Sten Mk V
Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield · Submachine Gun · Out Of Production · 1944
Also known as: Sten Mk 5, Sten Machine Carbine Mk V, Sten Mark V
Overview
The Sten Mk V is the higher-quality wartime development of the British Sten submachine gun, introduced in 1944. Built to a better standard than the austere Mk II, it added a wooden stock, a wooden pistol grip, an early wooden vertical fore grip, a bayonet lug to mount the No. 4 rifle spike bayonet, and a No. 4 Lee-Enfield-pattern post foresight. It retained the simple 9x19mm blowback action firing from an open bolt and the side-mounted 32-round magazine.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3860 g (136.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 762 mm (30.00") |
| Barrel Length | 198 mm (7.80") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 32 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 365 m/s (1198 fps) |
| Effective Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 600 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Cocking Handle Safety Notch
- Features: Wooden Stock, Wooden Pistol Grip, Wooden Fore Grip, Bayonet Lug, No4 Lee Enfield Foresight
Base model
Service history
Operators
- British Army · adopted 1944 · as Sten Machine Carbine Mk V
- British Airborne Forces · adopted 1944
Conflicts
- World War II (1944-1945)
- Korean War (1950-1953)
Production
Production years: 1944-1945
Better-finished and more expensive than the Mk II; produced in large quantities for the latter part of the war
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Designer: Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold J. Turpin
Discontinued: 1953
Notes
Issued in large numbers to British airborne forces and used prominently at Arnhem and in the final campaigns of the Second World War. The vertical wooden fore grip was deleted on later production examples.
Background
The Mk V was the Sten cleaned up for the airborne: wooden furniture, a proper pistol grip, and a lug to take the same spike bayonet as the Lee-Enfield rifle. Paratroopers carried it at Arnhem in 1944, where the otherwise crude Sten finally looked like a respectable weapon.