Sten

The Sten is a British 9 mm submachine gun used during World War II.

History
The Sten was designed during the Battle of Britain during World War II, to replace the weapons lost from evacuation in Dunkirk, France and as an alternative to the more expensive Thompson. The Sten was created by the Royal Small Arms Factory. The Sten Mark I went into production in 1941. The Sten used in the game though, is the Mark II. Developed at the end of 1941, the Sten Mark II was made almost entirely of steel stampings, and the resulting weapon was cheap, ugly, and none too durable. Nonetheless, it did its job well. The weapon also found extensive use in the underground resistance in Europe, Scandinavia, and the Pacific, because it was small, compact, and could be hidden clandestinely and still offer full-auto capabilities. Demand for the new weapon skyrocketed due to anticipation of urban warfare and the need to supply resistance groups in continental Europe. The Sten was soon being produced all over the Commonwealth, especially in Canada. The Sten was used during the Korean War and stayed in service until the 1960s when replaced by the Sterling Submachine gun.

Call of Duty 1 and United Offensive
The Sten is essentially a poor man's MP40. It accepts 32-round magazines, has good accuracy, does a good amount of damage per shot, and has very controllable recoil. (However, in CoD1 Multiplayer, accuracy is decreased drastically--on the move, it is almost impossible to hit anything, even at short range.) Like the MP40, it can be used at close or medium ranges. For medium ranges, burst fire at about three to four rounds is most effective. The difference between the Sten and the MP40 is the Sten's slightly higher rate of fire. The weapon isn't very unique aside from its high rate of fire and crude exterior.

In United Offensive, you start the British Sicily mission with a silenced Sten. The silenced Sten looks much different from the regular Sten, with more detail, and what looks like a much larger, "chunkier" looking magazine, as well as a partial view of the thin metal stock.

Call of Duty 2
The Call of Duty 2 Sten is the same as the one in Call of Duty. Despite the British being able to select the Thompson as well as the Sten, most choose the latter because of its higher capacity magazine and more manageable recoil.

Call of Duty 3
The Sten in this game is almost exactly the same as the previous ones. The only differences are how it is held and the Sten also appears to be weaker in Call of Duty 3. Call of Duty 3 appears to be the only Call of Duty game that shows the Sten being held properly (the player holds the weapon by the underside of the barrel, instead of gripping the magazine).

Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS)
The Sten is the British Army's sub-machine gun of choice in the DS version. It is once again shown being held by the magazine which is incorrect, it also can't share ammo with the MP-40 which is odd since they both use the same ammunition. Most players will keep the sten gun because it has a higher rate of fire, and does more damage then the MP-40, however players will switch the sten for the STG-44 in later levels because the STG-44 is more accurate, and does more damage.

Trivia

 * In Call Of Duty 3, the in-game info claims that the Sten can use captured MP-40 ammunition, while this was possible in real life, it is not possible in any of the games.


 * The Sten is one of the most misrepresented guns in Call of Duty as well, with the player often holding the gun's magazine. While this was practiced widely at the time, it was ill-advised, as it made the gun very prone to jamming. Soldiers had to be painstakingly trained to hold it by the barrel jacket instead. Call of Duty 3 was the first game in which the player holds the Sten properly.


 * In Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS), when you hold the Sten, you hold it by the magazine, which is wrong, as mentioned above. But when you look at your allies, they (correctly) hold it by the barrel jacket.


 * The Type 100 looks somewhat similar to the Sten gun, much like how the Type 99 resembles the Bren gun. However, while the latter two are based on the same weapon (the Czech ZB vz.26) and therefore understandably similar-looking, the Type 100's resemblance to the Sten is completely coincidental.


 * The Sten was originally slated to be in World at War, but was dropped before the game was shipped. Its icon for the weapon selection menu and HUD icon are still in the game's files.


 * It is the Weapon Equivalent of the Type 100.
 * The Sten was supposedly developed from captured examples of the MP40, possibly why the same ammunition was used as captured or scavenged enemy ammo could be used.
 * The Sten is actually more accurate than the MP40 in real life but there is not much between them otherwise as the MP40 is heavier.
 * Some people say that the iron sight of the Sten resembles the M16A4 and M4A1's sights.