Osprey - Weapon 22 - The Sten Gun.pdf

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THE STEN GUN
LEROY THOMPSON
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
THE STEN GUN
LEROY THOMPSON
Series Editor Martin Pegler
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
A sheet-metal submachine gun
4
7
30
68
75
77
80
USE
The machine carbine in combat
IMPACT
Imitation and influence
CONCLUSION
FURTHER READING
INDEX
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
INTRODUCTION
In many ways the Sten gun was the perfect weapon for its time and its
place. When the Sten was developed during 1941, Great Britain’s industrial
capacity was strained to the limit and the threat of a German invasion
remained a reality. A submachine gun that could be manufactured cheaply
and quickly using light machinery in small shops offered an alternative to
importing the expensive M1928 Thompson from the United States,
especially once the US entered the war and needed Thompsons to arm its
own forces. Needing only 48 parts in its simplest version, the Mk III, the
Sten primarily used stamped components, with only the bolt and barrel
having to be machined. Hence, the Sten required less steel and other
materials. Compared to the .45 Thompson, the Sten’s chambering in 9mm
Parabellum also offered the advantage of requiring less lead, copper and
brass in the manufacture of its ammunition. In addition, captured German
and Italian 9mm ammunition could be used, although care had to be taken
not to mistake Italian 9mm Glisenti for 9mm Parabellum ammunition, as
the lighter load of the Glisenti made malfunctions more likely.
The role of the Sten in Britain’s armed forces was not unlike that of the
US M1 Carbine. Although the semi-auto M1 Garand rifle had been
considered for adoption for British forces in 1939, the bolt-action No. 4
Mk I Lee-Enfield was already in production and it was not deemed feasible
to switch to a completely new infantry rifle. As a result, this update of the
venerable SMLE remained in service through World War II and into the
1950s. Both the Sten and the M1 Carbine found a role among troops who
would not normally need the range and power of a rifle, and among those
who valued light weight and firepower. The Sten would prove to be a
compact arm that would give engineering, signals and other support
troops short-range defensive firepower, was issued to officers and NCOs
in infantry units, and was widely used by armoured crews. Much as the
M1 Carbine would also be adopted by US airborne troops because it was
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© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
more compact and offered more firepower than a rifle, so the Sten would
serve well in the British airborne forces.
For the European Resistance, the Sten proved a most desirable weapon.
It was compact and could fit readily into drop containers, be hidden easily
or carried concealed, and fired a round that could be obtained from captured
German supplies. So easy to fabricate was the Sten that some resistance units
built it themselves in garages and bicycle shops. At least some Stens were
also supplied to Filipino guerrillas fighting against the Japanese. Not all Stens
served with foreign resistance groups, however. Among the first to receive the
Sten were members of the top-secret British Auxiliary Units trained to stay
behind and act as guerrilla fighters should the Germans invade the UK.
The Sten’s effectiveness in Israeli hands during the 1948 War of
Independence is one of the best examples of the weapon’s simplicity of
manufacture, and the ease with which troops could be trained in its use.
During the period of the pre-independence British Mandate, Sten guns and
9mm ammunition had been manufactured clandestinely, and the Sten saw
wide service during and after 1948. Stens supplied by the British were also
used by Arab troops fighting the Israelis. Though superseded by the Uzi
from the mid-1950s, the Sten performed an important role in the
foundation of Israel.
A Mk II-armed airborne soldier
training in the UK during October
1942. (IWM TR 63)
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com

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