling
ll'eopons Pant that legacyof dependability. developments.

Aaus a Mturann Cottecroa No. 2l 53

 n r l ! r i l . / i n icl n ( lo l l s c t : i q h t s l i k c l l r c ( ) u c n .
l - i t l t g t r $ S . \ l r l l c t o n p r o t l r r e l i t r nc o r l c t
\ \ c r c l t ( ) tr n l l k c t l t l n I l t c r r el r p o n .l t o r i c t c r '
t h c t r p i c u l l - i t l r g t r up l o o l ' l r n t li r r s p clei o r r
n l l f k s r l r c l i r t t n t lo n \ i t r - i ( ) u|\l u t s s u c l ) l l \
b l r r c l l r r t t l h r c c eI r l r l o ek . l I r i c l r s c r r c t r r
c o n l l r n r i 1 so r - i g i r r .

L i t I t , q t t I t t t t t , I t tI Lt y 1 , . t ' f t ' L ! t ' t - , ' t t . , - a|t\''Lt ' r I

o t t l r o l l l ) ( ) ( 1 . \\' t. ( l n l ) ( ' ( l ( ) n l ) t r t ' t ' r , l

I-hc lt l is no* o b s o l c t c . u i l l t t l n r un l i o n t
\ c r \ i c c u i t h t h c . \ r r s t n r l i u .r \rr ' n r c tll: ( ) r e c\.
V i r t u r l l r u l l o l ' . \ L t s t t r r l i l ' :l t I ' s r i c r c
I ' c P ( ) r ' t cl(tls l r c i n g s r r c l t c t l r l o r rr r u t I ) o r l
K c r n b l uu n r l l l l o k c r r l l i l l . I r r l . c c p i n su i t l r
s ( ) \c n l n c n l p o l i c r r l r r r r n sl l r c I ( ) ( ) 0 ' ' .
s ( ) n r c\ \ c l c s o l r lt o \ l l l l n . i l r . r r l t l r t r r r gt l t r :
l l n t ( ) u n t c (l lo o n l t t \ \ c n t \
I lre lirllou ing \l( | \l I
sc\cn gun\ ()l tltc t()till
tlcri!lrt rrlts lltc llst ol tltis
rcttcr ltntl hr It)5().lr nc* I r t o t l t t r ' l i l,n' l l i . I l t ' r r r t i l . .
\ r r . 1 r l rl r i i l r l r ' ( ) t ( )t \ l r e \ \ i l s
I ' l t c I : l r c p l l r ec t l t h c ( ) n c n
turtlcrgoins trilrl:. tlcsignlttcrl
'\ \ l k I I i t t . \ t t ' l t r r l i r r lt ' t ' i\ r r
tlre l'. I Iri: ncn tle:rgrr
l i o n t I ( ) 6 - 1 .I l r c r o l c o l l l t c
r , r r : ' en t r r , r l r ' t ] , r . t .l r , : . i " l i {
s c r r i c c n r l c h i n c ei l r b i n c ( ) l
. t l t r l r l - . t l l r ' r ' r , l l l r ' l l l r l l l r l rl j i
sttb-mtrclrinc sLln llr:
l l r i l i : l r t l c r c l o p n r c n l l r r r t li n l 1 t.
clltttgcrl nlrrkcrllr or cr tltc
\ L r r l n r l i rirt c r o l r c r l t l t r o L r s h {ill,lt p l s t r l c c l r t l c .a : l l r s t l r e
1l11 . q 1 , ,li.l q\ l i r r l ' r t r l : r n , li I j ? j ,,!;'
. \ t r s t l u l i u r r. \ r - r n c t l : o re e :
j11 l()(rl. I ltc ()rnnt \.j ri lrs
r c c l t t i r c n r c t t lt..o l t l ri s r - c r . l \ ( ) n
f ( ) l r \ r r l c l c ( ll o b c s u e e e s s L
r rr
t h c l : l l r sl s r r l r - r r r u e l r igntcr n
elt()Ll!l) t() \\ iu-t-lnI I]llutu-
\ \ i r sI r ( ) tl c n c l l t l l r r c p l l e c t l i n
lrittLrrc ol lr hltntl-tnlttlctuttl
s c r \ i ec . S p c ei l l i s t l i r r c c :
