WWII Special Forces Rifle: The De Lisle Suppressed Carbine
Kevin Crank 03.10.16
In 1942 a clever fellow by the name of William Godfray De Lisle turned his personal 22LR into a suppressed carbine. After a rabbit hunting test, he had an idea to share it with the military. One year and a failed 9mm prototype later, the De Lisle Carbine was born.
Chambered in .45 ACP, this Carbine was used for over 20 years by British and American special forces to great effect. The natural subsonic characteristics of .45 ACP lent itself well toward covert operations and even assassinations during WWII.
For those interested, there are reproductions available on the market. However, The company that most know for manufacturing them, ValkyrieArms, has been rumored to have gone out of business though some claim this to be simply a rumor. I checked Facebook only to see their last post was in May of 2015. I emailed them and called to confirm my suspicions and have been met with no reply and an automated message informing me the number had been disconnected.
Another company, Special Interest Arms, has canceled their reproduction/conversion lines due to lack of material. They do offer a re-chambered Novem 9mm integrally suppressed Armscor carbine for around $1000, and they offer it in 40S&W, 10mm, and 38 Super for an extra $50.
If you’re really good friends with your mortgage banker, there is another option though.
The BT SPR 300. Can you guess what cartridge it shoots? Yup, our .30 caliber new kid, the 300 AAC Blackout. When our good friends at TFB reported on this rifle, some of the first comments under the article I saw were “To me this seems like an evolution of the British De Lisle carbine.” Then, “looks awesome but 8k?” You read that right $8000. That’s an 8 in front of three zeros. A $7000 increase in price to make the thump of a .45 ACP hitting a berm, into the thwap of 300 Blackout. That’s okay guys. I like being able to buy food. Though I do wonder. Could I build a manually operated hunting gun like this for less than $1000 out of an AR? Well, exempting for the suppressor and tax stamp naturally.
