NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Sten

The Sten (or Sten gun) was a family of British, 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 400 pixelsFull resolution (2112 Ã— 1055 pixels, file size: 185 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source self-made Date 9 September, 2007 Author Grzegorz Pietrzak Permission (Reusing this image) See below. ... The MP5 is a third-generation submachine gun that is widely used by law enforcement tactical teams and military forces. ... The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2006 Headquarters Marlborough House, London, UK Official languages English Membership 53 sovereign states Leaders - Queen Elizabeth II - Secretary-General Don McKinnon (since 1 April 2000) Establishment - Balfour Declaration 18 November 1926 - Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931 - London Declaration 28 April 1949 Area - Total... The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres in French) were French fighters who decided to go on fighting against Germany after the Fall of France and German occupation and to fight against Vichy France in World War II. General Charles de Gaulle was a member of the French Cabinet... Look up partisan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea, Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States Medical staff: Denmark, Australia, Italy, Norway, Sweden Communist states: Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea, Peoples Republic of China, Soviet Union Commanders... The Mau Mau Uprising was an insurgency by Kenyan rebels against the British colonial administration from 1952 to 1960. ... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA[1... Combatants Israel Haganah Irgun Lehi Palmach Foreign Volunteers Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army Commanders Yaakov Dori, Yigael Yadin John Bagot Glubb, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Hasan Salama, Fawzi Al-Qawuqji, Ahmed Ali al-Mwawi Strength Israel: 29,677 initially rising... Combatants China India Commanders Zhang Guohua[4] Brij Mohan Kaul Strength 80,000[5][6] Casualties Killed 1,460 (Chinese sources)[7] None captured[8][9][10][11] Wounded 1,697[7] Killed 3,128 (Indian sources)[12] Captured 3,968[2] Wounded 548[13] The Sino-Indian War (Simplified... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A UK government-owned rifle factory, which was to be later known as the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), Enfield which has produced British military rifles and muskets since 1804. ... Enfield is the name of several places. ... The Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) was a British manufacturer of vehicles, firearms, and military equipment, and still exists as an airgun sport manufacturer and distributor. ... Fazakerley IPA: is a suburb of north Liverpool, England, and a Liverpool City Council Ward. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th Century - operating under the Tri-ang brand name. ... Long Branch is a former village that is now part of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... Blowback is a system in which automatic or semi-automatic firearms operate through the energy created by combustion in the chamber and bore acting directly on the bolt face through the cartridge. ... A semi or fully-automatic firearm which is said to fire from an open bolt is one where, when ready to fire, the bolt and working parts are held to the rear. ... (for paintball markers also)Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... A 30-round STANAG magazine. ... Sten is the name of a number of individuals: Sten Andersson Sten Forshufvud Sten Heckscher Sten Lindroth Ã…ge Sten Nilsen Helge Sten Sten Stensen Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Elder Sten GÃ¶sta William Wahlund In fiction: Sten (Breath of Fire 2 character) Jean Sten, a character in... ball and hollowpoint 9mm Luger rounds are popular handgun ammunition. ... The MP5 is a third-generation submachine gun that is widely used by law enforcement tactical teams and military forces. ... The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2006 Headquarters Marlborough House, London, UK Official languages English Membership 53 sovereign states Leaders - Queen Elizabeth II - Secretary-General Don McKinnon (since 1 April 2000) Establishment - Balfour Declaration 18 November 1926 - Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931 - London Declaration 28 April 1949 Area - Total... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea, Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States Medical staff: Denmark, Australia, Italy, Norway, Sweden Communist states: Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea, Peoples Republic of China, Soviet Union Commanders...

STEN is an acronym, cited as derived from the names of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield.^[1] Over 4 million Stens in various versions were made in the 1940s. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Backronym and Apronym (Discuss) Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations, such as NATO, laser, and ABC, written as the initial letter or letters of words, and pronounced on the basis of this abbreviated written form. ... Enfield is the name of several places. ...

