A Sten in a box! (Not your traditional unboxing video)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- For our #hellletloose series, we fired the sub-machine guns and this included the Sten Mark 2. The example we were loaned was really interesting and came in a very special box with some remarkable accessories. Here's Rich giving it a thorough examination and showing you what was contained in it and how. #notjustvickersmg
Support - / vickersmg
Donate - paypal.me/vick...
And it has a Subuteo field on the other side! What a great case.
Nice reference! Everyone loves a bit of green baize.
Whoever made that case was a real craftsman and the materials are top notch, after 10 years in the foreign hardwood supply industry when I was younger I can confirm that it is made in Brazilian Mahogany, second only to Cuban Mahogany in terms of quality..
That’s interesting. Thanks. The Small Arms Committee Minutes and Ordnance Board proceedings we have on our Patreon often talk about the different woods being used so I wonder if anything matches up with that?
@@vickersmgPossibly, but I think expensive Brazilian Mahogany is probably a little extravagant for an Ordnance supplied item. Also, your Sten case is clearly constructed by a craftsman woodworker which would not be cost effective enough for an Ordnance item, especially given that it holds only one Sten. Most WD or Board of Ordnance supplied weapons cases/boxes that I've seen are little better than strongly made crates, roughly made in softwood (Pine or Deal) to save weight and the fittings, what few there are, are usually only wooden blocks, sometimes with thick felt pads, intended to hold the weapon still within the box.
I think it's reasonable to rule out the case being intended as an official presentation piece, If it were then surely the lower section would have been baize-lined, as for a shotgun case ?.. Also, the rather plain oblong brass 'STEN' plate on the lid is a little TOO plain for a presentation piece and has no room for an engraved dedication..
There is another possibility however, especially if the Nationalist Chinese contract action IS original to the case.. To re-coup the funds from the lost sale (or exploit the already paid-for contract with a resale on top ?..) it's possible that the makers could have offered these Stens to selected Police forces or specialist sections of the Police who might have warranted holding automatic small-arms in their Armouries, such as Scotland Yard, Special Branch,The RUC or possibly even the Royal Hong Kong Police, etc.. If this was the case, (pardon the pun !) due to the relatively small numbers involved I could envisage them being supplied in a specialist case made to this quality in Mahogany, this could also account for the unlined lower section and the workman-like brass 'STEN' designation to the lid..
Anyway that's just one relatively plausible theory, no doubt there will be plenty of others !..
The box would have taken many more hours to produce than the Sten. Hell, the screwdriver would have been more expensive! 😁
It’s very ironic!
One of the nicest Stens I've had the chance to shoot.
It really was!
I got my Sten MKII back in 1990. Mine is a Fazakerly with a wire stock. Great SMG!
Things just always seem nicer when packaged properly. Nice work.
And this seems really nice! Glad you liked the video. Thanks.
What a beautiful peace of history and a fascinating weapon and case set 👏
It certainly is!
That's awesome, wish I could find something like that in the States...
And have it be affordable..
But I'll live vicariously through this video
Yes, given the prices for this sort of thing in the US, it would be be an everyday purchase! Glad you liked the video.
@@vickersmg lol that legitimately made me laugh really hard
Totally normal everyday purchase lol
every gun store and pawn shop sells firearms in nice wooden cases that are better than would be given to a royal
We just use them as firewood lol
Very interesting video. That is the first time I've ever seen a pistol grip for a Sten, I didn't know they existed
Glad you liked the video Gary, and even happier you learnt something from it as that’s what we set out to do.
Gorgeous presentation box. In 1996, my MK4 Sten came as parts in a plastic bag and cardboard box with the receiver cut into 3 pieces.
Thanks you for this and the shooting video. Cheers.
A Mk 4? Interesting! Glad you enjoyed the videos.
Slight correction they were meant to be supplied to the Nationalist Chinese (Kuomintang). The Qing dynasty ended in 1911, with the emperor being deposed.
I thought I’d put some text on the screen correctly that! Oops.
Chinese history can get rather confusing. It goes back a long way, too.
Puyi (the last emperor of the Qing dynasty) became the chife executive of the Japanese pupet state Manchukuo in 1932 (then emperor of Manchukuo from 1934).
