Lithgow Small Arms Factory

Lithgow Arms
Industry Firearms, Defence
Founded June 8, 1912 (1912-06-08)
Headquarters Lithgow, City of Lithgow, Cook, New South Wales, Australia
Area served
 worldwide
Products Pistols, Rifles, Carbines, Submachine guns, Machine guns
Parent Thales Australia
Website www.lithgowarms.com

The Lithgow Small Arms Factory is a military small arms factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales in Australia.

History

Lithgow Small Arms Factory in 1910s~1920s

Opened on 8 June 1912, the factory initially manufactured Short, Magazine, Lee–Enfield Mk III rifles (and bayonets thereof) for the Australian military during World War I.[1] During World War II production expanded to include Vickers machine guns, Bren Guns, and, postwar, branched out into sporting goods (including civilian firearms and golf clubs), tools, sewing machines, (from the mid-1950s) the F1 submachine gun, L1A1 Self Loading Rifle, KAL1 General Purpose Infantry Rifle rifle prototype and similar products. The Small Arms Factory at Lithgow was known to produce their single shot models 1A and 1B as well as their model 12 repeater under the Slazenger brand during the 1960s.[1] The factory was first 'corporatised' as Australian Defence Industries by the Hawke Government, then later sold in 2006. ADI Lithgow is now owned by Thales Australia and continues to manufacture the F88 Austeyr rifle and F89 Minimi currently used by the Australian military.[1] As a separate entity, not owned or run by the current owners of the Factory, the volunteer-run Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum is located at the front of the disused section of site and has a large collection of military and civilian firearms manufactured at the factory and elsewhere.[2]

List of sporting rifles manufactured under the Lithgow name

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 3 "History and production". Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum". Retrieved 17 October 2016.

Further reading

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