A brace of smg's
a brace of smg's picked at the Preston arms fair this Sunday just gone... The first one is quite interesting, and I didn't even bother checking it over before I made the purchase. It is a rather worn example of the STEN MkV with virtually no finish left at all. It wasn't until I got it home and examined it properly that I realised that it might be a fairly rare example. This particular gun was made at the ROF at Theale, Berkshire... and the fact that it is stamped 'V' over the top of 'STEN MK 11' shows that it is one of the guns made between February and October 1944. The serial number is also quite low... 4790, in fact I have never seen a number that low on a STEN. Although the butt is non-matching, that is also a low serial number... 5346, and has the correct brass rifle butt plate of the early models. I'm unsure if the foregrip is original, but when removed, the metal band seems to have been part of the gun for a very long time. There are very few markings on the weapon, and disregarding the buttstock... the serial number is only marked on the magazine housing. The foregrip was discontinued after June 1945, as there was a tendency for it to weaken the barrel locking nut through the pressure applied to the grip. Click on pictures (twice) to enlarge.
The second gun is a bit more modern... although of a WW2 design. It is the Polish manufactured PPs43... dated 1953, and in excellent condition with virtually all original finish intact.
Cheers,
Steve
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