The official designation "Carbine, Machine, Sten" should not be confused with the common understanding of carbine; the Sten was a typical, almost stereotypical submachine gun while the term carbine is used to refer to short, light rifles. A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than, a rifle or musket of a given period. ...

History

The Sten emerged while Britain was engaged in the Battle of Britain, facing invasion by Germany. The army was forced to replace weapons lost during the evacuation from Dunkirk while expanding at the same time. Prior to 1941 (and even later) the British were purchasing all the Thompson submachine guns they could from the United States of America, but this did not begin to meet demand. The American entry into the war at the end of 1941 placed an even bigger demand on the facilities making Thompsons. In order to rapidly equip a sufficient fighting force to counter the Axis threat, the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield, was commissioned to produce a significantly cheaper alternative. This article is about military history. ... This article is about a Second World War battle in 1940, for the 1658 battle of the same name see Battle of the Dunes (1658) Combatants United Kingdom France Belgium Germany Commanders Lord Gort General Weygand Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Ewald von Kleist (Panzergruppe von Kleist) Strength approx. ... For the Clash song, see Tommy Gun (song). ... A UK government-owned rifle factory, which was to be later known as the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), Enfield which has produced British military rifles and muskets since 1804. ... Enfield is the name of several places. ...

The credited designers were Major R. V. Shepherd, OBE, Inspector of Armaments in the Ministry of Supply Design Department at The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, (later Assistant Chief Superintendent at the Armaments Design Department) and Mr. Harold John Turpin, Senior Draughtsman of the Design Department of the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) Enfield. Shepherd had been recalled to service after having retired and spending some time at BSA. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supplying of equipment to the British armed forces. ... The Royal Arsenal, originally known as the Woolwich Arsenal, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research. ... , Woolwich town hall dates from when this was a borough in its own right. ... Technical drawing, also known as drafting, is the practice of creating accurate representations of objects for technical, architectural and engineering needs. ... A UK government-owned rifle factory, which was to be later known as the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), Enfield which has produced British military rifles and muskets since 1804. ... The Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) was a British manufacturer of vehicles, firearms, and military equipment, and still exists as an airgun sport manufacturer and distributor. ...

The Sten required a minimum amount of machining and manufacturing effort by using simple pressed metal components and minor welding. Much of the production could be performed by small workshops and the firearms assembled at the Enfield site. Over the period of manufacture the Sten design was further simplified: the most basic model, the Mark III, could be produced from five man-hours work. Some of the cheapest versions were made from only 47 different parts. It was distinctive for its bare appearance (just a pipe with a metal loop for a stock), and its horizontal magazine. The Mark I was a more finely finished weapon with a wooden foregrip and handle. Some later versions were not quite as spartan.

The Sten was slowly withdrawn from British service in the 1960s, and was replaced by the Sterling SMG. The other Commonwealth nations made or adopted their own replacements. The Sten was used extensively by Jewish partisans during the Israeli War of Independence. The Sterling is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. ... The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, called the War of Independence by Israelis and al Nakba the catastrophe by Arabs, was the first in a series of wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict. ...

Design

The Sten gun was chambered for the 9 x 19 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. The Sten was small and could be stripped down into a set of easily concealed components and was therefore particularly suited to partisan operations on the continent. Guerrilla fighters in Europe became adept at repairing, modifying and eventually scratch-building clones of the Sten (over 2,000 Stens and about 500 of similar Błyskawica SMGs were manufactured in occupied Poland). ball and hollowpoint 9mm Luger rounds are popular handgun ammunition. ... Look up partisan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... â€œGuerrillaâ€ redirects here. ... The BÅ‚yskawica (Lightning) was a submachine gun produced by the Armia Krajowa, or Home Army, a Polish resistance movement fighting the Germans in occupied Poland. ...

The Sten was simple open bolt, blowback operated, selective-fire firearm. Single shots and full automatic fire were selected by a cross-bolt type push-button located in front and above trigger. The tubular receiver and the barrel sleeve were made from rolled steel. It was fed from a box magazine attached to the housing on the left side of the gun. Various stocks were used with different models, all steel skeleton and tubular stocks to wooden stocks and pistol grips. The sights were fixed consisting of a rear peep and front blade, zeroed to a nominal 100 yards.^[2] Buttons on a handheld calculator. ...

