Mark II Sten Machine Carbine

**HistoryNutter** · 04-01-2012, 06:21 PM

Hi here are pictures of my deactivated Sten Mark II.

I wonder if anyone can help with a few queries I have about it.

What would be the date of manufacture of this Sten? I believe the screws on the trigger guard tie it down to October 1941 to April 1942- is this correct?

Also the marking on both sides of the Sten trigger mechanism appears to be Broad Arrow 'C.F.' or 'C.R' (the die appears to be worn). Does anyone know what they signify- possible Government Owership marks?

Also there appears to be a non-regulation safety applied- this is made out some pipe junction sections (?) and an engineers slip, which prevents the bolt being knocked backwards by a jolt causing a unwanted discharge. This was presumably installed by a unit armourer (?) prior to the change in bolt design to encorporate a built in safety.

My question is has anyone seen one of these before, or have any information about such a alteration? And when was the modified bolt brought out as I presume as above it must have been done before this date?

Cheers, Ken

**m3bobby** · 04-02-2012, 09:54 PM

Hi Ken, to answer a few questions for you

What would be the date of manufacture of this Sten? I believe the screws on the trigger guard tie it down to October 1941 to April 1942- is this correct?

Yes, thats correct but it would be pretty much impossible to pin it down unless you started gathering serial number ranges.

Also the marking on both sides of the Sten trigger mechanism appears to be Broad Arrow 'C.F.' or 'C.R' (the die appears to be worn). Does anyone know what they signify- possible Government Owership marks?

That is a manufacturers stamp, I'll have a look in my lists, they will have made the trigger housing only.

Also there appears to be a non-regulation safety applied- this is made out some pipe junction sections (?) and an engineers slip, which prevents the bolt being knocked backwards by a jolt causing a unwanted discharge. This was presumably installed by a unit armourer (?) prior to the change in bolt design to encorporate a built in safety.

I've seen this on a number of Mk2 and Mk3 STENs, I have a hunch its of Indian origin but I can't be 100% sure (Photo attached)

And when was the modified bolt brought out as I presume as above it must have been done before this date?

I think it was mid 1944 when the MkV STEN was introduced, its the bolt handle thats modified rather than the Bolt.

**HistoryNutter** · 04-03-2012, 07:39 PM

Thanks a lot thats brilliant. The Sten was used extensively in the Far East, I think. I could not find any pictures of this safety modification but thats good it is a known thing- the armourer must have done a batch/several batches. Perhaps the Indian Army may have had more lee-way for altering/producing new kit than BEF/BLA.

Kind Regards and Many Thanks, Ken

**m3bobby** · 04-03-2012, 08:47 PM

I forgot to mention that the magazine is a Indian mag or should I say a Indian converted mag. The original mag was a double stack single feed but the Indians converted their mags to single stack single feed by adding two brass rods to the inside to create a central stack. You can see where the two rods fit the mag body by looking at the bottom inch of the mag and there they are.

**sniperjohn** · 04-03-2012, 10:54 PM

i like to get one in semi-auto

**HistoryNutter** · 04-04-2012, 08:22 PM

I did not realise the Sten magazine was anything abnormal- its the only one i've got. I did not think the mag itself may be of interest. I presume that this means the feed is much more reliable- do you know if this affected capacity? (I've only got a few inert rounds). So it looks like the Indian Army sorted out the two main flaws of the Sten gun- gave it a proper safety and sorted out the feed issues.

Here are some photos- you can see where the ribs are on the inside and fixed on the outside. Made by Lines Brothers originally.