The STEN is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production cost, facilitating mass production to meet the demand for submachine guns.
A Sten MK II
Sten Mk II magazine insert.
Worker posing with a Sten Mk II in the factory on 26 May 1942.
Soldiers of Durham Light Infantry with a Sten Mk III.
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automatic firearm with notably less firepower than a machine gun. As a machine gun must fire rifle cartridges to be classified as such, submachine guns are not considered machine guns.
A Mini Uzi and a Heckler & Koch MP5K, two common submachine guns
Artillery Luger P08 pistol with snail-drum magazine and removable stock.
The FIAT Mod.1915 is considered by some to be the first submachinegun.
A Standschütze Hellriegel M1915, the first submachinegun with a buttstock, seen here with stick and drum magazines
