Saturday, November 1, 2008

Silent Sten

This is coolbert:

Here with a description of the silent Sten. British sub-machine gun from the World Two [WW2] era! AND REPUTEDLY CARRIED BY THE BRITISH SPECIAL BOAT SERVICE [SBS] FOR DECADES AFTERWARDS!!




A weapon ideally suited for special operations type missions. NOT so much a "silenced" weapon but rather MUFFLED!!?? Giving several distinct advantages to the user.

* Muffled report!
* Concealed muzzle flash!

"the gun could be used without alerting the enemy to small-arms fire in the vicinity. Only someone who was within 200 yards of the firer would be able to recognise the sound as gunfire. Another advantage of the silencer was that it eliminated any muzzle flash. This was important when the SOE team was operating at night. The sten gun silencer was an ideal weapon for assassination"

The "silent" Sten - - a sub-machine gun, wielded by Lt. Col. Ivan Lyon in a "last stand" situation. Lyon, commander of the Jaywick commando unit during Operation Rimau, killed during what became known as the Battle of Soreh Island.

"The Japanese returned two hours later, consisting of approximately 110 soldiers. For almost four hours, the Japanese suffered tremendous losses, unaware that their enemy was in fact firing from high above them"

"At midnight, Japanese soldiers finally caught sight of the tiny muzzle flashes from the Silent Stens. Grenades were thrown above the branches; Ross and Lyon fell down from the branches, killed by shrapnel. They had accounted for over sixty dead and wounded Japanese."

Again - - the silenced Sten was even used for DECADES following the end of WW2? Employed by the English special operations unit SBS [Special Boat Service]!?

"The SBS were known to still be using the Silent Sten as late as the 1982 Falklands conflict. At least one recon patrol that was landed on the islands is known to have carried the weapon with them."

Silence is golden? With a Sten, it could be!

coolbert.

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