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De Lisle carbine or De Lisle Commando carbine was a British carbine used during World War II. The primary feature of the De Lisle was its very effective suppressor. That, combined with its use of subsonic bullets, made it extremely quiet in action, possibly one of the quietest firearms ever made.
The weapon was developed by engineer William Godfray de Lisle & Major Sir Malcolm Campbell of the office of Combined Operations (later famous for his land and water speed records). The carbine was originally chambered in .22 but when De Lisle offered the carbine to the Allied Combined Operations a 9mm version was requested. The 9mm prototype however was a failure due to the light weight and high velocity of the round. The carbine was then rechambered to accept .45 ACP and was found to be extremely quiet due to the round’s lower velocity and the carbine’s suppressed barrel.
The prototype development was completed by 1942 and was followed by a production run at the Sterling Armaments Company, later known for their submachine gun, with around 150 being built throughout the war with a later model featuring a folding metal stock. Sterling also developed a version with a folding stock intended to be more compact for possible use by paratroops. However, only two of these paratroop De Lisle’s were produced.
It was issued to British Commando units and the SOE (Special Operations Executive) during World War Two. Accurate at up to 200 yards, with no muzzle flash and extremely quiet they used to kill sentries during infiltration missions. They were used by Commandos and the SOE in Europe and several found their way to Allied forces in Burma. Following the end of the war they remained in service until the 1960s with De Lisle’s finding use during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency (see image #3) and possibly during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. They’re much less well known than the other silenced weapons of the war; the Welrod pistol or the silenced STEN submachine guns (MkII & VI).
From:
historicalfirearms.info
The weapon was developed by engineer William Godfray de Lisle & Major Sir Malcolm Campbell of the office of Combined Operations (later famous for his land and water speed records). The carbine was originally chambered in .22 but when De Lisle offered the carbine to the Allied Combined Operations a 9mm version was requested. The 9mm prototype however was a failure due to the light weight and high velocity of the round. The carbine was then rechambered to accept .45 ACP and was found to be extremely quiet due to the round’s lower velocity and the carbine’s suppressed barrel.
The prototype development was completed by 1942 and was followed by a production run at the Sterling Armaments Company, later known for their submachine gun, with around 150 being built throughout the war with a later model featuring a folding metal stock. Sterling also developed a version with a folding stock intended to be more compact for possible use by paratroops. However, only two of these paratroop De Lisle’s were produced.
It was issued to British Commando units and the SOE (Special Operations Executive) during World War Two. Accurate at up to 200 yards, with no muzzle flash and extremely quiet they used to kill sentries during infiltration missions. They were used by Commandos and the SOE in Europe and several found their way to Allied forces in Burma. Following the end of the war they remained in service until the 1960s with De Lisle’s finding use during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency (see image #3) and possibly during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. They’re much less well known than the other silenced weapons of the war; the Welrod pistol or the silenced STEN submachine guns (MkII & VI).
From:
historicalfirearms.info