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Sten
The Sten is a British designed submachine gun manufactured in a number of variants (know as Marks or simply Mks) during the Second World War. The official designation was "Carbine, Machine, Sten" which is due to the British term for what we would now call submachine guns being "Machine Carbine" at the start of the war. It was notable for its very simple design and consequently low production costs which made it an ideal weapon for supplying resistance groups. In total approximately 4.5 million Stens were produced, over 2 million of which were the Mark II, which is the iconic Sten gun. Using the same magazines as the MP40, the Sten is subject to similar errors; the common habit in fiction of using the magazine as a sidegrip would in real life result in damage to the feed lips of the magazine, and the videogame habit of fully loading the magazine would result in spring failures; like the MP40, soldiers experienced in using the Sten would typically load magazines with 30 or 28 rounds rather than 32.
Specifications
- Weight: 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) (Mk. II)
- Length: 760 mm (29.9 in)
- Barrel length: 196 mm (7.7 in)
- Cartridge: 9x19mm Parabellum
- Action: Blowback-operated, Open bolt
- Rate of fire: Version dependent; ~500 round/min
- Muzzle velocity: 365 m/s (1,198 ft/s)
- Effective range: 300 m
- Feed system: 32-rd detachable box magazine
- Sights: fixed peep rear, post front
The Sten submachine gun has appeared in the following films and video games used by the following actors:
Sten Mk I*
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. No | Henchmen | w/ T-strutt stock | 1962 | |
| 633 Squadron | Norwegian Resistance fighters | 1964 | ||
| Aphaville | 1965 | |||
| The War Game | British police | 1965 | ||
| Max Manus: Man of War | Aksel Hennie | Max Manus | 2008 | |
| Max Manus: Man of War | Christian Rubeck | Kolbein Lauring | 2008 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who | Kaled Scientific Elite | "Genesis of the Daleks", w/ strutt stock | 1963 – 1989 | |
| Ian Marter | Harry Sullivan | |||
| Dennis Chinnery | Gharman | |||
| Tom Georgeson | Kavell |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akira | Resistance fighter | 1987 |
Sten Mk II
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Partisan (Malý partyzán) | Josef Šlosar | Jenda Hanuš | 1950 | |
| Czechoslovak soldiers and partisans | ||||
| Attention! Bandits! (Achtung! Banditi!) | Giuliano Montaldo | Lorenzo | 1951 | |
| Franco Bologna | "Cat" | |||
| Italian partisans and fascist policemen | ||||
| The Bridge on the River Kwai | Jack Hawkins | Major Warden | Canadian model | 1957 |
| William Holden | Commander Shears | |||
| Geoffrey Horne | Lt. Joyce | |||
| Kanal | Polish insurgents | 1957 | ||
| Ashes and Diamonds | Adam Pawlikowski | Andrzej | 1958 | |
| The Black Battalion (Cerný prapor) | Zdenek Kryzánek | Ketham | 1958 | |
| French foreign legionaries and VPN soldiers | ||||
| Carve Her Name With Pride | Virginia McKenna | Violette Szabo | Fitted with Mk V front sight | 1958 |
| Never So Few | Frank Sinatra | Capt. Tom Reynolds | 1959 | |
| Richard Johnson | Capt. Danny De Mortimer | |||
| Philip Ahn | Nautaung | |||
| Burmese soldiers | ||||
| Breathless | Police officer | 1960 | ||
| The Guns of Navarone | Anthony Quinn | Andrea Stavros | Prop weapon using natural gas to create muzzle flash. Appears to be built on a Mk II with the barrel sawn off nearly to the shroud. | 1961 |
| James Darren | Spyros Pappadimos | |||
| Bob Simmons | German Officer | |||
| Konga | British soldiers | 1961 | ||
