FR Ordnance MC51

The FR Ordnance MC51 was an interesting compromise between an assault rifle and a submachine gun. It was developed in the mid-80's by a famous gunsmith Bill Fleming for a British firearms manufacturer FR Ordnance. The weapon was based on Heckler & Koch's G3 battle rifle. Contrary to the popular belief, the MC51 was not manufactured nor developed by Heckler & Koch. MC51 was manufactured for the British SAS and SBS, who required a compact but powerful weapon, for situations in which the stopping power and armor piercing capabilities of 9mm SMG round were inadequate. All weapons produced were shipped to the UK special forces. Most of them were replaced in a few years by HK53.

Basically MC51 was a shortened version of the G3, using the same 7.62*51mm round. It was very similar to H&K MP5 in design, but had a longer G3-type receiver. MC51 used a 20-round 7.62 NATO-magazine and was also able to use an old 30-round FN FAL-magazine. It had a collapsing stock similar to H&K G3A4 and an S-E-F triggergroup.

MC51 was produced in three variants: Heckler & Koch Logo Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) is a German weapons manufacturing company famous for various series of small firearms, notably the MP5 submachine gun, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the extremely precise sniper rifle PSG1, and the G3 and G36 assault rifles. ... Although Heckler & Koch states that the Heckler & Koch 53 (short: HK 53) should be considered an assault rifle because it fires the 5. ... The MP5 is a submachine gun, developed by German weapons designer Heckler und Koch (HK) in the 1960s. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... The Fusil Automatique Leger, or Light Automatic Rifle (LAR). ...

• Standard variant, described above.
• SBS variant, which had either a fixed or collapsing stock and an integral suppressor, similar to the one in H&K MP5 SD.
• Tactical variant, with fixed stock and a 3-round burst capability.

MC51 was not a succesful weapon and was used by SAS for a very short time. The reduced gas volume due to the shortening of the cylinder caused problems in keeping the gun functioning. The heavy recoil of the 7.62*51mm round was vicious in this kind of short weapon, making the gun very hard to control in full automatic fire. The MC51 has been discontinued from production and there are no official records of it ever being used by any other organisation than British SAS and SBS.

Tokyo Marui produced an airsoft-version of the standard model of MC51. The production of this gun is currently ceased as well. Line drawing of De Lisle carbine, A . ... Tokyo Marui (東京マルイ) is a Japanese airsoft gun manufacturer. ...

External links

• MC51 on Securityarms.com