World War II Database

Country of Origin	Australia
Type	Submachine Gun
Caliber	9.000 mm
Capacity	30 rounds
Length	552.000 mm
Barrel Length	198.000 mm
Weight	3.980 kg
Rate of Fire	500 rounds/min
Muzzle Velocity	366 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseDerived from the British Sten submachine gun design, the Austen, abbreviated from "Australian Sten", was produced locally in Australia as Britain, embroiled in war, was unable to sell Australia ample quantities of small arms. The barrel, receiver, and trigger mechanism of the Austen design were copied from the Sten design, while the folding stock and bolt, with separate firing pin and telescopic cover over the return spring, were copied from the German MP40 design. The weapon had a selective-fire feature that allowed either single shots or fully automatic firing. The design also featured two pistol grips. Between 1942 and 1944, 20,114 examples were built (19,914 Mark I, 200 Mark II) by two Australian manufacturers, Diecasters Limited of Melbourne and W. T. Carmichael Limited of Sydney. The Austen submachine guns were declared obsolete in Aug 1946.

Source: Wikipedia ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Jul 2022

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