70,000 MkII STENs were made to be sent to China, and the Chinese even made a clone in 7.62.
this is a very nice set of boxed sten smg, piece of history
It’s a great item! We’re really pleased to have had the opportunity to work with it.
I would be very pleased if my coworkers presented me with a retirement Sten gun.
Thanks Rich and team, that was really interesting to see.
You’re welcome Derek. Something a little different again.
Interesting markings. And a lot of unusual features. Flanged mags for example. Most are not they just have a half circle cut stop ..and the guns markings Most just say
"STEN M.C. MK # on them and a serial number.. that pistol grip is an oddity to be hooked like that ..most are the other type
The magazines didn’t come with the gun but they are certainly interesting and likely pre-production examples, as is the magazine loader.
It looks like a pattern room thing.
It does but the NFC doesn’t have anything similar so if it was, it’s not the norm.
"Whats up guys today ill be unboxing this fresh new grenade from an anonymous donar, what seems to be weird is that the pin is bought seperatly"
Never seen one in a nice box like that.
We’ve not come across evidence of another one!
@@vickersmg Perhaps it was presented to someone high up?
Chinese characters translate as "sten hand carry machine gun,manufactured in canada"
Good to know!
I had a MK3 really nice gun.
Yeah some of them are very well made.
The Long Branch 7.92 Brens never made it to China. The Bolts from those guns though live on in the L4 Bren in 7.62 NATO. Seems the case heads were close enough to function perfectly with both.
Great video Rich. This strikes me as made up for the sort of firepower demos that Dave Thomas (and you, of course!) do, but in-house MoD. Any old hands from Warminster have any ideas?
Warminster no, but some thoughts on where it could be from that we’re trying to follow up at the moment. More firepower demos to come hopefully and maybe this will make an appearance.
Nice - I wish my Winmag Sten would fire like that. 3 & jam, 3 & jam...🙄
Blankfirer? We had one like that that needs a rebuild at some point. We’re going to make a blank firing barrel for this one too so we can use it on our indoor demonstrations.
@@vickersmg Yes it's a PDH Enterprises example. Very nicely built, but it's not properly bedded in yet and I don't get to fire it often.
@sdg1970 temperamental stuff. Section 5 guns are bad enough on blank!
Have you asked the Keeper if the archives at Leeds have a collection of specialist auction catalogues for the appropriate year?
We had a quick look in their archive catalogue online and they don’t have that sort of thing. It’s quite possible it wasn’t a firearms auction at all as it came without the gun and that would have been regulated by 1975 as well.
@@vickersmgWe do have a lot of auction catalogues of all kinds including militaria, all listed on the library catalogue rather than archives. Or give Stu in the library a bell?
@jonathanferguson1211 will do. Cheers Jonathan. We think we might have narrowed it down a bit more.
@@jonathanferguson1211 It must be a real chore to keep abreast of all the various sales around the UK and Europe just in case there's something that fills a gap in the collection.😉
Interesting, nice sten, well laid out box but having added a turnscrew and leading tool they didn't include a cleaning rod.
Well it's been mentioned elsewhere that a watcher didn't think the screwdriver should be there so perhaps a cleaning rod fits there? One to try.
surely there would have been cradle blocks for the loose piece, if u ask me a collector has either been handy with woodworking or paid a skilled worker to make the case so he could take his pimp sten out to shoot in style.
The space around the barrel cowling does leave some questions unanswered. It’s the only place that fits so maybe something else goes in there too - a sling has been suggested.
Given the lack of firing Sten guns in private ownership here at any point in history, the latter is highly unlikely.
I’m sure you know Churchill had his own Sten, presented to him, which I believe he kept at Chartwell? I think you’re right, this isn’t his! 😊
I shot a Sterling SMG as an ATC cadet. I like to shoot where and when it’s legal to do so and lately have tried WWII firearms.
I was in Poland in January. In the Warsaw Uprising and Polish Army museum, they both have a great collection of British supplied and copied Stens from resistance workshops.
