There was another common problem encountered in the Mk2 Sten that was not directly related to the design of the magazine. today are the Mk1 variant, with the “witness” holes still open, although most of those examined did have the Mk2 cross brace type followers. The most common Sten magazines found in the U.S. During the FTR process the holes in the rear of the magazines were filled and the followers were replaced with new ones having a cross brace. Many existing Mk1 magazines were upgraded to the Mk2 configuration during Factory Thorough Repair programs (FTR) – the British equivalent of a U.S. The Sten magazine was redesigned as the Mk2 model by eliminating the “witness” holes in the back of magazine and adding a cross brace to the follower. Although a cross brace was used on earlier 50-round Lanchester magazines, designers felt it was unnecessary on the shorter legs of the 32-round magazine’s follower. During extended use, the follower’s legs would sometimes spread apart and drag on the inside of the magazine body, causing a failure to feed malfunction. A second problem was the Mk1 followers without the cross brace. The holes in the rear of the Mk1 magazine allowed water, dirt and other foreign matter to enter the body and jam the follower. Problems with the early Sten magazines led to the development of the Mk2 model. The Mk1 follower was similar in design to that of the 50-round Lanchester magazines except the legs were shorter and the cross brace connecting the legs together was eliminated. The holes theoretically allowed the soldier to see how many rounds there were inside the magazine, each hole signified 8 cartridges. The early 32-round Sten Mk1 magazines can be identified by the four “witness” holes punched into the back of the magazine body. The floor plate was held in place by a protrusion on a plate attached to the bottom of the magazine spring. The removable floor plate was made of sheet metal and bent to slide onto the rails formed on the bottom of the magazine body. To form the feed lips a thick steel collar was spot welded to the top of the body. A few manufacturers welded the seam at the front and some magazines were formed from tubing – no seam welding required. Other contractors used a separate backstrap spot welded to the main body. Some were rolled together and spot welded at the back. The process used to attach the ends of the magazine’s sheet metal body varied by manufacturer. The magazine bodies were formed from a single piece of sheet metal.
An estimated 42,000,000 Sten magazines were produced during World War II. If one didn’t work it was usually just replaced with another or discarded. Despite their questionable reliability they were made by the millions. The British magazines were made of stamped sheet metal a double-stack single feed design – a configuration that was both hard to load by hand, and less reliable than a double feed design.
The Sten was copied and manufactured in several countries during and after the war. The magazines were first used for the Lanchester in a 50-round capacity, and later in the Sten machine carbine with a 32-round capacity, both configurations are interchangeable, but will not fit or function in a German MP28II. During World War II the British designed and manufactured the 9mm Lanchester machine carbine and magazine that was basically copied from the German MP28II maschinenpistole.
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