Stoppages could occur due to the magazine which was a direct copy of the one used in the German Erma MP38/MP40. The magazine had two columns of tapered 9 mm cartridges arranged side-by-side in a zig-zag manner. To allow the magazine box to be straight, the front of the magazine was tapered to complement the taper of the cartridges. While other staggered magazines fed from both the left and right positions, the Sten magazine required the cartridges to gradually merge at the top of the magazine to form a single column. Any dirt or foreign matter in this taper area could cause feed malfunctions. Additionally, the walls of the magazine lip had to endure the full stresses of the rounds being pushed in by the spring. This could result in deformation of the magazine lips, resulting in misfeeds. Additionally to facilitate easier loading to the great resistance when attempting to push the cartridges down to insert the next one, a magazine filler tool was developed and formed part of the weapon's kit. Modern 9 mm magazines such as those used by the Sterling SMG are curved and feed both sides in order to avoid this problem. The Sterling is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. ...

A well-maintained Sten gun is a devastating close-range weapon. If a Sten does jam with the bolt forward, standard practice to clear it is as follows: tilt the Sten to the right to allow gravity to pull jammed rounds out through the cartridge ejection port, whilst recocking the weapon. Then the weapon is fired again as normal.

The slot on the side of the body where the cocking knob ran was a target of criticism, as the long opening could allow foreign objects to enter. On the other hand, a beneficial side-effect of the Sten's minimalist design was that it would fire without any lubrication. This was useful in desert environments where oil attracts dust. This article is about minimalism in art and design. ...

The MK II and MK III Stens could accidentally discharge if dropped whilst the gun was cocked. This was particularly true of early Stens using bronze bolts, where the sear projection underneath the bolt could wear down more easily than ones made of case-hardened steel. Accidental discharge is the event of a firearm discharging (firing) by means other than a deliberate pull of the trigger, such as dropping a loaded weapon. ... Assorted ancient Bronze castings found as part of a cache, probably intended for recycling. ... A replica Colt 1873 revolver, showing case hardening colors on the frame Case hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal, often a low carbon steel, by infusing elements into the materials surface, forming a thin layer of a harder alloy. ...

The Sten underwent various design improvements over the course of the war. For example, the Mark 4 cocking handle and corresponding hole drilled in the receiver were created in order to prevent an accidental discharge issue. However, most changes to the production process were more subtle, designed to give greater ease of manufacture and increased reliability. Sten guns of late 1942 and beyond were highly effective weapons. Such was the ease of manufacture that the Germans also produced a version of the Sten, the MP 3008, late in the war. The 9 mm MP 3008 was a Nazi German substitute standard submachine gun manufactured toward the end of World War II. The weapon was almost identical to the British Sten, except for its vertical magazine. ...

Variants

Sten guns were produced in several basic marks, (though the MKI saw limited service, and the MKIV was never issued) and nearly half of the total produced were of the Mark II. Approximately 4.5 million Stens were produced during the war.

Mark I

The first model had a conical flash hider and fine finish. It had a wooden foregrip and forward handle (sometimes this was made of steel), as well for a section of the stock. The stock was a small tube outline, rather like the Mark II Canadian. One unique feature was that the front pistol grip could be rotated forward to make the firearm easier to stow. The barrel sleeve extended all the way to the end, where it had conical flash hider. Along the top of the tube surrounding the barrel was a line of small holes and its sights were configured somewhat differently. About 100,000 were made before production switched to the Mark II. Sten Mk I's in German possession were designated MP.748(e). This article or section should be merged with Flash suppressor A flash hider, also known as flash eliminator, is an attachment on the end of the barrel of a weapon that is intended to reduce the amount of flash given off when firing. ...

