historicalfirearms:Gnome et Rhône R5 ‘STEN’Manufactured by the French motorbike and aeroplane engine
historicalfirearms:Gnome et Rhône R5 ‘STEN’Manufactured by the French motorbike and aeroplane engine company Gnome et Rhône (part of Snecma) the R5 was a clone of the instantly recognisable British STEN submachine gun. The R5 had a number of changes to the original STEN design including the addition of a wooden butt stock (something only seen on the MkV British STENs) with a cutout for a sling and a grooved foregrip. STEN MkII (source)Internally the R5 is almost identical to the STEN with the addition of a sliding bolt safety which secured the bolt in its forward position and prevented accidental discharges if the weapon was dropped or knocked. The R5 was named after the designation for the region and factory.The R5′s additional slide safety (source)First produced during the second half of 1944 with between 8,000 and 20,000 (sources vary) copies made at the end of the war. With the Gnome et Rhône factory located in Limoges it is likely that production of the R5 began under Nazi occupation and continued for a short time after liberation. Another similar late war STEN clone was the German MP3008 which fed from MP40 magazines. It used the STENs firing mechanism but was fed from below. Eventually some 10,000 MP3008s were made with most being issued to the Volkssturm, the last-ditch Nazi home guard mobilised in the last months of the war. A limited number of R5s were used by French Colonial police (see image #3) and forces in Algeria and possibly Indochina during the early 1950s. At the time the French submachine gun inventory also included British STENS, Thompsons and French made MAT-49s. Sources:Image One SourceImage Two SourceImage Three SourceSten Models (source)If you enjoy the content please consider supporting Historical Firearms through Patreon! -- source link