It is preferred not to sensationalise the purpose for which these weapons were designed.
Such information, not always reliable, is readily available from a plethora of internet sources.
Suffice it to say that they were for the use of special service units in their varied missions.
Images are copyright to "Rifleman", and afforded by kind permission of the trustees of three collections;
the Small Arms School Collection at Warminster;
the Combined Services Museum at Maldon, Essex; and
the Royal Armouries, with whose permission come the first four photographs.
The original Mark I pistol was of .32-inch calibre,
being little more than a tube with a rifle-style handled turning bolt action,
under which lay the smallest of butts; the magazine held just four rounds.
The thumb trigger arrangement is more clearly shown below.
The integral magazine was charged from above as would be an Enfield rifle.
The next image is of the production Mark II .32-inch calibre model,
originally part of the Enfield Pattern Room collection now held at the Royal Armouries, Leeds.
Cocking was by a simple straight-pull knurled knob.
The simple flat grip-safety lever was also introduced, fitted at the rear of the integral magazine-way.
The smaller lever beneath it is the magazine release catch, but this is actually fitted to the magazine itself.
Click image to bring up hi-res file and magnifier
The Mark II was also in .32-inch calibre, but with a theoretical eight-round magazine
in which the recommendation was to load a maximum of five rounds to prevent feed problems.
The Birmingham Small Arms Company involvement in manufacture
is evidenced by their General Arrangement drawings of these pistols.
Such equipment was produced under the auspices of the subsidiary "B.S.A. Guns Ltd."
Each of the first mark II (II and IIA) pistols had a quite basic squared pressed-steel trigger;
only the later and larger 9mm Mark I was fitted with a trigger guard.
The first of the production .32 calibre pistols was the Mark II,
The thumb-trigger of the prototype Mk.I was dispensed with, and replaced with
a rather basic trigger unit that screwed directly to the base of the receiver tube.
The trigger was brazed to a flat mounting plate with four slotted holes,
through which four machine screws held the plate to the receiver,
but the screws were locked with clearance to allow the whole to slide against a spring.
Deemed a poor mechanical fitment, resulting in an insufficiently smooth action,
it was modified with a pair of right-angled carriers bolted to the receiver from each side,
affording more accurate control of the sliding trigger, and a more reliable spring arrangement.
The image below illustrates both types; the Mk.IIA above the Mark II.
A .32 calibre Mk.IIA, with the later trigger configuration, is held in the Combined Services Museum, Maldon, Essex.
Shown here with the magazine/pistol-grip unit removed from the receiver's magazine-way.
The rubberoid grip sleeve over the magazine showing the lock/release mechanism, and the cartridge follower.
The magazine's side elevation
The cocking-piece, sight and receiver port.
The muzzzle gives no immediate indication of the presence of a moderator; rather of an unusually thick and heavy barrel.
From the RHS, the rear-sight, magazine-way, magazine release catch, and the minimal trigger.
The Mk.II trigger-plate sliding in between the two angle brackets each secured to the receiver body with two screws.
The return spring is now internal.
The magazine-way and trigger from below.
A view directly through the magazine-way from beneath.
The serial number and other marks deliberately give no indication of the weapon's British origin.
Below is illustrated the larger 9mm Mk.I Welrod held in the military smallarms collection at Warminster.
The grip-safety has been improved, and the magazine release catch incorporated within the trigger-guard.
A sectional drawing, that shows the magazine within its rubberoid grip casing.
Below: the B.S.A. Guns Ltd. GA drawing of the 9mm Mk.I pistol.
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Two examples of assumed SOE moderated Lugers are also held in the Combined Services Museum , Maldon, Essex.
Click image for link
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