Mark I: Download high resolution version (640x624, 47 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (640x624, 47 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Mark I*

This was the first simplification of the Mk I. The foregrip, the wooden furniture and the flash hider were deleted for production expediency.^[3]

Mark II

The Mark II was the most prolific, at 2 million units. It was a much rougher weapon than the Mk I. The flash eliminator and hand guard (grip) of the Mk I were eliminated. Other changes included a removable barrel which projects 3 inches beyond the barrel sleeve and the magazine housing rotates to form cover for ejection opening.

The barrel sleeve was shorter and rather than have small holes on the top, it had three sets of three holes equally spaced on the shroud. Sten Mk II's in German possession were designated MP.749(e). Some MkIIs were fitted with a wooden stock. Image File history File linksMetadata H_010688. ... Image File history File linksMetadata H_010688. ... Churchill redirects here. ... Detective Inspector Walter H. Thompson (died 1979) was the bodyguard of Winston Churchill for eighteen years between 1921 and 1945, being recalled from retirement running two grocers shops by a telegram on 22 August 1939 reading Meet me Croydon airport 4. ... Bodyguards of Viktor Yushchenko (far left) after leaving Gdansk city hall. ...

Mark II (Canadian)

During World War II a version of the Sten gun was produced at the Long Branch Arsenal in Long Branch, Ontario now part of Toronto, Ontario. This was very similar to the regular Mark II, with a different stock slightly improved quality. It was first used in combat in the Dieppe Raid in 1942. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Long Branch is a former village that is now part of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength Image:Toronto, Ontario Location. ... Combatants Canada United Kingdom Germany Commanders Louis Mountbatten J. H. Roberts Gerd von Rundstedt Strength 6,086 1,500 Casualties Canada: 950 dead, 2,340 captured wounded or not; United Kingdom: 600; United States:4+; 311 dead, 280 wounded The Dieppe Raid, also known as The Battle of Dieppe or...

Mark III

This simple design was the next most commonly produced after the Mark II. It was a simplification of the Mk I made both in Canada and the UK. Lines Bros Ltd was the largest manufacturer. The biggest difference from the Mark II was the unification of the receiver, ejection port, and barrel shroud that now extended farther up the barrel. The barrel was fixed and the body was welded shut along the centre of the top. Captured Sten Mk IIIs in German possession were designated MP.750(e). Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th Century - operating under the Tri-ang brand name. ...

Mark IV

The Mark IV was a smaller version which did not progress beyond the prototype stage. It was near pistol-sized and it had a different configuration with a conical flash hider, a rear pistol grip, a very light stock and a much shorter barrel.

Mark V

Changes included wooden pistol grips including a fore grip, a stock, and a bayonet mount. The Sten bandolier issued to paratroopers held 7 full magazines. Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: World War II Sten ... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: World War II Sten ... Renkum is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. ... Combatants United Kingdom United States Canada Poland Germany Commanders Bernard Montgomery Brian Horrocks Roy Urquhart James M. Gavin Maxwell Taylor Stanislaw Sosabowski Walter Model Wilhelm Bittrich Kurt Student Strength 35,000 20,000 Casualties 11,377 dead,wounded or missing 6,450 Captured 2,000 Killed 6,000 Wounded Operation... A bandolier is a pocketed belt for holding ammunition. ...

Mark VI

Suppressed models

Mark IIS and Mark VIS models (sometimes recorded as 6(s)) were produced which incorporated an integral supressor. This would heat up rapidly when fired and a canvas cover was laced around for some protection. The Mark 6 had a lower muzzle velocity than the others; 305 m/s (1000 ft/s) and was also the heaviest regular version due to the added weight of the specially designed silencer, as well as using a wooden pistol grip and wooden stock. Sten Mk IIS's in German possession were designated MP.751(e). Several firearms with detachable suppressors Bolt-action rimfire rifle with suppressor Semiautomatic rimfire pistol with suppressor A suppressor or sound moderator is a device attached to a firearm to reduce the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon. ...

The suppressed models were produced at the request of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for use by their teams in occupied Europe. Starting with the Mk. IIS in 1943. The Special Operations Executive (SOE), sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars after Sherlock Holmess fictional group of spies, was a World War II organization initiated by Winston Churchill and Hugh Dalton in July 1940 as a mechanism for conducting warfare by means other than direct military engagement. ...

