WITH A NAZI invasion of the United Kingdom all but certain in the summer of 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously vowed that Britons would fight the Axis on the beaches, landing grounds, fields, streets and hills of England. But to do so, the nation would need weapons… and lots of them — weapons like the Sten gun. First dreamed up in the opening months of the war and rushed into production during the Battle of Britain, the Sten was a bargain-basement sub-machine gun that could be produced quickly and in great numbers. The three-kilogram, all-metal weapon fired eight rounds per second from a horizontally-loaded, 32-round magazine. Cleverly chambered for German 9 mm pistol ammunition, the Sten was effective to about 100 meters (300 feet). At the time, each Sten gun cost as little as £2 ($10) to produce – roughly equal to about $130 or £80 today. By comparison, the American M1A1 Thompson went for a staggering $200 per unit in 1940! Ode to a Sten Gun By Gunner. S.N. Teed You wicked piece of vicious tin! Call you a gun? Don’t make me grin. 
 You’re just a bloated piece of pipe. 
 You couldn’t hit a hunk of tripe. But when you’re with me in the night,
 I’ll tell you pal, you’re just alright! Each day I wipe you free of dirt. Your dratted corners tear my shirt. I cuss at you and call you names. 
 You’re much more trouble than my dames. But boy, do I love to hear you yammer, when you spit lead in a business manner. You conceited pile of salvage junk, I think this prowess talk is bunk. 
 Yet, if I want a wall of lead thrown at some Jerry’s head, it is to you I raise my hat. You’re a damn good pal, you silly gat! STEN is an acronym, from the names of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield. The wooden butt model above (MK II Sten) was never serviced, likely due to the cost of producing it.