Valkyrie :

You are correct about the STEN being designed to make use of the tons of 9mm rounds captured in North Africa. The Browning Hi Power pistol was designed long before the start of WW2, so that was just a happy co-incidence. The 9mm round was and is a pistol round, so it has a slower muzzle velocity and more limited "effective range " than a rifle bullet does. Effective range is defined as the distance at which " it will seriously wound or kill the enemy ". The Sten is effective out to about 100 feet, thats all.

The 9mm pistol is a "last chance " weapon on the battle field. I know bcause I carried one for years as a Canadian Forces M.P. from 1966 to my retirement in 1996.

Given my choice, in a WW2 battle, I'd have taken the Lee Enfield mark four 303 rifle any day, with the Bren a close second . Tough and accurate, with a smooth bolt system , and a choice of reloading 10 round mags or 5 round stripper clips, it was hard to break and easy to maintain. Leaf ladder sights that went out to 600 yards and reliable extraction and feed mechanisms, made the LEE ENFIELD 303 the standard rifle of the British and Commonwealth forces from 1895, to the late 50's. Still in use around the world in civil wars and minor scuffles, and being made TODAY by the gun smiths in local bazzars in Afghanistan , to sell to the buyers who can't afford a AK or SKS.

A few tips about the STEN SMG, from a long time user.

Don't put your pinky finger of your left hand near the ejection port , it hurts like hell when the hot brass comes flying out to the right side. Never carry it cocked, the safety selector is easy to knock off into single shot mode. Because of it's design, with a blow back bolt system of recocking, when you do pull the trigger, the bolt flies forward, changing the balance of the weapon , to the front. So be ready for that . Only fire two or three rounds at a time, otherwise the weapon "climbs up and to the right " off target. Never load the mag with the 30 rounds that the book says it can hold. That will reward you with endless "jams " and hard extractions, due to the feed lip of the mag not being well seated in the body of the weapon, plus the magazine springs will break, after a while, if the full 30 rounds are stuffed into them .

Much better to only load 27 rounds or so to avoid problems, and NEVER do the Rambo idiot thingy , and try to tape two mags together, end for end. That only gets dirt and crap in the mag's feed mouth and guess what? Jams result and that can really ruin you whole day on the battlefield.

The Browning 9 mm is a really heavy and bulky pistol, and it's ONLY saving grace is it's 13 round mag capacity. BUT as I said, if that hunk of 9mm iron is the only weapon you have with you..................

Start praying young soldier, you are truely in deep doo doo.

One final word about the "effective range " of the 303 round. It can still KILL you at 5,280 feet, which is ONE MILE.

Machine guns, such as the Vickers 303 were used as a form of "light artillery " in WW2 to harass and kill rear area Germans, who thought they were "safe and out of the line of fire. ". Firing on preset lines and elevations , at night, they were a constant irritation to the Nazis who were trying to move about and resupply their lines with ammo food and water. Map refferences and grid numbers would be set up during the day, by the artillery FOO 's ( Forward Observation Officer ) who gave the fire missions to the heavy MG's of the support company to work on, in the dark. Firing over a hill or at a distant rear area road junction, that was completely out of sight, was commonplace in those days.

20 to 30 rounds were fired as a burst, then a pause, then some more rounds on that target , then a shift to another target , all night long, firing as much as 15,000 rounds per gun per night, with 8 guns in a support company battery, spread out along the front of the Battalions positions.

That certainly discouraged Fritzy from being too active at night, and the noise of the MG's helped to cover the departure of our fighting patrols, as they went out to try to snatch a prisoner, or do a 24 hour "hide out " at a observation post near the other guy's lines. The Canadians were famous for night time attacks , and keeping the other guys off balance.

Jim Bunting. Toronto.