Foreign built copies and derivatives

Norwegian Sten In German-occupied Norway the resistance, under leadership of Bror With, created a large number of Sten guns from scratch, mainly to arm members of the underground army Milorg. The same was done to some extent in Denmark. Bror With (1900â€”1985), born in Norways capital Kristiania, was a mechanical engineer, inventor and industrialist. ... Milorg was a secret military organization under World War II in Norway. ...

Polish Sten The Polish resistance was provided with numerous Stens of various models by the SOE and the Cichociemni. Between 1942 and 1944, approximately 11,000 Sten Mk IIs were delivered to the Armia Krajowa. Due to the simplicity of design, local production of Polish variants of Sten was started in at least 23 underground workshops in Poland. Some of them produced copies of Mark IIs, while others produced the so-called Polski Sten. The Polski Sten made in Warsaw under command of Ryszard Białostocki were built from a number of legal elements made in official factories or acquired through other means. The main body of the machine pistol was made from hydraulic cylinders produced for hospital equipment. All the pistols were marked in English to disguise their origin and the production facilities. A modernized version of the Sten was produced in Poland under the name Błyskawica. Cichociemni in England in 1943 Cichociemni (Polish for Silentdark) were a secret unit of the Polish Army in exile created to maintain contact with occupied Poland during World War II. // Initially the name was informal and used only by the soldiers who volunteered to be dropped over Poland. ... Armia Krajowa (the Home Army), abbreviated AK, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. ... The BÅ‚yskawica (Lightning) was a submachine gun produced by the Armia Krajowa, or Home Army, a Polish resistance movement fighting the Germans in occupied Poland. ...

Gerät Potsdam In late 1944, the Mauser works in Germany started manufacturing a series of copies of British Mk II Sten for diversion and sabotage purposes. The series was nicknamed the Gerät Potsdam and approximately 28,000 weapons were made. Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. ...

MP 3008 In early 1945, Germany was seeking a cheap machine pistol for the Volkssturm. For that purpose a modified Sten was designed by Mauser and named the MP 3008. The main difference was the magazine attached below the weapon. Altogether, roughly 10,000 pieces were produced before the end of World War II. The 9 mm MP 3008 was a Nazi German substitute standard submachine gun manufactured toward the end of World War II. The weapon was almost identical to the British Sten, except for its vertical magazine. ... With torn picture of his FÃ¼hrer beside his clenched fist, a dead BataillionsfÃ¼hrer (general) of the Volkssturm lies on the floor of city hall, Leipzig, Germany. ... Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Neuminster Device The Neuminster Device was manufactured prior to the MP3008 under great secrecy by Mauser Waffenfabrik. The Neuminster device was an almost perfect copy of the British Sten, even down to its British proof marks. The reason for manufacturing the Neuminster Device is unknown but they were manufactured at great expense. Each Neuminster Device cost eight times as much as a Mauser Model 98K rifle.

Austen MK I The Mark I Austen (from "Australian Sten") was a 9 millimeter Australian submachine gun derived from the British Sten gun developed during the Second World War by the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. Approximately 45,000 Austens were produced from 1942 to 1944. They remained in service as a standard weapon of the Australian Army until 1966. The Mark I Austen was a 9 millimeter Australian submachine gun developed during the Second World War by the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... The MP5 is a third-generation submachine gun that is widely used by law enforcement tactical teams and military forces. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

M3 submachine gun Although not a direct or indirect copy, the M3 was designed as a simplified Sten for American-style mass production. The M3 Grease Gun (more formally United States Submachine Gun, Cal. ...

An American invention, the Sputter Gun was designed to circumvent the law that defined a machine gun as something that fired multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger. The Sputter Gun had no trigger, but fired continuously after loading and the pulling back of its bolt, firing until it ran out of ammunition. The gun was very short lived as the ATF quickly reclassified it. A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... ATF Seal The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (abbreviated ATF, sometimes BATF or BATFE) is a United States federal agency; more specifically a specialized law enforcement and regulatory organization within the United States Department of Justice. ...

