Sten
The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and post war including the Korean War. The Sten was a simple design with very low production cost for mass production to meet demand for submachine guns.
| Sten submachine gun | |
|---|---|
A Sten MK II | |
| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1941–1960s (United Kingdom) 1941–present (Other countries) |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | World War II Second Sino-Japanese War Chinese Civil War Indonesian National Revolution First Indochina War Indo-Pakistan Wars 1948 Arab–Israeli War Malayan Emergency Korean War Mau Mau Uprising Algerian War Suez Crisis Sino-Indian War Vietnam War Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Laotian Civil War Biafran War Bangladesh Liberation War Lebanese Civil War Angolan Civil War Rhodesian Bush War Turkish invasion of Cyprus IRA Border Campaign The Troubles Punjab insurgency Maluku sectarian conflict Iraq War Syrian Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Major Reginald V. Shepherd Harold J. Turpin |
| Designed | 1940 |
| Manufacturer | Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield BSA ROF Fazakerley ROF Maltby ROF Theale Berkshire Lines Brothers Ltd Long Branch Arsenal, Canada Various underground resistance group factories |
| Unit cost | £2 6s in 1942 |
| Produced | 1941– (version dependent) |
| No. built | 3.7–4.6 million (all variants, depending on source) |
| Variants | Mk. I, II, IIS, III, IV, V, VI |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) (Mk. II) |
| Length | 762 mm (30.0 in) |
| Barrel length | 196 mm (7.7 in) |
| Cartridge | 9×19mm Parabellum |
| Action | Blowback-operated, open bolt |
| Rate of fire | version dependent; ~500–600 round/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 365 m/s (1,198 ft/s) 305 m/s (1,001 ft/s) (suppressed models) |
| Effective firing range | 100 m |
| Feed system | 32-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | fixed peep rear, post front |
As well as equipping regular units, the Sten was distributed to resistance groups within occupied Europe; its simple design making it an effective insurgency weapon for resistance groups.
The Sten is a select fire, blowback-operated weapon which mounts its magazine on the left. Sten is an acronym, from the names of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold J. Turpin, and "En" for the Enfield factory. Around four million Stens in various versions were made in the 1940s, making it the second most produced submachine gun of the Second World War, after the Soviet PPSh-41. The Sten served as the basis for the Sterling submachine gun, which replaced the Sten in British service from the 1950s.