why the Germans have STEN guns instead of MP-40's?
So does anyone know if this was a stylistic choice, or that the props department just couldn't find enough functional MP40's or similar guns for the German Soldiers?
shareI do believe what you're thinking of as Stens are actually MP28s. This seems to jive with the fact that the SS was issued outdated stuff.
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"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distan..."
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It's true that SS units often used non standard equipment early on in the war-the Army didn't want to divert stuff to the SS and the SS bought weapons from various makers under 'private' contracts-that being said, all branches of the German armed forces used a wide variety of old, captured and modern weapons-there were never enough for the every greater need to replace losses and keep equipping expanding German and other Axis forces-in addition to the Bergman MP28, there were 2 other very similar weapons that were used by the SS, the Erma EMP and Solothurn MP34/35. These were all quality, well made weapons but expensive and slow to make.
As to the Sten Gun, the initial Mk I did have a wooden fore stock and some on the butt stock and the final Mk V model also had a wood butt stock but the vast majority produced were the cheaply made all metal Mk IIs and Mk IIIs-the British had also made a near copy of the MP28 as the Lanchester as their first locally produced SMG before developing the Sten as a much cheaper and easily made weapon. Large numbers of Stens fell in to German hands later in the war when some dropped to resistance groups in Europe were captured by them instead-these were then issued to Volksturm homeguard units in the final battles of the war.
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