l r l r n t l - l l t t i : l r c t l r l r l e l ro l ' l r l c u
s u c h l l \ t h c \ . \ S r r s c( ) r n r r r
tlozcn stttt: rrt I.itlt!rori Iirr'
Ilccklcr & Koelt \ll'i
c r l c r r t l c t l 1 r ' o o pt l i l r l s .
r r t r i l n t : .l t sr l o s l u t cp o l i ec r r r
tlltttttt \itt ttl I I ttitll rttn
. \ L t s t r l l i lrrr l t c l c t l t c r ci s s r r e l r
\bi,Lrt liltr \ I tcsl nroticl: l,,tt,,n,t litt r!
lr rcrlrrilcrrrcnl.
\\ rrc it\\clrlllctl ttsinq \ iltr()u\
l o y g , t ' , 1 ) \l l l t ( l : i , , l t t s . \ I g r r n s u c r c t h c ( ) r rc r r .c r c n
r t t l r l k c tll. s r r el r o n t l r c r c i r r \ i g h th l o c k .u l l a l'tcr' \l k I -l
L r . c t lI J l i l i : h . l - 1 - r tSl l e r l i n g n t l g l r z i n c s . c()ll\ crs()ll
I)c'tgtt rl olk ol tlrc \ I \ . 1 s c r i c sl t n d d r r r i n gl r I I { a t
r r e n l L n l I I r i l r : c l l l ' l ' i c (tlr r r th r . \ l ) 1 . l.ithso\\ in thc
( \ L t : t n r l i l r r lr) c s i g r r I : t l b l i s l t n t c n )t i n cllrl) I ()50's.
\ | c l l r o r r l n c .l L r l l - s e l r rl cr l r r r r r I l r c t Lor l 'ct h c \\l\ that lillllr\
\ 1 . r ' cr l c s i g n r r l c t h l c S I .l l \ 1 . \ ( l l l \ l : Pllrts \\cfc lt()l
( i [ \ ( ) r r r nIt l . r - o n t n t c ncet l i n ] ( ) ( r l \ i t h irttcrchunsc-
l l r r ' l l r ' : t P r - o t l t t c t i o n - t ' u: n
. u r ) sl r c i n g : c r r t lblc. cspcciallr
l ( ) \ l ( ) l ' ci r t I ( ) ( r - 1 . thc barrcl
l u s s c nbr I i e s .
l l r c ( ) r r r r r\ l d i l l r ' r : l i t l l c l r o r r rl l t c l : 1 .
\ ( ) l n e - ! u l r \ i n s c n i ec l l r r c b c c n n o t c r ll t s ()rnllr
lj I
\ I e t , t t rc t s i t t n s . I l t c n t o : t o b t i t r t r s prodrrctiorr
t l i l l c l c n e c h c t u c c r rl l r c \ I u n d i l s l r I c o n r r n u r c c ci rl t
\Llr.c:\()r' is in lltc lrlrlrcl locking I()()+ unrl it
i r r r l n s el n en t u t t h c n r r r z z l c t l r c l : l l t r s l r r c t i u n st h c t o p -
\ll(' 't, ,t I
t l r t e l r c rt t t c e l l r n i s r t( t) n t l r c l ) ( ) ( l \r r l r c r c t r s l t i ; t , t l : t i 1 t, 1 1 1 l, t1r r t t L t t , n t , t t l i / i tr l l t r t tt '
r.rtorrntcrl
/l, l't,tlttt Iirtrt

A R M S & M t L t r A R t AC o t t r c r o a N o . 2 1
 y e a r o f p r o d u c t i o n .T h u s , g u n n u m b c r
A D 6 7 0 2 3 15 r v o u l dh a v eb e e nt h e2 , 3 l 5 t h
gun producedin 1961. Fl scrialnumbers
are 7-digitafier the 'AD' prelix and were
re-commencedeachyear r.viththe serial
'00001' affer the ncw year numbcr.
Accessories-
Pull-through:As firr 7.62rnmRitlc Ll A l.
The pull-throughweight rvasused to
loosen or tighten the barrcl nut fbr
strippingthe barrel out. No magazinc
flller or specifictool was on generalissue.