| The Longest Day | Richard Todd | British Airborne Major John Howard | 1962 | |
| Behold a Pale Horse | Gregory Peck | Manuel Artiguez | 1964 | |
| Fantômas | Louis de Funès | Fantômas | 1964 | |
| Henri Attal | The bodyguard of Fantômas | |||
| French Gendarmers | ||||
| The Assassination (Atentát) | Radoslav Brzobohatý | 1st Lt. Král | Canadian model | 1964 |
| Rudolf Jelínek | Sgt. Strnad | |||
| Ladislav Mrkvicka | Sgt. Vyskocil | |||
| Jirí Kodet | Sgt. Tousek | |||
| 008: Operation Exterminate | Alberto Lupo | Frank Smith, agent 606 | Continuity mistake | 1965 |
| Thugs | ||||
| Battle of the Bulge | American soldier | 1965 | ||
| The Heroes of Telemark | Richard Harris | Knut Straud | 1965 | |
| OSS 117: Mission for a Killer (Furia à Bahia pour OSS 117) | The Nazis and Indians | 1965 | ||
| Fantômas se déchaîne | Jean Marais | Fandor | 1965 | |
| The Last Adventure | The Henchman | Canadian model | 1967 | |
| Fantômas se déchaîne | Jean Marais | Fandor | 1965 | |
| How I Won the War | Michael Crawford | Lt. Earnest Goodbody | 1967 | |
| The Cobra | Henchmen | 1967 | ||
| You Only Live Twice | Spectre Guards | w/ Mk V front sight | 1967 | |
| Play Dirty | British soldiers | Canadian model | 1969 | |
| Mr. Freedom | Freedom agent | 1969 | ||
| Machine Gun McCain | John Cassavetes | Hank McCain | 1969 | |
| How I Unleashed World War II | Lech Ordon | Sgt. Hopkins | 1970 | |
| English soldiers and Polish partisans | ||||
| No Way Out | Mafia hitmen | 1973 | ||
| Sokolovo | Jozef Gabčík | 1974 | ||
| The Terrorists | Commandos | 1974 | ||
| Sholay | 1975 | |||
| The Old Gun (Le vieux fusil) | French Maquis | 1975 | ||
| Cop Story (Flic Story) | Renato Salvatori | Mario le Rital | Canadian model | 1975 |
| Deathcheaters | Henchmen | 1976 | ||
| The Eagle Has Landed | Michael Caine | Oberst Kurt Steiner | Canadian model | 1976 |
| Siegfried Rauch | Sergeant Major Brandt | |||
| Sven-Bertil Taube | Hauptmann Von Neustadt | |||
| German Paratroopers | ||||
| Soldier of Orange | Jeroen Krabbé | Guus LeJeune | Canadian model | 1977 |
| Rutger Hauer | Erik Lanshof | |||
| Resistance fighters | ||||
| Sorcerer | Guerrilla | 1977 | ||
| The Gang (Le Gang) | Alain Delon | Robert | 1977 | |
| The Gang (Le Gang) | Roland Bertin | Raymond | 1977 | |
| The Gang (Le Gang) | Adalberto Maria Merli | Manu | 1977 | |
| The Gang (Le Gang) | Xavier Depraz | Jo | 1977 | |
| The Inglorious Bastards | French Resistance fighters | 1978 | ||
| Escape to Athena | Greek Resistance fighters | Canadian model | 1979 | |
| Telly Savalas | Zeno | |||
| Claudia Cardinale | Eleana | |||
| Hanover Street | Resistance fighters | 1979 | ||
| The Passage | Resistance fighters | 1979 | ||
| The Hijacking of Savoy (Pokhishchenie Savoi) | 1979 | |||
| Pirates of the XXth Century (Piraty XX veka) | Indian Police | Canadian model | 1979 | |
| Pirates | ||||
| Soviet crewman | ||||
| Gandhi | Gurkha | 1982 | ||
| Copper Angel (Medny angel) | Nikolai Yeryomenko, Jr. | Sebastian Valdes | Canadian Model | 1984 |
| Les Morfalous | Jean-Paul Belmondo | Sgt. Pierre Augagneur | Canadian model | 1984 |
| French Legionaires | ||||
| Top Secret! | 1984 | |||
| Spies Like Us | Mujahideen | 1985 | ||
| Maximum Overdrive | Pat Miller | Joe | Canadian model | 1986 |
| The Sicilian | Derrick Branche | Terranova | 1987 | |
| Sitting on a Branch, Enjoying Myself | The Boys | 1989 | ||
| Return from the River Kwai | Denholm Elliott | Colonel Grayson | With wooden stock | 1989 |
| Outbreak | British mercenary | Canadian model | 1995 | |
| Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | Henchmen | 1999 | ||
