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Osprey Weapons #22
The Sten Gun
The Sten submachine gun - officially the 'Carbine, Machine, Sten' - was developed to fulfil the pressing British need for large quantities of cheaply produced weapons after Dunkirk, when German invasion was a very real possibility. Over four million were built during World War II, and the Sten was widely used by airborne troops, tankers, and others who needed a compact weapon with substantial firepower. It proved especially popular with Resistance fighters as it was easy to conceal, deadly at close range, and could fire captured German ammunition. Using stamped-metal parts that required minimal welding, the Sten's design was so simple that Resistance fighters were able to produce them in bicycle shops.
The Sten influenced the development of other inexpensive, easy-to-produce submachine guns, such as the Australian Austen and the US M3 'Grease Gun', while copies of the Sten were produced in Argentina, France, Norway, Denmark, Poland, and even Nazi Germany. In the years after World War II, the Sten was used in Korea and in counterinsurgency campaigns in Malaya and Kenya. During the 1948 Palestine War, locally produced Stens were employed by Israeli forces; in 1984 Indira Gandhi was assassinated by one of her Sikh bodyguards using a Sten.
Its postwar successor in British service, the Sterling, owed much to the Sten; early examples saw combat at Arnhem in 1944 and it remained in service as late as 1988. Suppressed versions of the Sterling were used by British, Australian and New Zealand SAS forces, and the weapon even saw action with US Special Forces troops until the early days of the Vietnam War.
Featuring vivid first-hand accounts, specially commissioned full-colour artwork and close-up photographs, this is the fascinating story of the mass-produced submachine gun that provided Allied soldiers and Resistance fighters with devastating close-range firepower.
The Sten influenced the development of other inexpensive, easy-to-produce submachine guns, such as the Australian Austen and the US M3 'Grease Gun', while copies of the Sten were produced in Argentina, France, Norway, Denmark, Poland, and even Nazi Germany. In the years after World War II, the Sten was used in Korea and in counterinsurgency campaigns in Malaya and Kenya. During the 1948 Palestine War, locally produced Stens were employed by Israeli forces; in 1984 Indira Gandhi was assassinated by one of her Sikh bodyguards using a Sten.
Its postwar successor in British service, the Sterling, owed much to the Sten; early examples saw combat at Arnhem in 1944 and it remained in service as late as 1988. Suppressed versions of the Sterling were used by British, Australian and New Zealand SAS forces, and the weapon even saw action with US Special Forces troops until the early days of the Vietnam War.
Featuring vivid first-hand accounts, specially commissioned full-colour artwork and close-up photographs, this is the fascinating story of the mass-produced submachine gun that provided Allied soldiers and Resistance fighters with devastating close-range firepower.
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Leroy Thompson
68 books15 followersLeroy Thompson has trained and advised military and police special operations units around the world, focusing especially on the tactical use of firearms. He has previously had 38 books published. He has also appeared as a weapons expert on documentaries for Discovery, National Geographic and the BBC.
Leroy Thompson served in Vietnam with the U.S. Air Force and was a police officer for several years after leaving the military.
Leroy Thompson served in Vietnam with the U.S. Air Force and was a police officer for several years after leaving the military.
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March 3, 2021
The Sten Gun is one of the iconic weapons of WWII, usually shown in movies in the hands of Commandos or Paratroopers. One of the reasons is because those troops had priority for the Sten, as their missions involved closing-in with the enemy on a regular basis.
This book narrates the development and combat history of the Sten, when Britain was caught off guard by the German emergence and quick victory in France; with the British Army fleeing with what they could carry back to their island. It was shocking to know that Britain was the only major combatant without submachine guns at the start of WWII. Desperately rushing to equip their men, Britain started buying the expensive US Thompson submachine guns with its gold reserves to arm their commandos then timidly raiding Norway. The British could not keep up with such an expense and also developed the disappointing Lanchester submachine guns that given its inadequacy had to be replaced with a better design. The Sten was a stop-gap, cost-effective, cheap design that was developed to be easily built and in large numbers, but sacrificing reliability and the author is quite even-handed in dealing with the number of jams and accidents associated with its use; but the author shows a little nostalgia when trying to present the verdict on the gun's efficiency. The Sten was only a gap filler but post-war Britain kept it in its table of organization for too long and it showed in the Suez Crisis of 1956. As the author notes in page 61:
"Cavenagh also comments that the British paras felt their Stens were greatly inferior, in terms of reliability and stopping power, to the MAS 36 CR 49 rifles, MAT 49 submachine guns and US M1 and M2 carbines used by the French airborne troops who also jumped at Suez; the French fired their weapons immediately on landing, while the British had to retrieve theirs from leg bags or containers."
Aside from the text, the book is very well illustrated with photographs and plates. One of those show the Danish resistance producing Stens in clandestine bycicle workshops, which shows how simple its production and assembly was. Another plate shows US Navy SEALs ambushing Viet Congs at pointblank range in Vietnam, which highlights its usage as a commando weapon.
This book narrates the development and combat history of the Sten, when Britain was caught off guard by the German emergence and quick victory in France; with the British Army fleeing with what they could carry back to their island. It was shocking to know that Britain was the only major combatant without submachine guns at the start of WWII. Desperately rushing to equip their men, Britain started buying the expensive US Thompson submachine guns with its gold reserves to arm their commandos then timidly raiding Norway. The British could not keep up with such an expense and also developed the disappointing Lanchester submachine guns that given its inadequacy had to be replaced with a better design. The Sten was a stop-gap, cost-effective, cheap design that was developed to be easily built and in large numbers, but sacrificing reliability and the author is quite even-handed in dealing with the number of jams and accidents associated with its use; but the author shows a little nostalgia when trying to present the verdict on the gun's efficiency. The Sten was only a gap filler but post-war Britain kept it in its table of organization for too long and it showed in the Suez Crisis of 1956. As the author notes in page 61:
"Cavenagh also comments that the British paras felt their Stens were greatly inferior, in terms of reliability and stopping power, to the MAS 36 CR 49 rifles, MAT 49 submachine guns and US M1 and M2 carbines used by the French airborne troops who also jumped at Suez; the French fired their weapons immediately on landing, while the British had to retrieve theirs from leg bags or containers."
Aside from the text, the book is very well illustrated with photographs and plates. One of those show the Danish resistance producing Stens in clandestine bycicle workshops, which shows how simple its production and assembly was. Another plate shows US Navy SEALs ambushing Viet Congs at pointblank range in Vietnam, which highlights its usage as a commando weapon.
Displaying 1 of 1 review