Sten Submachine Gun

[TheLuigiNoidMan 129]

In the Second World War, Europe was wholly unprepared for Germany's invasions, and after the fall of France in 1940, it was immediately apparent to Great Britain that they wouldn't be able to sustain the war against Germany in their current state. As a result, many reforms and decisions were made to prepare the country for direct invasion, including the designation of emergency submachine guns.

Among these designs was the STEN submachine gun, its name being an acronym of its designers and manufacturing company. It would soon become an iconic weapon for British forces in the war, seeing various changes and revisions from 1940 to 1945. Initially, emergency SMGs like the STEN were meant to replace the expensive Thompson Submachine Gun in service, which led to the initial STEN Mk. I.

It featured a firerate of around 500 RPM and fired in 9mm Parabellum, and while it was one of the only firearms at that time with a folding vertical grip, it was also one of the only firearms with a wireframe stock, which was indicative of Britain's desperate situation. Despite being a step in the right direction, it was still a complicated design that wasn't simple enough to be manufactured quickly and cheaply in high capacity, leading to the improved Mk. II.

Despite its contrasting differences to the Mk. I, the Mk. II is immediately the most recognizable variant of the STEN due to being the most highly produced variant throughout the entire war, improving issues with the Mk. I by being extremely cheap and easy to manufacture. However, it still had its problems, being more uncomfortable to handle due to lack of a suitable handguard, and its dirt cheap quality made it extremely vulnerable to malfunction. Despite this, it would persevere as a symbol of British efforts in the war.

Eventually, the Mk. III was introduced, further simplifying the STEN design. However, despite being the second-most produced variant, it wasn't any better than the Mk. II in service, which naturally kept it out of the spotlight.

While a Mk. IV variant was designed, featuring a built-in folding stock, wireframe pistol grip, and shorter barrel, it was barely manufactured due to even less practicality or effectiveness in combat, which was practically a no-go for a gun that was already somewhat ineffective. Instead, the Mk. V would be the final variant to enter service during WW2.

Ultimately, this was the most suitable design of the entire war, as its late development meant that Britain was no longer as desperate for SMGs as they had been at the beginning of the war. It featured a wooden buttstock and grip, with an attached vertical grip in some instances. Because of its unrushed development, its the most practical variant through design quality alone.

This Modelbench creation has all of these details combined into a singular model, and I highly recommend mixing and matching these details to create your own version of the STEN. With this entire history lesson out of the way, I now give you the download by clicking here!