| Equilibrium | Resistance fighters | 2002 | ||
| The Pianist | Resistance fighters | Canadian model | 2002 | |
| Reign of Fire | Refugees | 2002 | ||
| El Alamein - The Line of Fire | British soldiers | 2002 | ||
| The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen | Nautilus Crew | Ornately decorated and chrome plated | 2003 | |
| Black Book | Resistance fighters | Canadian model | 2006 | |
| Pan's Labyrinth | Spanish Maquis | 2006 | ||
| Assembly (Ji jie hao) | Quan Ren | Political Officer | Canadian model | 2007 |
| Balls of Fury | Henchmen | 2007 | ||
| Blood Brothers | gangster | 2007 | ||
| Blood Brothers | Chen Chang | Mark | 2007 | |
| Smokin' Aces | Chris Pine | Darwin Tremor | Canadian model | 2007 |
| Female agents | Julien Boisselier | Pierre Desfontaines | Canadian model | 2008 |
| Sophie Marceau | Louise Desfontaines | |||
| French maquists | ||||
| Miracle at St. Anna | Pierfrancesco Favino | Peppi 'The Great Butterfly' Grotta | 2008 | |
| The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Brendan Fraser | Rick O'Connell | 2008 | |
| Max Manus: Man of War | Aksel Hennie | Max Manus | w/ and w/o stock | 2008 |
| Max Manus: Man of War | Nicolai Cleve Broch | Gregers Gram | 2008 | |
| Max Manus: Man of War | Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen | Roy Nilsen | 2008 | |
| The Army of Crime | Xavier Hosten | Cristea | 2009 | |
| Elephant White | in weapons cache, rare version with magazine well on bottom instead of left side of receiver | 2010 | ||
| Captain America: The First Avenger | J. J. Feild | James Montgomery Falsworth | 2011 | |
| Bruno Ricci | Jacques Dernier | |||
| The Flowers of War | Chinese soldiers | modified to resemble Haenel-Schmeisser MP28/II | 2011 | |
| Beyond the Border | 2011 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone | Edward Binns | Col. Bob Donlin | "I Shot An Arrow into the Air" (S1E15) | 1959-1964 |
| Rocket ship crewmen | ||||
| Stawka wieksza niz zycie | Aleksander Sewruk | Polish partisan | 5/ "Ostatnia szansa" | 1966-1968 |
| Stawka wieksza niz zycie | French resistance fighters | 11/ "Haslo" | 1966-1968 | |
| The Unit | Guards | "Paradise Lost" | 2006 - 2009 | |
| Sanctuary | Erin Lacourciere | Jeanette Anaise | "Normandy" (S03E17), Canadian model | 2007 - ???? |
| Vincent Gale | Nigel Griffin | |||
| Guns | Gun show customer | 2008 | ||
| Inspector George Gently | John Kavanagh | Doyle | "The Burning Man" (S01E01) | 2008 |
| Caprica | 2010 | |||
| Deadliest Warrior - Season 1 | Mafia | "Mafia vs. Yakuza", original and Canadian models | 2010 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Jack | "Blue Jacket" Special Forces | Canadian model | 1993 |
| Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade | "Sect" members | 1998 | |
| Strike Witches | Brittannian soldiers | 2008 - ???? |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto: Mission Packs | "Machine Gun" | Canadiant model | 1999 | |
| Hidden & Dangerous | 1999 | |||
| Medal of Honor: Underground | 2000 | |||
| Fallout Tactics | "Sten Gun" | 2001 | ||
| Battlefield: 1942 | "Road to Rome" expansion pack | 2002 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Allied Assault | "Sten Mark II" | w/ Mk V front sight | 30 round magazine | 2002 |
| Medal of Honor: Frontline | Unusable | 2002 | ||
| Forgotten Hope | 2003 | |||
| Hidden & Dangerous 2 | 2003 | |||
| Silent Storm | Canadian model | 2003 | ||
| Call of Duty | "Sten" | 2003 | ||
| Call of Duty: United Offensive | 2004 | |||
| Call of Duty: Finest Hour | 2004 | |||
| Forgotten Hope 2 | 2005 | |||
| Call of Duty 2 | Canadian model | 2005 | ||
| Call of Duty 3 | 2006 | |||
