EM-2 Rifle No.9 Mk1

The EM-2, Also known as Rifle No.9 Mk1 or "Janson rifle", was an experimental British assault rifle. It was briefly adopted by British forces in 1951, but the decision was overturned very shortly thereafter by Winston Churchill's incoming government in an effort to secure NATO standardisation of small arms and ammunition in the face of American intransigence. An innovative weapon with the compact bullpup layout and an optical sight, it used one of the early intermediate cartridges (a concept introduced by the Germans with the 7.92x33mm Kurz) as a result of combat experience and German advances in weapons design during World War II.

It used the experimental, intermediate powered, but highly efficient .280 British ("two-eight-oh") round, which was designed to replace the venerable .303 ("three-oh-three") round and Lee-Enfield rifle variants which had served since before the turn of the 20th century. The United States claimed the .280 British round was too weak for use in rifles and machine guns, and instead favored the much more powerful 7.62x51mm round derived from the .300 Savage. As the EM-2 could not be easily adapted to the longer and more powerful round, it faded from use. However, the bullpup layout for a British service rifle was finally adopted some years later in form of the SA80 assault rifle, the EM-2's spiritual successor, which remains in service today.

No9 bullpup rifle
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1951
Used by	UK Canada
Production history
Designer	Stefan Kenneth Janson
Designed	1948-1950
Manufacturer	RSAF Enfield Canadian Arsenals Limited Chambons BSA
Produced	Unknown
Number built	59
Variants	6.25x43mm 7x49mm 7x51mm 7.62x51mm NATO .30-06 Carbine HBAR Winter trigger variant
Specifications
Weight	3.49 kg (7.7 lbs)
Length	889 mm (35 in)
Barrel length	623 mm (24.5 in)
Cartridge	7 mm Mk1Z (7x43mm) 7.62x51mm NATO 6.25x43mm
Action	Gas operation
Rate of fire	450 to 600 round/min (7.5 to 10 /s)
Muzzle velocity	771m/s (2,545 ft/s)
Effective range	700 m (770 yd)
Feed system	20 round box magazine
Sights	optical