Sten Gun

The Sten was a British 9 millimeter submachine gun produced by the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield and several other British and Commonwealth manufacturers, entering service with British and Commonwealth forces in 1941. Its name is an acronym drawn from the surnames of its chief designers, Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold J. Turpin, combined with En for the Enfield factory where it was developed. The weapon was designed above all for speed and cheapness of manufacture during a period of severe wartime shortages, and a Sten cost roughly eleven dollars to produce, compared with about two hundred dollars for the American Thompson submachine gun in 1939, allowing Britain to arm large numbers of troops and resistance fighters quickly. Despite a reputation for rough finish and occasional unreliability, several million Stens were produced and issued throughout the Second World War, including clandestine drops to European resistance movements.