| Company of Heroes | 2006 | |||
| Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 | 2006 | |||
| Call of Duty: World at War (DS) | Allies only | 2008 | ||
| Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts | 2008 | |||
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | World War II flashback mission "Project Nova" | 2010 | ||
| 7554 | "Sten" | 2011 |
Sten Mk IIS
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Guns of Navarone | Maria Papadimos | 1961 | ||
| Fifty Dead Men Walking | w/ wooden stock, seen in news footage | 2008 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return to Castle Wolfenstein | Canadian model w/ Mk II style heatshield | 2001 | ||
| Battlefield: 1942 | "Secret Weapons of WWII" expansion pack | 2002 | ||
| Hidden & Dangerous 2 | 2003 | |||
| Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | 2003 | |||
| Vietcong | Canvas grip removed | "Vietcong: Fist Alpha" expansion pack | 2003 | |
| Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory | Canadian model w/ Mk II style heatshield | 2003 | ||
| Call of Duty: United Offensive | 2004 | |||
| Conflict Vietnam | 2004 | |||
| Forgotten Hope 2 | 2005 | |||
| Vietcong 2 | Found only in second mission | 2005 | ||
| Company of Heroes | Canvas grip removed | 2006 | ||
| Hour of Victory | 2007 | |||
| Operation Thunderstorm | Sten | Canadian model | 2008 | |
| The Saboteur | 2009 |
Sten Mk III
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| If.... | Various | 1968 | ||
| The Year of Living Dangerously | Indonesian soldiers | 1982 | ||
| Farewell To The King | Marius Weyers | Sgt. Conklin | w/ Canadian model stocks | 1989 |
| Wayne Pygram | Bren Armstrong | |||
| Gerry Lopez | Gwai | |||
| Headhunters |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Company | Chris O'Donnell | CIA Officer Jack McAuliffe | 2010 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silent Storm | Regular and fictional silenced variants | 2003 |
Sten Mk IV
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silent Storm | Mk IVA model | 2003 |
Sten Mk V
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where Eagles Dare | Patrick Wymark | Colonel Turner | w/ vertical grip removed | 1968 |
| A Bridge Too Far | British Paratroopers | 1977 | ||
| The Year of Living Dangerously | Indonesian soldiers | 1982 | ||
| Universal Soldier | Terrorist | w/ vertical grip removed | 1992 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Avengers | Roland Curram | Vincent East | 1961 - 1969 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forgotten Hope | 2003 | |||
| Silent Storm | 2003 |
Austen Mk I/II
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Year Of Living Dangerously | various | various | 1982 |
Unknown Variants
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aphaville | 1965 | |||
| Machine Gun McCain | John Cassavetes | Hank McCain | 1969 | |
| Paper Tiger | 1975 | |||
| Search and Destroy | Perry King | Kip Moore | 1979 | |
| Kung Fu Killer | 2008 | |||
| Heroes II | Nathaniel Parker | Lt. Colonel Ivan Lyon | suppressed AUSten Mk.2 | 1991 |
| Heroes II | Mark Lewis Jones | Major Reggie Ingleton | AUSten Mk.2 | 1991 |
| Heroes II | Ian Bolt | Lieutenant Bobby Ross | AUSten Mk.2 | 1991 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monty Python's Flying Circus | 1969 - 1974 | |||
| Bullet in the Head | Leong henchman | 1990 |
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Movies | 2005 | |||
| Metro 2033 | "Bastard" Carbine | Fictional scratch-built compact assault rifle | 2010 |
See Also
- Royal Small Arms Factory - A list of weapons produced by RSAF Enfield