Exccptfirr thc fervpurchascdby Malaysia, TECHNICAL DATA-

t h c c n t i r c o r d e r s r v e r e s u p p l i e dt o t h e O p e r a t i o n : B l o w b a c k .
AustralianArmy, Navy and Air I'orce. Cartridge: 9mmparabcllurn.
I I 5gn projcctile.
( ot'kittg ltutttllt tltsigtt tlturtgc Drill PurposeGuns- 1,250fps rnuzz,le velocity.
Production- DP guns u'eregenerallyasscmbledfiom C a l i b r e : 9 m m n o m i n a l . 3 5 6 "- . 3 5 9 "
SomeF I parts arc fionr L lA I ritle unserviceablc or scrapcomponents.The Length: 28.2 ins. without bayonet.
production, its alloy bLrttplatc andu ooden fbnn of dcactivationwill be fbundto have 3 6 . 2 i n s .w i t h b a y o n e t .
p i s t o lg r i p . M i n o r a l t c r a t i o nus c r e r n a d e , b e e n r e l a t i v e l yc o n s i s t e n d t u e t o t h e Weight: 7 lbs. 3 ozs.w/o magazinc.
suchas the groovc/reccsslbr rotationof lirnitedserviceapplicationof the9mm F | . 8 lbs. 7 ozs. rv/ lillcd rnag.
thesafcty'selectorovcr thc grip. 9 lbs. 8 ozs.lv/ bayonct
SectionizedGuns- & lillcd tnagazinc.
T h c b L r tut a s d e s i g n e dt o u t i l i s cr e ' j e cot r A s s e r r r b l e df b r i n s t r u c t i o n a lp u r p o s e s , M a g a z i n e : 3 4 r o u n d s ;i n t c r c h a n g e a b l
p a r t i a l l ys p l i t L l A l b u t t b l a n k sa s i t i s sorneX3 rnodelswere so convertedatier with British Stcrling.
smaller.Othcr partstiom ritlc production returnto store.The fbrrnof vie*'cuts will 1 0 . 2 5o z . c m p t y .
includcthc triggcr guard and pistol grip b c l b u n dt o b e q u i t ec o n s i s t e n t . I lb. 8 oz.tllled.
cover.pistolgrip platcandscreu,butt trap Barrel: 8 . 3 5i n s .l o n g .
springand scres and thc cockinghandlc Afier the 9mrrr Fl was withdrawn and Rilling: 6 groove,concentric,Rl{
leat'spring. placedinto resen'estorage,it was declared twist. I in l2 in. twist.
obsolete.With storageneededfbr 7.62mm Fire Rate: 600-640rds/min(cyclic).
A t'eu snrallchangesu'ercmadeto thc F l L l r i f ' l e s .a l l F l s w c r e s c h e d u l e dl b r Front Sight: Blade,right of mag guide.
d u r i n g p r o d u c t i o n ,c l c c u r r i n gb c t n c ^ c n destructionby srnelting.Hence,very t'ew Rear Sight: Aperturein lblding leaf',
I 966 and I 968.The changesarc of the F I SMGshavesurvivedto this dav. stampedsheetrnetal.
r c c o r d c dh c r c p c r g u n s c r i a l S i g h t R a d i u s : 1 0 . 6i n s .
nur.nbcrs. Bayonet: L lA2.
(' Iruttgc'Ptti tt! i tt .51n't i Iiur I itttt.s
; I lb. I oz. with scabbard.
4 D 6 6 0 0 0 0 1 C h a n g cp o i n t 8 i n . B o w i eb l a d e .
tiom pin straightheadless,to
S c l - l o kp i n . A l s o s t o ps e a r Fire control is effected via the
housing& trigger trigger rathcrthan with a selector
r n ec h a n i s m . s w i t c h . l ' o r s e p a r a t es h o t s ,i t i s
A I ) 6 6 0 17 6 9 C h a n g ep o i n t p r e s s e dt o t h e f l r s t s t a g e , f b r
tirr Bodics;S[:L quenched automatic tlre it is squeezed
altcrbrazing. firmly to the rear.The selectlever
n D 6 6 0 l - l l l - C h a n - uien l o c a t e do n t h e l e f i s i d e o f t h e
designF . r o n ts * i v e l . trigger group is only a saf'ety
n D 6 6 0 2 6 6 1 -D e l e t i o no f catch.
l ) l u n s e rh. a n d l e c. o c k i n g .
A D 6 8 0 1 0 0 9 C h a n g cd es i g n ; Body Markings-
Handle,locking assernbly. Right sidc of triggcrhousingtab:
n I ) 6 8 0 l 2 l t l C h a n g ed e s i g n Magazines- S U B M A C H I N E G U N9 r n r F l
i n t i r i n g p i n p r o t r u s i o n.;0 3 4 "- . 0 3 7 " . T h e 3 4 - r o u n d9 m r n F l m a g a z i n ei s AD6602789(seriulnumber)
n D 6 8 0 3 1 9 5 C h a n g cd c s i g n ;S l i d e . s i r n i l a rt o i t s B r i t i s h 9 m m L 3 4 4 . l
cockin-h uandle. counterpart. Althoughlistedat 34 rounds, The X3 was marked:
4 D 6 8 0 3 . 1 7 . 1S l i d c ,c o c k i n gh a n d l e scrviccinstructionswereto fill with a f'ew M A C H I N E C A R B I N E9 M M
hardened& temperedto I[30degrees. lesscartridgesso asnot to weakenor over (AUST) X3 N' I l4 (serialnumher)
compressthe magazineplatfbrrnspring.
S e r i a ln u m b e r s - c l fA u s t r a l i a ' 9 s m r nF I Steel Batch/Heat Treatment
arc prelircd by ' A D ' likc the Lith-uorv Lithgorv SAF or such indicator rnarkings Markings-
T . 6 l n r mL l A l a n d L l A l r i f l e s '
. A D ' i s are absent on the Australian F I rnagazine, Barrcl: progrcssivcly-
r c p o r t e dt o i n d i c a t e' A u s t r a l i a nD e s i g n ' . thereareno identifrcation markingsat all. S A , S B , S C ,S E , W M .
Likc its 7.61rnnrriflc counterpart, the tlrst These rnagsare usually chemicalmatt- Breechblock: progressively-
tuo numbersot-theserialnurnberdenote black finished,like their gun counterpart. TA. TB, TC, TD, TE.

