The Sten Gun: 22 (Weapon)

Like all the books in this series, well written with a good mixture of historical context and technical info.

This is a very good book from Osprey about the Sten Gun. There is a larger and most likely better book called the "Sten Machine Carbine", which also serves as a primary source for this book. But I am not actually a big fan of the Sten, I just wanted a quick overview of the Sten Gun, and like many Osprey Weapon books, this one does a great job at that.

An excellent book at the price. There is a much more expensive book which I was not prepared to buy and this gave me all the information I wanted. Prompt delivery and well packed.

very interesting view on an iconic WWII weapon, definitely recommended if you like small arms and Military History in general

Very useful. Represents a great piece of research. Uniform with other weapons volumes in the series.

Excellent detail with a detailed history of the development of the weapon. Supported by photographs and diagrams a useful publication.

Good read. Very informative.

Something is better than nothing, sooner than later, more than less, cheaper than dear. The brutal reasoning that prevails in an emergency is set out. The necessity for proper training and attention to correct handling is emphasised. Weights of arms are detailed but not of magazines, loading tools, cleaning equipment or man-loads. Intriguing note about the possible adoption of the M1 Garand and the rationale for not doing so. Not worth the cover price but at discount ... ?

This weapon was born out of desperation, and is often talked of very negatively. This book sets a lot of that straight, here covering the negative reviews of many users for its cheapness and outright danger it can pose to its own users, as well as the positivity for its same cheapness, light weight, produce ability and common cartridge choice. Although the M3 Grease gun that was more or less inspired by this weapon, and is arguably less cheaply made and more reliable, it gets a worse rep somehow, and I think it comes down to the fact that American soldiers had previously been fitted out with the Thompson, a heavy and very well made weapon, that the M3 didn’t compare well to in most regards. On the contrary, the average British soldier didn’t have much else that was common to compare it to, most regular units never had a SMG at all to begin with so after some hesitation they would be thankful for its light weight and close range firepower. The book is very well written, better than the M3 book by the same author, and uses many first hand accounts of the weapon that actually explain characteristics and opinions of the weapon at the same time. There’s lots of good photos and artwork, and it’s briefly compared to other similar guns, although I would have liked this to be more in depth. It was the right gun for the time regardless of its issues, and came into its own with the Mk V variant, after the overly cheap Mk III was discontinued. It’s a very diverse story to cover, with lots of interesting history.

Something that is usually left out of the contemporary gun control debate is the observation that guns are simple devices.After the evacuation of Dunkirk the British were desperate for small arms to equip the Home Guard. A number of stop-gap measures were used such as the program whereby civilian owned weapons in the United States were donated to the British armed forces. However perhaps the most effective program was the design of a cheap and simple fully automatic "machine carbine", the STEN gun.In a manner that was similar to the production of the Mosquito Fighter-Bomber, STEN guns were designed specifically to use components that could be made in home workshops so as to minimize the impact on dedicated arms production facilities. Basically constructed of a few pieces of pipe, components for the STEN were produced on kitchen tables all over the UK. Something like 30,000 very small "workshops" produced the components which were then assembled at centralized armories into functioning weapons. In this way several MILLION STEN guns were constructed in just a few months.The STEN was also designed to use the 9mm Luger cartridge in order to allow partisan forces to fire captured German ammunition. Several hundred STENS were produced in various occupied European countries right under the noses of the Germans.While it was designed and built in a hurry the STEN gun was an effective weapon that remained in service for a long time. My Uncle told me that he used one while he was in the RAF in the 1950s.Whenever modern gun control advocates talk about the need to remove guns from society I just laugh at their naivete and tell them about the STEN gun, a weapon that was produced in civilian homes all over Britain at a time when that nation was in dire peril. I hope the British people never have the need to produce STEN guns again...

Facing the imminent threat of a German invasion in 1940, with much of the British Army's best equipment left behind in the evacuation from Dunkirk, Britain needed weapons, fast. One solution: the Sten gun, a simple submachine gun with a few easily made parts and a common ammunition caliber. The Sten Gun would stay on active service for a half a century and many wars; this is its story."The Sten Gun" is an Osprey Weapon Series book by Leroy Thompson, with illustrations by Mark Stacey and Alan Gilliland. The narrative covers the development of the Sten, its use in combat, especially in World War II, and its impact as a gap-filler of a weapon with a long service life. The text is nicely supported with a good selection of period photographs, modern illustrations, and weapons diagrams. The evaluation of the Sten is even-handed, especially with respect to the number of jams and accidents associated with its use. On the other hand, its long service life is rightly taken as proof of its utility. Recommended as a good introduction to the topic.

Very historically sound. Not a lot on the technical side. I find all the books in this series to be quite informative and interesting.

I purchased this book basically because of the controversy that surrounded this weapon. For once the development of the weapon wasn't as boring as I have found with others books of this series. The most interesting part of the book was its use in the hands of soldiers during the war. After reading the stories about the gun, I came to two conclusions, 1, Officers seemed to be the biggest complainers of the weapon, and I put it down to that probably they were the worst at maintaining the gun. 2. That the enlisted man had better results with the gun, but only if they had been trained on it. The accidental discharges related in the book usually mentioned that the user was unfamiliar with the weapon.