STEN SMG

STEN SMG Story

The British STEN submachine gun is one of those rare firearms in history that was born out of desperation and became a war victory. The STEN is a widely used personal weapon system (called a "machine gun", but often classified as a "submachine gun") that originated in the United Kingdom and served during World War II. The design of the weapon is based on the principles of cheap production and simplicity of operation and assembly. It turned out to be a no-frills submachine gun designed for mid-to-close-range combat, spawning an entire family of guns whose design owes much to the original initiative. The overall design is nothing more than a tubular metal receiver to house the inner working parts, covered with a barrel on one end and a basic stock on the other, while being driven by a primitive looking trigger group - many shapes Missing a traditional pistol grip.

Despite its practical looks and basic functionality (as well as awkward layout and feed interference issues), the STEN became a popular submachine gun for British and Commonwealth troops throughout the war. This type was even produced by thousands of Germans in 1944 (a German branch also appeared in 1945).

In the summer of 1940, the British military supported deadlocked fronts across Europe. However, all moves proved disastrous when the Allies were cornered at the coastal port of Dunkirk, forcing the British to launch a massive rescue operation from the source.

Although the Germans failed to crush the captured survivors, it did capture tons of Allied equipment - tanks, artillery, small arms, etc. Being the spoils of a victorious Axis power proved to be another logistical danger for Britain, as the loss of this valuable equipment, coupled with the fall of France, left the British mainland with little defense as they knew very well that the Germans would not stop having coasts - intending to conquer the British by land and air.

The British government immediately authorized local production of the German MP28, a powerful submachine gun whose ancestors were derived from the World War I MP18. At this point in the war, the British military lacked a front-line submachine gun weapon system that the Germans could take full advantage of in Operation Blitz. Instead, the British infantryman relied heavily on his tried-and-true but clunky and outdated bolt-action rifle. The locally produced MP28 was known to the British as "Lanchester" after production manager George H. Lanchester.

Minor changes were added to the local trials, mainly in the barrel rifle and support for the Lee-Enfield field bayonet.

Elsewhere, work is being done on a new homegrown British submachine gun design based on learnings from the highly regarded German MP38 submachine gun range. The MP38 entered service with the Germans in 1939 and fired an effective 9 x 19mm Parabellum pistol through an open breech direct reversal mechanism.

Hundreds of thousands of submachine guns of this type were eventually built and used as the standard German submachine gun of World War II. The submachine gun proved very effective and gave the Germans an early advantage in their man-portable automatic weapons.

However, the original MP38 was a complex beast that was expensive to manufacture in the required quantities (leading to the simplified MP40).

With this in mind, the British effort was led by Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold J. Turpin, and resulted in a design in MP38 form that was considerably less expensive to produce and equally robust and reliable in the field. set up. The design uses a stamped steel metal frame, spot welded throughout. This resulted in a simple but adequate personal weapons system that could store hundreds of thousands of British stockpiles. A prototype model was then tested in January 1941, and the weapon was officially commissioned and then put into mass production. The weapon will be called "STEN", consisting of Shepherd and Turpin's initials ("S" and "T") and the first two letters of origin - Enfield Lock ("EN").

The arrival of STEN pushed the Lanchester design into the background, serving only the Royal Navy. Enfield Lock, along with other Royal Ordnance facilities across the UK (eventually more than a dozen contractors and subcontractors attended), prioritized economical STEN and added production lines in anticipation.

All STEN pistols are loaded with the 9x19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge.

The original production form became the STEN Mk I. This version features its special barrel jacket (which wraps the barrel assembly), skeletal stock, tubular folding wooden foregrip, detachable barrel and wooden fore stock. A scoop flash hider was added to the barrel to hide the operator's firing position, which was especially useful in night operations.

The muzzle flash suppressor doubles as a muzzle compensator and is designed to help the muzzle rise during fully automatic fire, thereby improving range accuracy. The 32-round detachable straight magazine is inserted into the magazine on the left side of the receiver, and the spent cartridges are ejected from the right side.

About 100,000 examples of the Mk I model were made before the simplified and lighter STEN Mk I* was introduced, which eliminated the wooden furniture, wooden foregrip and chunky muzzle mount.

Engineers continued to work on the STEN series of guns, which culminated in the final STEN in the STEN Mk II. This version features relocated safety devices, while the barrel jacket has been removed and replaced by a simplified perforated heat shield.

The magazine feed has been redesigned to include a 90-degree "swivel" position that stows the magazine when not in use, reducing bulky cargo on the go. With more than 2 million STEN Mk IIs produced in three years, cost-saving measures have certainly made this level of mass production possible.

A silenced STEN Mk II variant was subsequently implemented and designated STEN Mk IIS, primarily for special forces use. The use of silencers on the STEN is one of the rare war reports of automatic weapons. The STEN Mk IIS basically replaces the Mk II's stock barrel assembly with a cylindrical silencer that houses a shorter barrel designed to release each bullet at subsonic speed, so at a quieter decibel Level. While this arrangement does result in a quieter weapon, its overall range is expected to be reduced.

