Sten MkII's were produced with, primarily, two types of buttstocks. The parts were then re-used in production.
These did not prove strong enough in use and most were later scrapped. At one point, Drawn Over Mandrel (DOM) tubing became scarce and some tubes were made by rolling sheet metal stampings into tubes with integrated trigger housing plates. One problem that came to light during the war was the receiver tube construction. Sometimes a second letter character proceeds the factory ID letter which increased by one letter after each run of 99,999 guns was produced. Rather, Fazakerley guns are prefixed with an "F", BSA guns with a "B" and Theale guns with a "T". Unlike many British firearms, the producer was not explicily marked on the UK-produced Sten guns (as opposed to Longbranch which did mark them). Fazakerley was to be the most prolific producer. Prototypes were also made at RSAF Enfield. In the UK, the guns were made by BSA (starting Sept. The resultant gun would become the Sten MkII, and the first order was placed in August 1941 with Longbranch in Canada for 17,000 guns. In late March 1941, Turpin received a request to modify the Sten for paratrooper use, making it lighter and more compact. A Sten MkI* took 12 hours to manufacture. The MkI* differed in that the wooden forestock was replaced with the now-familiar sheet steel cover and the spoon-billed flash eliminator. ultimately 300,149 would be built including both MkI and MkI* patterns. The Sten MkI was manufactured beginning in March of 1941 by the Singer Sewing Machine Company, Ltd. The sketch still exists today and all Sten guns are still identical to that hand sketch. The basic premise of the Sten was developed in one evening (December 2, 1940) by Harold Turpin when he sketched the trigger and sear mechanism on a scrap of paper. Shepherd, the Sten MkI was superior to the Lanchester in that it was lighter, cheaper and much faster to produce. Designed and championed by Harold John Turpin and Col. The Lanchester was supplanted for non-naval British forces by a more mass produceable submachine gun in the Sten Mk1. Ultimately, only the Royal Navy would deploy the Lanchester in significant numbers. Lanchester, the man tasked with development and production of the gun at the Sterling Armament Company. This "new" submachine gun was given the name Lanchester after George H.
Given the pressing need, the navy decided to join with the RAF in adopting the new weapon, and played a key role in its design. As the development of an entirely new or overly complex weapon was not feasible in a very short timeframe, it was decided to directly copy the German MP28, captured examples of which were reverse-engineered. Initially, the Royal Air Force began to push for some form of submachine gun for airfield defense with a strong preference for a copy of the expensive and difficult to produce German MP38. In 1940, after the set backs of Dunkirk, the British Ministry of Defense began to see the seriousness of the situation in europe and to recognize the value of the submachine gun, which hitherto had been thought of as a classless thug-weapon unworthy of widespread use by the British Tommy. The MP28 brought further refinements after the war, primarily by doing away with the temperamental and difficult to produce snail drum magazine in favor of a much simple box magazine. The Germans, in particular, had put the MP18 to good use with its 9mm parabellum cartridge and 32 round detachable snail drum magazine. The First World War had demonstrated to the world the utility of the submachine gun. Note: Pics of rifle provided courtesy of moderator Claven2.
The Sten Machine Carbine by Peter Laidler (2000) - ISBN: 0-88935-259-3
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