Stormtroopers from Star Wars have been a staple of the franchise for decades. With their white armour and terrible aim, they can often be seen flanking Darth Vader or banging their heads on doors. While their exploits belong the Galantic Empire, their weapon, the E-11 Blaster, has its origins on Earth.
Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery, explains how George Lucas used our world to build a galaxy far, far away. Part of the National Lottery Heritage funded ‘Collecting Cultures’ project.
Two of the most iconic designs in the Star Wars universe are the E-11 blaster used by the Imperial Stormtroopers and the DH-17 used by Rebel forces. Look familiar?
They are in fact a British MK4 Sterling Submachine Gun (L2A3 in military service parlance), produced by Sterling Armaments, based in Dagenham in Essex, from a 1944 design by George Patchett. Initially it was dubbed the 'Patchett Machine Carbine'.
On the face of it, this was an odd choice for a sci-fi weapon; the Sterling was still in military service in 1977 (it was used in the Falklands War five years later), and anyone with a military background would have spotted it immediately.
But Star Wars was a low budget production, and director George Lucas and production designer Roger Christian were shooting for a grittier, more 'lived-in' aesthetic. The movie may have been inspired by old Saturday morning serials like 'Flash Gordon', but dressed up real world firearms fit the Star Wars universe better than shiny ray guns. They would have heft and would jolt when fired, thanks to firing blank ammunition.
Still, the blasters had to look different, and the production team turned to UK film armourers Bapty & Co, who showed them various options. The Sterling was selected and modified with 'found object' additions including a Second World War American tank sight, black flanged ribs (a pair of drawer runners from B&Q) and a counter box from a photocopier.
The distinctive curved magazine of the Sterling was also cut down to hold only a few rounds. This successfully altered the silhouette of the weapon to suggest a 'power pack' in place of a conventional box magazine.
Just like the Sterling that inspired it, the E-11 had a long and industrious career within the Star Wars universe, being used throughout the galaxy by Imperial Stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire for nearly a century and a half.
Find out more about the Sterling submachine gun in our Collection Online record
Our DH-17 Rebel Blaster is a more mysterious piece, as it does not match any screen used configuration. It started life as a pistol, used by the Rebel forces in the opening scenes of 'Star Wars' (1977) and again, it took inspiration from the Sterling. But it was a much more compact weapon, doing away with the magazine housing and replacing the vented heatshield with a silver-coloured nozzle.
In place of the stubby tank optic of the E-11, a Singlepoint reflex sight was fitted. Only the rear end of the Sterling was used, along with the trigger group, which was moved to create the proportions of a large scoped pistol.
The prototype was then moulded in rubber to create the final, non-firing prop. In 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980) the design was modified to allow for a more dramatic blank firing version, retaining more of the Sterling's receiver and essentially creating a Rebel version of the E-11. Our DH-17 was most likely made for use in 'Return of the Jedi' (1983) before production moved to North America.
The blasters would have both been used as E-11s in 'Star Wars: A New Hope' (1977) before being stripped of their extra parts for use as normal Sterlings in other productions, used again in 'The Empire Strikes Back' and then stripped once again. These two were restored in the late 1990s to the configuration seen here and were loaned back to Lucas Film in 2014 (at which point the resin counter box was added to the E-11).
They were also used for design reference for the creation of the new F-11D First Order Stormtrooper blaster introduced in 'The Force Awakens' (2015) and, to a lesser extent, the EL-16 blaster rifle used by the Resistance.
The F-11D took a lot of design cues from the E-11 and was intended to be a modern derivative of the same weapon. The EL-16 is somewhat more removed from its inspiration but was nonetheless a further beefed-up take on the DH-17, this time based on a Heckler and Koch G-36 automatic rifle.
Find out more about the Heckler and Koch G36 in our Collection Online record
As well as the British military connection, the Star Wars blasters also boast another rather surprising association; Winston Churchill, who was one of the first private owners of a MKII Sterling Patchett submachine gun.
Unlike Imperial Storm Troopers, Britain's wartime Prime Minister was an expert sharpshooter and an avid collector and user of firearms. Research by curator Mark Murray-Flutter revealed that he was gifted the MKII in 1953 with an attached silver plaque quoting his famous "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech. The weapon now resides in the Royal Armouries collection and records show that Churchill received 500 rounds of ammunition with the gift, so he almost certainly fired it.
Churchill's connection to Star Wars doesn't end there. He also inspired the alien, Admiral Raddus in 'Star Wars Rogue One,' giving him quite the sci-fi resume.
Find out more about the MKII Sterling Patchett submachine gun in our Collection Online record
The E-11 and DH-17 were acquired as part of the Royal Armouries' Heritage Lottery Funded 'Collecting Cultures' project which looks at arms and armour through the lens of popular culture.
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