Internal working parts - springs and bolts - have been lightened to further reduce operating noise. The STEN Mk IIS is basically limited to single-shot firing, as auto-firing can cause premature weakening or cracking of the silencer assembly.

Aside from the added cylinder and possibly some padding around the assembly to act as a front grip, the STEN Mk IIS looks a lot like its regular STEN Mk II counterpart.

To further facilitate and simplify overall production, the STEN Mk III is more based on the STEN Mk I rather than the improved STEN Mk II. In the variant that first appeared in 1943, the detachable barrel function was eliminated, and the positioning magazine feeding function was eliminated and added regardless. Instead, it becomes a simple, monolithic, welded and reinforced steel tube body.

This gives the Mk III a sleeker, more uniform receiver/heat shield look. A finger guard has been added near the ejection port to protect the shooter's hand from ejecting spent cartridges.

Production of the STEN MK III was handled in Canada and the UK, and even the Mk III, captured by the Germans, was reorganized into MPs. 750(e).

The STEN Mk IV appeared in 1943 as a proposed Airborne Infantry variant and was never selected for mass production, although manufacture reached prototypes. The design took the STEN MK II and produced a smaller final product for improved portability - a quality that paratroopers appreciate. The barrel was shortened accordingly, and a folding stock was added. STEN Mk IV will produce Mk IVA and Mk IVB versions, each differentiated by its grip and trigger assembly.

However, it was decided not to pursue the Mk IV design anymore.

The STEN Mk V appeared in 1944 and repurchased the pistol grip and full shoulder rest as well as attachments for the service rifle bayonet for close range work. It's all about making the STEN MK V a more affordable weapon for British soldiers who were somewhat dismissive of the basic look of the original STEN gun. Machining was fine-tuned and finishing details returned along the line. Changes include a wooden pistol grip, foregrip and wooden stock, making it more similar to other acceptable submachine gun types in the world.

The sights are taken from the No. 4 military rifle and include support for standard British field bayonets.

Although intended as an improvement over the STEN Mk II series, the Mk V is heavier due to its additional wooden furniture and magazine feed issues, while the foregrip can easily break in the heat of battle (the foregrip eventually out of production).

The STEN Mk VI becomes the silenced version of the Mk V. The muffler assembly is the same as the STEN Mk IIS, but retains the Mk V internals and frame. These profile saws are rarely used.

Although STEN entered service in 1941, it was not used directly against the Enemy fight. Losses included 3,367 Canadians and 275 British Special Forces members of the Germans' 311 KIA.

While the offensive was a complete defeat for the Allies and a huge victory for the Germans, the STEN gun was a proven asset in battlefield conditions. The Dieppe raid was also the starting point for the D-Day landings announced in June 1944 in Normandy, northern France.

In practice, British first impressions are mixed, as the gun's fit-for-purpose finish and appearance leaves a lot to be desired. Only with constant use does the STEN series shine, capable of rough use in the field with reasonable reliability, while delivering plenty of firepower from a relatively easy-to-handle frame. STEN suffered from the devastation caused by constant ingestion, a family problem that was never fully resolved throughout the war.

A full 32-round magazine is capable of this effect, resulting in many service members spending as little as 30 rounds (with less pressure on the magazine spring). Additionally, in the heat of battle, the operator uses the side-projecting magazine as a forward grip, which can be released from the supply if the pressure is high enough to cause a jam at the worst possible moment.

As a result, operators are generally taught the proper way to hold the STENS, with the secondary hand placed under the barrel heat shield, the magazine on the curved support arm, butted against the shoulder, and the primary hand in the trigger area as usual.

By 1945, more than 4 million STEN guns of different brands had been produced. This weapon is used outside of organized military establishments as it is popular among guerrilla movements, rebel groups and individuals who need to fire a lot from a compact package.

They're certainly excellent weapons for urban combat where space is limited, and the weapon can also be dragged across wooded terrain with ease without fear of getting caught. The simplicity of STEN's overall design means it can be disassembled into basic parts, transported in the sight of enemy authorities, and reassembled when needed and ready to fire in minutes.

German Concern Mauser produced locally produced STEN Mk II guns as exact replicas (full English markings) for possible use by agents. Around 28,000 were produced under the name "Gerat Potsdam".

A cheaper post-war alternative, the "MP 3008", appeared in 1945, in which units built 10,000 prototypes to arm the German/Berlin civilians and Wehrmacht against the imminent Allied invasion.

The STEN submachine guns lasted until the 1960s, when they were replaced by the Sterling series when they were in British service. STEN elsewhere lived longer and saw war in various Cold War conflicts, including the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Indo-Pakistani War.

In the post-war years, STEN also saw various forms of production in developing/reconstructed countries including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, Norway, Denmark and Poland, each marked with their own name. Also take into account that weapons were made by various underground movements during the occupation.

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