We shot in Krakow and I tried a PPSH. The very professional instructor asked me why I’d wanted to shoot it? I said historic and iconic. He said “it’s a piece of s**t”. I Said, but you don’t have a Sten… never seen listed at any range I’ve shot at, and given they’re ubiquitous, I wondered if it was a safety thing…
David Render, a teenage Tank commander in the Sherwood Rangers appropriated an MP40 as his crew weapon as he didn’t like the Sten. It saved his life on one occasion. His best friend, Harry Heenan was killed when his Sten fell in the turret and went off.
I’ve also seen a Sten in Berlin Unterwelten in among the Red Army and German weapons they recovered from the siege. After some surfing I found that it was likely in German hands. Having the PPSH (believe it or not cheaper to produce!) the red army had no use, and of course Germany also copied the Sten. Ironically, they liked it, particularly because it was easier to fire prone than the aforementioned MP40.
Well if you drop an MP40, they'll go off in the same way a Sten will! One for the testing days I think as we have an MP40 too now.
All of the guns are really interesting to shoot and have their own nuances that we can learn from.
@@vickersmg I’d absolutely defer to your expertise and experience. The best ranges in Europe will give you a bit more safety and handling tuition, but generally the safety is off when they hand you the gun. I have also tried the MP40 in Czechia and was firing off single and coupled rounds on a trigger pull. They told me it was because the bolt was worn, but apparently they only have safety and full auto functions?
The safety on the MKI was very rudimentary, though and it was enough of an issue for them to correct in later marks?
My father loathed stens with a passion. Having one of the magazines blow up in your hands will do that.
Gosh! That sounds terrible. Not a common occurrence though thankfully given the number in service.
Happened to him leaving Oslo.@@vickersmg
A dream gun for me I am a sucker for the plumbers nightmare
Well the Long Branch guns are really well put together it seems. It shot brilliantly.
007 ?
Nice box. It seems a little odd having a Sten in a box that looks as though it cost more than the gun, and cost more. Interesting video though.
Absolutely! It's quite ironic!
If I was a Captain or Major or Colonel in the home guard and was issued a STEN I might have a nice box made for it if I was used to the finer things in life. After serving my time I would hand in my STEN but be left with a really rather nice box. Just a theory but when I served in my countrys equivalent to the home guard I bought a rifle case to keep my gun in. Not as fancy as this but still.
1:32 that's nationalist Chinese, thank you
I thought I’d corrected it on the screen but clearly not. Apologies.
A Sten with Chinese characteristics, as Xi Jingping would say!
Indeed!
not a trade/sales/demo box?
Quite possibly.
Normally when I see stuff like that I assume it to be a presentation piece, presumably made for some foreign dignitary in the hopes of landing a contract. I would be tempted to try to identify the maker of the case and go thru their records to see who commissioned it, the makers who would be able to produce such a relatively high quality case are few and far between and to me this does not look like the work of some hobbyist in his garage.
There aren't any maker markings or marks that would help the non-specialist identify the maker. It's highly unlikely to be a hobbyist.
While the case is nice it's not of an unusual standard for mid century British manufacturing. Carpenters tools came in similar cases, scientific equipment and mechanical tools came in them as well as did socket sets. This is before blow moulded plastic and everything of value came with a nice wooden case. All mass produced.
@zoiders the main point is not the quality, albeit higher than the comparison with the IWM, but the scarceness of a case for a Sten.
Read somewhere they could be manufactured for $7
Definitely cheap! The Mark III was an even cheaper version.
I'm not sure if that cut out is for a screw driver. Its looks the same shape as the sheath of the very short bladed Fairburn Sykes that the SOE issued. 0:14
You said it’s loaned out but by whom exactly as you can’t own that here … sad times
It was loaned to us entirely lawfully from another dealer.
How do we own machine guns in the UK? The answer.
ua-cam.com/video/agMgt_boi8o/v-deo.html
@@vickersmg got any jobs going haha 😆
Always looking for volunteers to get involved and help out. First thing to do is come and visit us near Swindon.
@@vickersmg that’s awesome unfortunately I’m Heathrow way but I’m definitely coming up … you shoot at bisley and so do I so maybe something could work I absolutely love you video and history