"The Acclaimed British EM-2 Rifle was built by a..." Topic

… POLISH IMMIGRANT

"The EM-2 rifle, which occupies a somewhat mythological status in the history of British firearms design, was created in the late 1940s by Kazimierz-Stefan Januszewski, a Polish immigrant working for Britain's Armament Design Establishment. (Januszewski, who'd become a naturalized British citizen after World War II, officially changed his name to Stefan Kenneth Janson in 1950.) The weapon he produced included modern features that taken together broke the mold for a standard service rifle. Its bullpup design set the action behind the trigger, retaining a full-length barrel while reducing the rifle's overall length, and its straight-line design between barrel and stock was perfect for recoil control when firing on full-automatic setting. An optical sight was standard. Its cartridge, the .280 Enfield, gave respectable performance over realistic combat ranges of 300 to 400 yards.

In 1951 Britain officially adopted the EM-2—7mm Rifle, Automatic, No. 9—as its new service rifle, replacing the bolt-action Lee-Enfield No. 4. Yet only 50 EM-2s were manufactured before British prime minister Winston Churchill canceled production, partly because the United States had rejected the .280 round during efforts to standardize NATO forces to a single cartridge but also out of his own belief that a fully automatic rifle would lead to excessive ammunition consumption. Ultimately, the next British rifle would be the semiauto-only 7.62×51mm NATO FN FAL, designated the L1A1 in British service…"

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Armand

Armand

A little brief. Above is pretty much the full article.

Probably more enlightening, this video from Forgotten Weapons
YouTube link

There's another forgotten weapons video where he shoots it.
I couldn't work out how to copy the youtube link.

It was an excellent weapon.
The only problem was america.

There are several on the Forgotten Weapons YouTube channel some with Jonathan Ferguson he has also made a video on the EM-1 if your lucky you maybe able to get a copy of his book on British Bullpups it's the definative guide.

Thanks

Armand

@ Andy O'Neill @ Black Bull

Here is the second video where Ian McCullum fires the EM-2
YouTube link

followed by videos by Jonathan Ferguson:|
On the EM2:
YouTube link
and more:
YouTube link

And Pathe footage of MOD demonstration of the new rifle, and MG in comparison with standard infantry weapons of the day.
YouTube link

Thanks also.

Armand