Sten MKV

Description

The STEN (an acronym of designers Shepherd, Turpin & Enfield) is a British made Submachine Gun first used in World War II by all commonwealth forces and remained in service with the British Army until the Suez Crisis in 1956. It is chambered for 9mm ammunition and is fed by means of a 32 round stick magazine that is fitted to the left hand side.

Earlier models were introduced in 1941 after the British Army needed to rapidly replace the tens of thousands of weapons lost on the beaches of Dunkirk. It was cheap and more importantly with an impending German invasion, incredibly quick to manufacture. Their compact design also allowed them to be dropped in their thousands to resistance forces all over occupied Europe, who also learnt to manufacture their own.

The Mk V was introduced in 1944 and predominantly issued to British Paratroopers and Special Forces. It is a much improved version of the Mk II, with upgrades such as a wooden stock, pistol grip and foregrip (the foregrip was discontinued after 1945) and a bayonet mount which could accept a No4 Lee-Enfield spike bayonet. It also utilized the rifles foresight for improved accuracy.

Having been produced in such high numbers and having seen service in so many theaters of operations during WW2, post war, amongst the chaos of the repatriations and clean-ups, weapons such as this readily found themselves in the hands of the criminal underworld and paramilitaries. Their presence in these organizations would last for decades and even today the odd example still appears in an obscure civil war or police seizure.