Service

The Sten, especially the Mark II, tended to attract affection and loathing in equal measure. Its peculiar appearance when compared to other firearms of the era, combined with reportedly questionable reliability and durability made it unpopular with many front-line troops.^{[citation needed]} It gained nicknames such as "Plumber's Nightmare", "Plumber's Abortion", "Stench Gun" or "Woolworth's Gun". The Sten's attractions were ease of manufacture and availability in the massive numbers required during a major conflict.

Stens were air-dropped in quantity to resistance fighters and partisans throughout occupied Europe. Due to their slim profile and ease of dismantlement, they were good for concealment and guerrilla warfare. A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to fighting an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign nation through either the use of physical force, or nonviolence. ... â€œGuerrillaâ€ redirects here. ...

Moreover, a famous ambush involving a Sten - the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich - was almost thwarted when it jammed. This problem also occurred with the German MP40 magazine, copied by the Sten gun designers. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1242x1234, 204 KB) Summary http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1242x1234, 204 KB) Summary http://www. ... Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (7 March 1904 â€“ 4 June 1942) was an SS-ObergruppenfÃ¼hrer, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (including the Gestapo, SD and Kripo Nazi police agencies) and Reichsprotektor (Reich Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia. ... The MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40, literally machine pistol 40) was a submachine gun developed in Germany and used extensively by paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders, and other troops during World War II. The MP40 had a relatively lower rate of fire and low recoil, which made it more manageable than...

Canadian infantry battalions in North-West Europe held spare Sten guns for special missions and the Canadian Army reported a surplus of the weapons in 1944. The Sten was not used in Italy due to constraints on the shipping of ammunition; .45 calibre ACP was already being used in theatre by the US Army and a requirement for 9mm would have been in competition with limited shipping space.

The Sten saw use even after the economic crunch of the Second World War, replacing the Royal Navy's Lanchester submachine guns into the 1960s and was used in the Korean War including specialist versions for British commandos. It was slowly withdrawn in the 1960s and replaced by the Sterling SMG in British Army service, while Canada adopted a similar weapon, the C1 SMG to replace the Sten. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Lanchester was a submachine gun used by the British during World War II. History In 1940, with the Dunkirk evacuation completed, the Royal Air Force decided to adopt some form of submachine gun for airfield defense. ... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea, Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States Medical staff: Denmark, Australia, Italy, Norway, Sweden Communist states: Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea, Peoples Republic of China, Soviet Union Commanders... For other uses, see Commando (disambiguation). ... The Sterling is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. ...

In the 1950s "L numbering" came into use in the British Army for weapons - Stens were then known as L50 (Mk II), L51 (Mk III) and L52 (Mk V). This is a listing of British Army Weapons identified by their L number. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

One of the last times the Sten was used in combat during British service was with the RUC during the IRA border campaign of 1956 - 1962. In foreign service, the Sten was used in combat at least as recently as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. ... Combatants Irish Republican Army Royal Ulster Constabulary Ulster Special Constabulary British Army Commanders IRA Army Council SeÃ¡n Cronin RuairÃ Ã“ BrÃ¡daigh Strength c. ... Combatants India Mukti Bahini Pakistan Commanders Sam Manekshaw J.S. Aurora A. A. K. Niazi # Strength 500,000+ troops 400,000+ troops Casualties 3,843 killed[1] 9,851 wounded[1] c. ...

In 1971 various marks of Stens were used by guerilla fighters of Bangladesh Liberation War. Combatants Mukti Bahini India Aided By Soviet Union Pakistan Aided By United States Commanders â€¢ Col. ...

In 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, one of whom emptied the entire magazine of his Sten into the Prime Minister at point-blank range. A young Indira Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, during one of the latters fasts Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: ) (19 November 1917 - October 31, 1984) ran a whole big country. ...

