Sten MK5 identification help please.

[BUDER]

I tend to agree with this...just because of the number on the mag housing.

Thanks everyone for the replies, so likely British made post 44 but could be POF manufactured post war up to the end of the 60’s. Guess I’ll never really know....

[Peter Laidler]

I would like to see a photo of the UNDERSIDE of the magazine housing. All of our Mk5 Stens were numbered with a VS prefix. But the Mk2 housing was identical so you would often find Mk5 Stens with Mk2 housings. Some renumbered correctly with the VS prefix, others not

[BUDER]

Hi Peter

Thank you for the info.

I have taken a picture of the underside:

Attachment 101944

[BUDER]

I did find these odd marks near the trigger.

Any help much appreciated

Attachment 101946

[Lee Enfield]

I did find these odd marks near the trigger.

Any help much appreciated

Attachment 101946

It appears to confirm that your tube and trigger housing are British made.

the mag well is still in question...

[mrclark303]

Would the Pakistanis bother to make replacement mag housings??

I can't see them bothering to be honest. I would have thought it was the strongest part of a Sten and the last bit to require replacement.

I wonder if its one of those clandestine arms trade deals to supply Pakistan in the 1960's (lots of gear poured in via many different routes to keep the never ending Indo pakistan bun fight going), so the mag well identifiers were possibly ground off...

There must have been huge numbers of Mk5 Stens surplussed in the 1960's and heading straight into the international arms trade.

Just a thought.

[BUDER]

Sounds like a right mash up....

I also found this odd symbol on the other-side of the magazine housing

Attachment 101957

[mrclark303]

Can't quite make it out, is that a Long Branch marking or a crown...

Long Branch made Mk2 Stens,bolts are often mixed up in Stens, they weren't numbered to the weapon as it doesn't matter from a functional perspective.

The LB logo is a stylised B worked into the L.

[Flying10uk]

Sounds like a right mash up....

It's a 70+ year old used (deactivated) Sten that has probably been in a few wars and is slightly more interesting than others because it has some Pakistani markings on it. I bet if it could talk it could tell a few interesting stories.

Is there any way of telling if a Pakistani weapon has ever been captured by India; i.e. did India mark captured weapons in any way?

[mrclark303]

Only if it's been through FTR at Ishapore F10.