| 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[1] First Indochina War Indo-Pakistan Wars 1948 Arab–Israeli War Malayan Emergency Korean War Mau Mau Uprising[2] Algerian War[3] Suez Crisis Sino-Indian War Vietnam War Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation[4] Laotian Civil War Greek Civil War[5] Bangladesh Liberation War[6] Lebanese Civil War Angolan Civil War Rhodesian Bush War Turkish invasion of Cyprus IRA Border Campaign The Troubles Punjab insurgency Maluku sectarian conflict[7] Iraq War[8] Syrian Civil War[9] |
| 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[a] 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 | 60 m (66 yd)[10] |
| Feed system | 32-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | fixed peep rear, post front |
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 during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production cost, facilitating mass production to meet the demand for submachine guns.
As well as equipping regular units, the Sten was distributed to resistance groups within occupied Europe. Its simple design made it an effective insurgency weapon for resistance groups.
The Sten is a select fire, blowback-operated weapon with a side-mounted magazine. Sten is an acronym, derived from the names of the weapon's chief designers: Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold J. Turpin, and "En" for the Enfield factory.[11][b] 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.
- ^ Bloomfield et al 1967, p. 89
- ^ "Contre les Mau Mau". Encyclopédie des armes : Les forces armées du monde (in French). Vol. XII. Atlas. 1986. pp. 2764–2766.
- ^ "L'armement français en A.F.N." Gazette des Armes (in French). No. 220. March 1992. pp. 12–16.
- ^ Bloomfield et al 1967, p. 191
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
mcnab2002was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
ds29Dec2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Satgas Yonarmed 12 Kostrad Berhasil Mengamankan Senjata Ilegal". tni.mil.id (in Indonesian). 21 November 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Variety of Iraq weapons astounds expert". Stars and Stripes.
- ^ Footage of weapons which were handed over by rebels to the Syrian Arab Army in Southern Damascus. SyrianCivilWarMap. 12 May 2018. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "STEN Machine Carbine". Paradata. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "The STEN Carbine, A Description" Model Engineer Volume 88 Issue 2195 P.509
- ^ Laidler, Peter (2000). The Sten Machine Gun. Ontario: Collector Grade Publications. pp. 363–364. ISBN 978-0-88935-259-9.
- ^ Ian Hay (Maj.-Gen. John Hay Beith, CBE, MC) (1949). R.O.F. The Story of the Royal Ordnance Factories, 1939–1948. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
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