Andrews Machine Carbine
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Barrel
- Not recorded
- Weight, empty
- Not recorded
- Introduced
- 1943
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Andrews Machine Carbine was a World War II Australian experimental submachine gun designed by an engineer named Andrews and built as a small batch of prototypes by Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) in Britain from his blueprints. A blowback, open-bolt, full-automatic 9x19mm weapon, it was unusual in using twin full-length recoil-spring guide rods running above and below the barrel, with the bolt riding on the rods and filling the receiver so completely that the fire-control parts had to be mounted externally. Other distinctive features were a folding tubular pistol grip and a spare Sten magazine that inserted into the rear of the body to serve as a rudimentary shoulder stock.
Australian engineer Andrews mailed his blueprints to BSA in Britain, who built a handful of prototypes featuring a spare Sten magazine that doubled as the shoulder stock; in the 1943 Ordnance Board trials the gun racked up around eighteen stoppages, the most of any weapon tested, and was rejected as too fragile.
Its quantitative specifications (weight, dimensions, barrel length, rate of fire, muzzle velocity, range) were never recorded in surviving documentation and are left null rather than estimated. It was tested by the British Ordnance Board at Pendine (September-October 1943) and Bisley (November 1943) against the Owen Mk II, Austen Mk II, Patchett, Sten Mk IV, Welgun and Vesely V43. It placed respectably but was rejected as fragile and uncomfortable, suffering the most stoppages of any gun in the trial; no known examples survive. It is distinct from both the Owen Gun and the Austen.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Birmingham Small Arms Company
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Country
- Australia
- Status
- Prototype
- Produced
- 1943 to 1943
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Open bolt
- Trigger
- Full auto only
- Capacity
- 32
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Steel
- Finish
- Blued
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Dual recoil spring guide rods
Folding pistol grip
Magazine as shoulder stock
Non reciprocating charging handle
Sliding dust cover
Uses sten magazines
Standing
How it compares
This record has too few measurements to compare with others yet.
Answers
Questions about the Andrews Machine Carbine
What caliber is the Andrews Machine Carbine?
The Andrews Machine Carbine is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum.
How many rounds does the Andrews Machine Carbine hold?
The Andrews Machine Carbine holds 32 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
Who makes the Andrews Machine Carbine?
The Andrews Machine Carbine is made by Birmingham Small Arms Company (United Kingdom). It was designed by Andrews.
When was the Andrews Machine Carbine introduced?
The Andrews Machine Carbine was introduced in 1943 and discontinued in 1943.
How does the Andrews Machine Carbine operate?
The Andrews Machine Carbine uses a blowback action, and its firing mechanism is open bolt.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
62%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/andrews-machine-carbine' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "andrews-machine-carbine", "name": "Andrews Machine Carbine", "manufacturer": { "id": "birmingham-small-arms", "name": "Birmingham Small Arms Company", "countryCode": "GB", "foundedYear": 1861, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "updatedAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "version": "ae6e88d593a8c089b8f2f2f6e564f2eef2056d641dd74def2ac44494b3a5930b" }, "category": { "id": "submachine-gun", "name": "Submachine Gun", "description": "Automatic firearms chambered in pistol calibers" }, "country_of_origin": "AU", "year_introduced": 1943, "barrel_length_mm": null, "weight_empty_g": null, "action_type": "blowback"}