Civil Defence Supply G-224

     Notes: As said in the CDS MP5-224 entry in British Submachineguns, CDS not only makes a great deal of civil defense and police products, but it also makes some little-known firearms based on existing weapon designs and their .224 BOZ cartridge.  One of these is the G-224, which is a Glock 20 modified to fire the .224 BOZ round.

     Though in many ways similar to the Glock 20 upon which it is based, the G-224 also has many differences internally to accommodate the new chambering.  In addition to the changes necessary to accommodate that chambering, the G-224 uses a muzzle compensator to reduce recoil.  The magazine, while based on that of the Glock 20, is also considerably modified.  The first and second production runs proved to wear out the base Glock 20 components (particularly the frame, which was subject to cracking) and this caused CDS to stop production of the G-224.  The quick wearing of the frame seems to be a result of the age of the Glock 20s that CDS was using for modification; the newer third production run is using fresh Glock 20 frames and have some extra strengthening, and this problem seems to have been solved (though only time will tell).

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The G-224 is an extremely rare weapon in the Twilight 2000 timeline; most of them are still in England, and are generally restricted to certain military units.  Only about 30 G-224s were produced.

Enfield MP-45/MP-9

     Notes: This heavy assault pistol was developed for use by special operations forces, but rejected due to the high weight (the MP-45 is constructed of heavy-gauge steel).  There were rumors here and there that it was tested by various special operations units in the 1980s, but these rumors are unconfirmed.  The MP-45 It looks similar to the TEC-9, but has a shorter barrel (in its standard form) and is obviously military in function.  The weapon can use a variety of different-sized magazines, though the 40 and 50-round drums are rather unwieldy in this size of a weapon.  A 40-round box magazine was also designed, though this is still unwieldy.  The MP-9 is similar, but fires 9mm Parabellum ammunition.  The MP-45 and MP-9 are able to take a wide variety of optical and laser sights or other accessories.  Though this weapon was not accepted by the military of any country, it was later sold to civilians after conversion to a semiautomatic carbine form with a much longer barrel (18 inches) and the addition of a wire stock, in the US under the company name of Encom.  It was also sold as a heavy semiautomatic pistol under the Encom, Enfield America, and CMP names (without a stock).  The Carbine version is included here for completeness’ sake, though it is in fact more a Sporting Rifle by Twilight 2000 definitions.

LEI Mark 2

     Notes:  Based on the Ruger Mark II, the LEI Mark 2 has been fitted with a high-efficiency silencer that does not use wipes and is virtually maintenance-free and long-lived.  The sights are target-quality and fully adjustable, and a telescopic sight can be mounted.  There are two versions; the standard Mark 2 is finished in blued steel and the Mark 2-S is finished in stainless steel.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon had some limited use by the British SAS, Dutch Commandoes, and Belgian Commandoes, and was also used by MI-5 and MI-6.

Spitfire

     Notes: This British-made pistol is in service with several European police forces.  It uses the well-tried Browning action.  The G1 model is a standard pistol; the G2 has adjustable rear sights.  The Stirling Spitfire G2/LS has a 120mm barrel and long slide; the Spitfire Pilgrim G3/LS has a 150mm barrel and longer slide.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: These weapons do not exist.

Sterling Para-Pistols

     Notes: This is a small version of the Sterling submachinegun, designed for urban combat. The Mk7A4 is the more-common version; the Mk7A8 has an extended barrel and is threaded for a silencer.  These weapons are almost exclusively the province of special operations forces, where they are still rare.

Webley & Scott Mark 1

     Notes:  This pistol was adopted by the Royal Navy in 1913.  It is a clumsy pistol due to the angle of the butt and the blocky build, and is not a natural point and shoot weapon.  The standard service cartridge was .455 Webley Automatic, but civilian versions were produced chambered for 9mm Browning Long and .380 ACP.  The standard Mark 1 had only a grip safety, but a modified version was produced for horse artillery drivers under the name No 2 Mark 1.  This version had an additional safety mechanism for the hammer, an adjustable rear sight, and a ring for a lanyard.  The artillerymen didn’t like the weapon and usually ditched them as soon as possible, and the Army stopped issuing them very quickly.

     Prior to the Mark 1, the Webley & Scott M-1905 was produced. It was the first automatic pistol offered by Webley, but if anything, was less ergonomic than the Mark 1.  The Mark 1 was a sized up and modified M-1905. First issue was in 1911 to the Metropolitan Police; next, it was issued as a backup weapon to the Royal Navy. Barrel length was short at 3.5 inches, but it was lighter than one might guess by looking at it.  The M-1905 was the .32 ACP version; the M-1906 fired .38 ACP (not to be confused with .380 ACP).

Webley & Scott .25-Inch Pistol

     Notes: This is basically a very small version of the Webley & Scott .32-Inch Pistol of 1905; the caliber is downsized to .25 ACP, the barrel bobbed short, and the grip shortened.  The weapon was designed to be strictly for self-defense; it’s short barrel and small caliber doesn’t really allow anything else. 

Webley & Scott .32-Inch Pistol

     Notes: This weapon was so popular that its manufacture continued for almost 35 years.  It was adopted by the London Metropolitan Police in 1911, and production continued until 1939.  I went through various changes in this time, mostly to improve operation or simplify manufacture.  As the name would indicate, most of these pistols were chambered in .32 ACP caliber, but a few were made to fire .380 ACP.  The first examples of this weapon had the safety on left side of the hammer, but later models moved the safety to the left side of the frame, where it could also lock the slide.  It was a small weapon, and many British military officers carried it as a second weapon during World War 1 and 2.