See also

The Mark I Austen was a 9 millimeter Australian submachine gun developed during the Second World War by the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The 9 mm MP 3008 was a Nazi German substitute standard submachine gun manufactured toward the end of World War II. The weapon was almost identical to the British Sten, except for its vertical magazine. ...

References

Coimbatore (Tamil: ), also known as Kovai (Tamil: ), is a major industrial city in India. ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... Her Majestys Stationery Office (usually abbreviated as HMSO) is part of the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Videos

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Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | Military equipment of the British Empire | World War II British infantry weapons | World War II submachine guns Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Small arms captured in Fallujah, Iraq by the US Marine Corps in 2004 The term small arms generally describes any number of smaller infantry weapons, such as firearms that an individual soldier can carry. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea, Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States Medical staff: Denmark, Australia, Italy, Norway, Sweden Communist states: Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea, Peoples Republic of China, Soviet Union Commanders... The Webley Revolver (also known as the Webley Break-Top Revolver or Webley Self-Extracting Revolver) was, in various marks, the standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth from 1887 until 1963. ... Enfield No. ... The Browning Hi-Power is a semi-automatic, single-action, 9 mm pistol. ... The Smith & Wesson Military & Police revolver is a . ... For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation). ... The MP5 is a third-generation submachine gun that is widely used by law enforcement tactical teams and military forces. ... Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 with bayonet, scabbard attached The Lee-Enfield was the British armys standard bolt action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle from 1895 until 1956. ... Jungle Carbine was an informal term used for the Rifle No. ... Line drawing of Guppy 13 pocket cruiser The De Lisle carbine was a British rifle used during World War II. It was based on a Lee_Enfield rifle converted to . ... The Lanchester was a submachine gun used by the British during World War II. History In 1940, with the Dunkirk evacuation completed, the Royal Air Force decided to adopt some form of submachine gun for airfield defense. ... The Mark I Austen was a 9 millimeter Australian submachine gun developed during the Second World War by the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. ... The Owen Gun, which was known officially as the Owen Machine Carbine, was an Australian submachine gun designed by Evelyn (Evo) Owen in 1939. ... A . ... The Bren (from Brno, the Czechoslovak city of design, and Enfield, the location of the British Royal Small Arms Factory), usually called the Bren Gun, was a series of light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1991. ... The Lewis Gun is a pre-World War I era squad automatic weapon/machine gun of American design that was most widely used by the forces of the British Empire. ... The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled . ... The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank, was one of the earlier anti-tank weapons using a high explosive anti-tank projectile. ... The Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys commonly known as the Boys or often and incorrectly Boyes Anti-tank Rifle was a British anti-tank rifle. ... The Ordnance SBML 2-inch Mortar, or more commonly just 2-inch Mortar, was a British mortar issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies that saw use during the Second World War and later. ... The United Kingdoms Ordnance ML 3 inch mortar was the standard mortar used by the British army from the late Twenties to the late Sixties. ... The Flamethrower, Portable, No 2 (nicknamed Lifebuoy from the shape of the fuel tank), also known as the Ack Pack, was a British design of flamethrower for infantry use in the Second World War. ... A hand grenade is a hand-held bomb, made to be thrown by a soldier. ... Small arms captured in Fallujah, Iraq by the US Marine Corps in 2004 The term small arms generally describes any number of smaller infantry weapons, such as firearms that an individual soldier can carry. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ball and hollowpoint 9mm Luger rounds The 9 mm Luger pistol cartridge (9 x 19 mm Parabellum, 9 x 19 mm NATO) was designed by firearms designer Georg Luger. ... .45 ACP cartridges .45 redirects here. ... . ... . ... Left to right: .38 Special, .17 HMR and . ... .50 BMG rounds and 20MM Vulcan round, with a golf ball and a stick of RAM posed to provide scale. