Sten gun

a British light submachine gun.

Also called Sten.

[1940-45; R.V. S(hepherd) + H.J. T(urpin), the designers + En(field), England]

* * *

▪ weapon

in full  Sten Submachine Gun,  

      9-millimetre submachine gun that became the standard such weapon in the British Commonwealth armed forces during World War II. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Sten guns were provided to underground movements everywhere in Europe during that war. The gun was so ubiquitous that its name became all but a generic term for submachine gun. The Sten gun remained in service until the late 1950s.

      The most common version of the Sten gun was 30 inches (76.2 cm) long with a barrel of 7.5 inches (19 cm). It fired at a rate of 550 rounds per minute, and it had a 32-round box magazine that, however, tended to jam if more than 30 rounds were loaded. The butt was a steel frame that, with the barrel, could be removed without difficulty so that the disassembled weapon could be easily hidden. Its weight was just over six pounds (2.7 kg) unloaded.

* * *