SAR 20#2

Star Wars:
GUNS OF A NEW HOPE
On Wednesday, May 25, 1977, film and science fiction
history was made. A film came out about a space opera
in a galaxy far away. It was the story about a young farm
boy going on an adventure to save a princess from an evil
empire and its terrible enforcer. It became a huge financial
success and eventually had an even better sequel about
the empire striking back. It was loved by critics and fans
alike, to the point where even today thousands of fans
dress up as the characters of the movie.
The film was called Star Wars.
It’s probable there are few people in the world that
have not seen Star Wars and its characters. Characters
like Chewbacca, R2-D2, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess
Leia, and, of course, Darth Vader, have all become
household names. Every bookstore is filled with tie-in
books about the characters, and every toy store carries
the toy versions of the weapons.
Speaking of the weapons, the original blasters of the
film were actually guns that were remodeled for the film.
They were chosen for some futuristic appearance even
though they were from the past- WWII German MG34
Light Machine Guns, British Lewis Machine Guns with
their fat radiator jacket and pan feed, as well as the
Broomhandle Mauser that was Han Solo’s pistol. The best
example is the Sterling L2A3 submachine guns (or Mk 4)
that are used by the Stormtroopers, as well as many of
the main characters. Called the BlasTech E-11 Blaster Rifle
in the film, it was the standard issue weapon for the
Stormtroopers. They were seen in all three films of the
original trilogy, especially Return of the Jedi, where some
of the Ewoks are shown using them. Bapty Ltd of London
supplied the firearms for these movies, and Tony Watts
allowed us to photograph them for this issue.
The Sterling submachine gun was designed by George
William Patchett, the Chief designer at the Sterling Armaments
Company of Dagenham. The British Army was
WWW.SMALLARMSREVIEW.COM 91 SAR Vol. 20 No. 2