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... A pistol is a usually small, projectile weapon, normally fired with one hand. ... The Beaumont-Adams Revolver was a . ... The Webley Revolver (also known as the Webley Break-Top Revolver or Webley Self-Extracting Revolver) was, in various marks, the standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, and the Commonwealth from 1887 until 1963. ... Enfield No. ... The Browning Hi-Power is a semi-automatic, single-action, 9 mm pistol. ... For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation). ... A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than, a rifle or musket of a given period. ... Short Land Service musket Brown Bess is a nickname of unknown origin for the British Armys Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. ... British Ferguson Rifle The Ferguson rifle was most likely the first breech loading rifle to be adopted by any organized military force. ... The Baker rifle was the rifle used by the Rifle regiments of the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. ... The Enfield 1853 Rifled Musket (also known as the Pattern 1853 Enfield, P53 Enfield, and Enfield Rifled Musket) was a . ... SNIDER-ENFIELD BREECH LOADING RIFLE. The British . ... The Martini-Henry (also known as the Peabody-Martini-Henry) was a breech-loading lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini (based on the Peabody rifle developed by Henry Peabody), with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry. ... The Martini-Enfield was a conversion of the Zulu War era . ... The Lee-Metford rifle was a breech-loading British army service rifle, combining James Paris Lees rear-locking bolt system and ten-round magazine with a seven groove rifled barrel designed by William Ellis Metford. ... Lee-Enfield No4 Mk1 with bayonet, scabbard attached The Lee-Enfield was the British armys standard bolt action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle from 1895 until 1956. ... The Fusil Automatique Leger, or Light Automatic Rifle (LAR). ... Jungle Carbine was an informal term used for the Rifle No. ... Line drawing of Guppy 13 pocket cruiser The De Lisle carbine was a British rifle used during World War II. It was based on a Lee_Enfield rifle converted to . ... The MP5 is a third-generation submachine gun that is widely used by law enforcement tactical teams and military forces. ... The Lanchester was a submachine gun used by the British during World War II. History In 1940, with the Dunkirk evacuation completed, the Royal Air Force decided to adopt some form of submachine gun for airfield defense. ... The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from 1953 until 1988 when it was phased out with the introduction of the L85A1 IW (Individual Weapon). ... A . ... An 1865 Gatling gun. ... An early Maxim gun in operation with the Royal Navy 1895 . ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled . ... The Lewis Gun is a pre-World War I era squad automatic weapon/machine gun of American design that was most widely used by the forces of the British Empire. ... The Bren (from Brno, the Czechoslovak city of design, and Enfield, the location of the British Royal Small Arms Factory), usually called the Bren Gun, was a series of light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1991. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... Ordnance QF 2 pounder Type Anti-tank gun Nationality UK Era WW2 Target armoured vehicles History Date of design 1936 Production period 1936 - Number built Service duration 1936-1945 Operators War service WW2 Specifications Carriage Calibre 40 mm Barrel length 50 calibres Weight 130 kg Ammunition AP Shell weight 2... QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun in Batey ha-Osef museum, Israel. ... The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank, was one of the earlier anti-tank weapons using a high explosive anti-tank projectile. ... The Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys commonly known as the Boys or often and incorrectly Boyes Anti-tank Rifle was a British anti-tank rifle. ... The L6 Wombat, (Weapon Of Magnesium, Batallion, Anti-Tank) was a 120 mm calibre recoilless anti-tank rifle used by the British armed forces. ... A field gun is an artillery piece. ... Ordnance QF 25 pounder Type gun-howitzer Nationality UK Era World War II Target general use + anti-tank History Date of design 1930s Production period Number built Service duration 1930s to 1967 Operators War service Specifications Carriage Fixed trail Calibre 3. ... The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed by Sir William Congreve in 1804. ... The Ordnance SBML 2-inch Mortar, or more commonly just 2-inch Mortar, was a British mortar issued to the British Army and the Commonwealth armies that saw use during the Second World War and later. ... The United Kingdoms Ordnance ML 3 inch mortar was the standard mortar used by the British army from the late Twenties to the late Sixties. ... The Flamethrower, Portable, No 2 (nicknamed Lifebuoy from the shape of the fuel tank), also known as the Ack Pack, was a British design of flamethrower for infantry use in the Second World War. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

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