Sten MkI & MkI*: The Original Plumber's Nightmare
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Published 2024-05-22
weaponsandwar.tv
The Sten gun was designed by RSAF Senior Draftsman (sorry, Draughtsman) Harold Turpin in December, 1940. He sketched out a simple trigger mechanism on December 2, showed it to Major Reginald Shepherd the next day, and then finished out the rest of the submachine gun design that week. The first prototype gun was completed on January 8, 1941 and it was tested by the Small Arms School that same month. The design was approved for production (alongside the Lanchester) March 7th, 1941 and the first of 300,000 Sten MkI guns was delivered to the British military on October 21, 1941. The MkI and MkI* Stens were all manufactured by the Singer sewing machine company in Glasgow, with three contracts for 100,000 guns each issued in 1941.
The Sten was the British response to a dire need for a large number of cheap infantry weapons, and it served that purpose well. The MkI was quickly followed by a somewhat simplified MkI*, which discarded the unnecessary flash cone and the wooden front grip. An even simpler MkII optimized for mass production followed, along with a MkIII. As the end of the war approached the MkV was introduced which had much improved handling, and it would remain in service until the 1950s, when it was finally supplanted by the Sterling.
Many thanks to the Royal Armouries for allowing me to film and disassemble these rare submachine guns! The NFC collection there - perhaps the best military small arms collection in Western Europe - is available by appointment to researchers:
royalarmouries.org/research/national-firearms-cent…
You can browse the various Armouries collections online here:
royalarmouries.org/collection/
utreon.com/c/forgottenweapons/
www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
www.floatplane.com/channel/ForgottenWeapons
Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! shop.forgottenweapons.com
All Comments (21)
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"I've had an amazing idea at the pub, now I'm going back to my shed to cobble together a prototype." - Every British inventor.
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I met Turpin several times in the 1960-1970's he was a member of the Chingford and District model engineering club, he made model live steam locomotives in his home workshop, in Enfield.
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imagine being promised an ''improved Lanchester'' only to get a partially skeletonized toob
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Wanting 100,000 guns after the first prototype had just fired 100 rounds speaks to severe desperation
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War time small arms procurement officer, "Still too bloody complicated, simplify it! "
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That muzzle device doubles as a shovel. You can even step on the mag well for extra leverage .
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In Vietnam in 1969, I had a Singer 1911A1. If I had known about the rarity of these weapons back then, I would have swiped it from the Army. It ran beautifully, even though it had a weaker recoil spring. I used a Thompson as a 'truck' gun. It was missing the shoulder stock, but it was a joy to shoot. I was the unit armorer for an Air Cav troop. Got to examine many strange weapons captured from the Viet Cong, who used whatever they could find ammo for. Interesting times in another world...
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Good Cop: Hey would you like a friendly arms contract? Singer: Um not really? Bad cop: Too bad!
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A manual explains that the single shot function was to reduce ammunition use when used to suppress enemy fire (ie rather than when a specific target was aimed at) but also to hide the presence of automatic fire capacity which would be called upon when the enemy leaves cover to advance whereupon the carbine is used in automatic fire. B*ggered if I can find the reference to the manual which I read but this was dated 1944.
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It's great to see you're in the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK which houses thousands of iconic weapons throughout history!
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I sew for a living and i listen to your videos while i am working because i love hearing about the history of different firearms and ive always thought the same people who make sewing machines must be the same people that make machine guns. Both have a ton of moving parts that move lighting fast and consistently work together.
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Singer executives in the US: we'd rather not get involved in your nastiness. Britain: do you think we give a fuck what you want?
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It’s 8am, there is no better time to learn about guns. Thanks forgotten weapons
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Singer:"Are the guns at least good?" British:"I mean, they work."
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IIRC, we Aussies were paying $320US or so per Thompson kit in 1940. That's about $7000 today!
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We should be able to get STEN's on the NHS. It would make me feel better anyway.
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If the Thompson is the Chicago typewriter, then the STEN is the British sewing machine
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I’ve always loved the Sten gun.
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My dad fired a Sten in WWII, he said it was a great way to fill a room with lead.
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Love the fact that a toy manufacturer, Line Brothers, took bare-bones design and made it even simpler, quicker, and cheaper to mass produce.
