Long Branch Sten

koldt

koldt

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
125   0   1
Location
XMU Local 5.56
I've got a 12.3/CA Long Branch Sten with a stepped barrel and knurled cocking handle. It appears to have once had the Chinese writing on top of the mag well, but it has been ground/removed leaving the LB stampings on the bottom of the well. I've observed a few Stens, both Brit and deac Long Branches, and I have not seen this barrel and handle. The step is about 1" from the muzzle of the barrel.

Can anyone confirm/refute these are a Canadian mod or from some other manufacturer.

I wish I knew how to post photos.

If someone is willing/able to post some photos, I can send them to you, if you would be so kind as to post them here. Thanx.
 
machman said:
To paraphrase something you wrote on another thread "How about you don't be lazy... and learn how to post photos!"
Click to expand...

Aw-burn-GIF.gif
 
machman said:
To paraphrase something you wrote on another thread "How about you don't be lazy... and learn how to post photos!"
Click to expand...

Well, I'm posting this in the Milsurp section where this is supposed to be, rather than asking a moderator to call me from the Firearms Thread, and this site does not support photo hosting.

So rather than just disrupting for the sake of being a dik post, why don't you use a brain and post something worth while.

And you should learn how to quote others correctly. Not only are you a dik, but somewhat illiterate as well. Do it right next time OK kid.
 
koldt said:
Well, I'm posting this in the Milsurp section where this is supposed to be, rather than asking a moderator to call me from the Firearms Thread, and this site does not support photo hosting.

So rather than just disrupting for the sake of being a dik post, why don't you use a brain and post something worth while.

And you should learn how to quote others correctly. Not only are you a dik, but somewhat illiterate as well. Do it right next time OK kid.
Click to expand...

His quote still stands, it’s pretty easy to learn how to post photos. Use an image hosting site and copy the link, easy as can be
 
Wasn't there some Chinese contracts that never got shipped and then put into Canadian use. Put in long branch sten photos on the internet. There are some there with round knurled cocking handles
 
koldt said:
So rather than just disrupting for the sake of being a dik post, why don't you use a brain and post something worth while.
Click to expand...

Because that's my specialty!
Don't act all butt-hurt...if you hadn't called the poster on another thread "Lazy" first, I probably wouldn't have even bothered. You earned this one.
 
Here is a photo of the Sten in question.
Note that the muzzle of the barrel is stepped, as seen on a Mk. III carbine. It is my understanding that barrel blanks were made that could be adapted to either Mk. II or Mk. III carbnes. The breech ends are different of course. I am sure this barrel, or barrel plus barrel nut are not Canadian.
The cocking handle is a Mk. II version. Non-locking. Does the casing have a hole for a locking Mk. V cocking handle?
I suspect that the barrel unit and cocking handle could be artifacts of when the gun was altered to CA; parts got mixed up. Then again, who knows where and when this gun was is service?
stenmarks.jpg
 

Attachments

  • stenmarks.jpg
    stenmarks.jpg
    86.8 KB · Views: 392
Komodo said:
Wasn't there some Chinese contracts that never got shipped and then put into Canadian use. Put in long branch sten photos on the internet. There are some there with round knurled cocking handles
Click to expand...

Yes, mine was a Chinese destined gun, and I did see another photo, but there isn't a lot of examples out there, and I'm wondering if this was a Canadian mod. Appears it may be.
 
Chinese contract guns that remained in Canadian stores didn't generally have the Chinese markings on the top of the magazine housing removed. May be like the US Property marks on No. 4s. Sometimes they were defaced, often not. Depended on when and where.

If the main casing was not drilled for a locking cocking handle, the gun is very unlikely to have been retained for service in Canada. Stens held in Canadian stores were fitted or retrofitted with Mk. V cocking handles.
 
tiriaq said:
Here is a photo of the Sten in question.
Note that the muzzle of the barrel is stepped, as seen on a Mk. III carbine. It is my understanding that barrel blanks were made that could be adapted to either Mk. II or Mk. III carbnes. The breech ends are different of course. I am sure this barrel, or barrel plus barrel nut are not Canadian.
The cocking handle is a Mk. II version. Non-locking. Does the casing have a hole for a locking Mk. V cocking handle?
I suspect that the barrel unit and cocking handle could be artifacts of when the gun was altered to CA; parts got mixed up. Then again, who knows where and when this gun was is service?
Click to expand...
No, there is not a hole in the tube.

I've seen a few other LB Stens that had the Chinese markings "scrubbed", but the ones I did see, were all deactivated.

Thanks for posting.
 
No way of knowing where the gun went when it left Long Branch, where it wound up. Retrofitting of Mk. V cocking handles was extensive; made a Sten much safer. It is quite unusual to see a Sten with a surviving Mk. II cocking handle.

koldt also sent a photo of his "Canadian wall", Canadian service arms. Unfortunately the file was too large for me to post, given my limited computer skills. Probably just as well. Members would be suffering from extreme envy.
 
It's "funny" hearing some of the history of many firearms here in Canada, especially the converted autos and the sometimes lengthy trip out of, and then return to Canada.

My C1 SMG obviously started here, then apparently to the Congo, then to Britain, then back here in a lot of 3 CAL C1s with a bunch of other Brit SMGs, to Wilke.
 
BTW, the bayonet looks real, but I bought it as a repop. I don't know anyone who can give any definitive answers other than interweb info that says all if not most were destroyed and treat all that are in existence today as reproductions.

The aging and "patina" are consistent on the whole unit.
 
I can remember a bucket full of the bayonets in Hercules Sales on Yonge Street back in the 60s. Long before there were any reproductions. So, there are genuine ones out there.
 
tiriaq said:
I can remember a bucket full of the bayonets in Hercules Sales on Yonge Street back in the 60s. Long before there were any reproductions. So, there are genuine ones out there.
Click to expand...

That is the first time I have heard that. May be good news. It does have remnants of stampings on the body and spring.

I've seen a few different reproductions, and they were noticeably repop.

I haven't done a bayonet charge in my basement lately. Time to practice my drills.:d
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom