The STEN Mk V appeared in 1944 and bought back use of the pistol grip and a full shoulder stock as well as mounting for a service rifle bayonet for close-quarters work. This was all in an attempt to make the STEN MK V a more favorable weapon to British troopers who held a certain disdain for the basic appearance of the original STEN guns. Machining was properly fine-tuned and finishing details returned along the production lines. Changes incorporated a wooden pistol grip, forward grip and wooden butt which made it more akin to other acceptable submachine gun types around the world. The front sight was lifted from the No. 4 service rifles and support for the standard British field bayonet was included. While intended as an improvement over the STEN Mk II series, the Mk V came in weighing heavier thanks to its additional wood furniture and the magazine feed issues persisted while the forward hand grip was prone to breaking off in the heat of battle (the foregrip eventually dropped from production).
The STEN Mk VI became the silenced version of the Mk V. The silencer assembly was the same as featured in the STEN Mk IIS while the internals and frame were retained from the Mk V. Few of this form saw service.
Despite entering operational service in 1941, the STEN was not used in direct-enemy combat until 1942 when British and Allied elements (largely Canadian) participated in the disastrous Dieppe amphibious assault on August 12th. Losses included 3,367 Canadians along with 275 British special forces elements to the German's 311 KIA. While the assault was a complete failure for the Allies and a resounding victory for the Germans, the STEN gun was a proven commodity under battlefield conditions. The Dieppe Raid also served as a launching point to the heralded D-Day invasion landings of Normandy in North France of June 1944.
In practice, initial British impressions were mixed for the utilitarian finish and outward appearance of the weapon left much to be desired. It was only in consistent operational service that the STEN family shined, capable of rough in-the-field service and adequate reliability while providing voluminous fire from a relatively easy-to-handle frame. The STEN did suffer from lingering misfeeds which led to jamming, an issue with the family that was never wholly resolved in all of the war. A full 32-count magazine was capable of producing this effect which led to many service members utilizing only 30 rounds (less pressure on the magazine spring). Additionally, the heat of battle saw operators making use of the side-protruding magazine as a forward grip to which, with enough tight pressure, could unseat the magazine from its feed, causing a jam at the worse possible moment. As such, operators were generally taught the proper method of holding their STENS which involved the support hand under the barrel heat shield with the magazine resting on the bent supporting arm, the butt against the shoulder and the primary hand at the trigger area as normal.
By 1945, over 4 million STEN guns had been manufactured in its various production marks. The weapon saw use beyond that of organized military establishments for they proved equally popular with partisan movements, rebel groups and individuals requiring high-volume fire from a compact package. They certainly made for excellent urban fighting guns where space was limited and the weapon could also be hauled with ease through forest terrain without fear of snagging. The simplicity of the STEN's overall design meant that it could be taken apart into its basic components, transported under the nose of enemy authorities and reassembled as needed, made ready to fire within minutes.
The German concern of Mauser locally-produced STEN Mk II guns as exact copies (complete with English markings) for possible use by special operatives. Some 28,000 were produced under the name of "Gerat Potsdam". A cheaper, late-war alternative appeared in 1945 as the "MP 3008" of which 10,000 examples were produced by various entities for arming the general populace and defense forces in the final battle of Germany/Berlin against the impending Allied invasion.
STEN submachine guns lasted into the 1960s and were, in British service, replaced by the Sterling series. STENs elsewhere persisted much longer and saw war throughout the various conflicts of the Cold War - including both the Korean War and the Vietnam War as well as the Indo-Pak wars. The STEN also saw various production forms emerge from developing/reconstructing countries in the post-war years including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, Norway, Denmark and Poland among others - each noted with their own respective designations. Also consider that the weapon was produced by various underground movements during the years of occupation.
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