ARMS & MtLtrARtA Cotttcroa No.2l 55

 SAF Lithgow sectionised 9mm Fl Sub Mochine Gun.
This example was originally a trials 9mm X3 model but
it hos been retitted and upgraded to FI con/iguration
when it wos sectionised. Movie Ordnance Old.

APPENDIX I
Deliveriesand allocations-
AD6400001 S.A.F.LithgowMuseum
AD6400002- AD6400420 AustralianArmy, 2BOD Moorebank
AD650000r- AD6500600 AustralianArmy, 2BOD Moorebank
AD6600001- AD6603968 AustralianArmy, 2BOD Moorebank
AD6603969- AD6604l8l AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana
AD6604182 - AD6604187 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland
AD6604t88- AD6605330 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana
AD660533r- AD6605381 R.A.A.F.,Dubbo
AD660s382- AD6605500 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana
AD670000r- AD6702308 AushalianArmy, ICOD Bandiana
AD6702309 - AD67023t4 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland
AD6702315 - AD6706580 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana
AD6706581- AD6707177 R.A.A.F.,Dubbo
AD6707178- AD6707399 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland
AD6707400- AD6707528 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana
4D6707529- AD6707653 R.A.A.F.,Dubbo
AD6707654- AD6707677 Export to Malaysia
AD6707678 - AD6707853 AustralianNavy, GardenIsland
AD6707854- AD6709300 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana
AD6800001- AD6802720 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana APPENDD(2
AD6802721 Forwardedto Canbena Annual Prcduction-
AD6802722- AD6804003 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana 1962-3 c.120X3 (trialsmodel)
AD6804004- AD6804006 Exportto Kuala Lumpur 1964 420
AD6804007- AD6804100 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana t965 600
AD6900001 - AD69007t4 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana 1966 5500
AD7000001- AD7001723 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana t967 9300
AD7r0000r- AD7100820 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana 1968 4100
AD7200001- AD7200186 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana 1969 7t4
AD7200t87 - AD7200461 AustralianArmy ? t970 1723
AD7200462- AD7201076 AustralianArmy, ICOD Bandiana t97l 820
AD720t077- AD720t950 AustralianArmy ? t972 1950
AD730000t- AD7300009 Not recorded/ Privatesales,DP guns 1973 9

56 Aaus a MtLffAnA Couecroa Na.2l