The Sten Gun

Download or read book The Sten Gun written by Leroy Thompson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-09-20 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sten submachine gun – officially the 'Carbine, Machine, Sten' – was developed to fulfill the pressing British need for large quantities of cheaply produced weapons after Dunkirk, when German invasion was a very real possibility. Over four million were built during World War II, and the Sten was widely used by airborne troops, tankers, and others who needed a compact weapon with substantial firepower. It proved especially popular with Resistance fighters as it was easy to conceal, deadly at close range, and could fire captured German ammunition – with a design so simple that Resistance fighters were able to produce them in bicycle shops. Featuring vivid first-hand accounts, specially commissioned full-colour artwork and close-up photographs, this is the fascinating story of the mass-produced submachine gun that provided Allied soldiers and Resistance fighters with devastating close-range firepower.