Seven Days in Hell: Canada's Battle for Normandy and the Rise of the Black Watch Snipers

by David O'Keefe

Canadian Army. “They called it a plumber’s abortion,” recalled Corporal Bruce Ducat. “I hated the damn thing—always kept breaking down when you needed it the most.” Ducat’s derision was indeed widespread, for its low cost and mass production resulted in numerous teething problems. In theory, this was the weapon used for close-quarter fighting in conjunction with grenades, when clearing a room, bunker or trench, but the men found it was sorely underpowered and highly inaccurate at anything over a hundred yards. Although light and easy to carry, the snub-nosed 9-millimetre weapon, which fired thirty-two rounds, suffered from several other potentially deadly drawbacks. First, many of the ammunition clips, which had been rushed into production, proved ill fitting, which led to frequent jams, usually at the worst possible moment. Second, the Sten proved temperamental when covered in dust, mud and dirt. But what alarmed soldiers the most was its nasty tendency to go off at the slightest knock, even with the safety on, which prompted the men to suggest that, “instead of using a grenade to clear a house, you just throw in your Sten and duck!”30 Perhaps it was not surprising, as Captain John Kemp noted, that many of the officers, including Phil Griffin, carried a Lee-Enfield as a failsafe for their Sten.