The Polsten was a Polish development of the 20 mm Oerlikon gun. The Polsten was designed to be simpler and much cheaper to build than the Oerlikon, without reducing effectiveness.

Development

When

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invaded Poland in 1939, the Polish design team escaped to the U.K. and resumed work together with Czech and British designers. The need for the Polsten was apparently mooted in June 1941. It went into service in March 1944 alongside the Oerlikon. Both the Oerlikon and the Polsten used similar 60 round drum

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, however, the Polsten could also use a simpler box magazine with 30 rounds. It remained in service into the 1950s.

Used like Oerlikon

When compared to the Oerlikon cannon which was made out of 250 parts, the Polsten was made out of 119 parts, without sacrificing the effectiveness or the reliability of the cannon. Simplification of the design of the Polsten cannon made its production much cheaper. The cost of one Oerlikon cannon was about £350, while the cost of the Polsten was between £60 and £70. In January 1944, the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...

decided that only 20 mm Polsten guns would be used as a standard light gun to simplify supply. The Polsten was used as a substitute for the Oerlikon in the same roles, one of which was as an

airborne unit Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ...

anti-aircraft gun, used in

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

. It was used on a wheeled mounting that could be towed behind a

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. Various double, triple and quadruple mounts were developed. John Inglis Limited of

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, Ontario, in Canada produced many thousands of guns and some 500 quadruple mountings that saw limited service at the end of the war. These multiple mounts were both trailered and truck-mounted. Polsten Guns, magazines and ammunition boxes were also made in Australia by General Motors Holden in South Australia's Woodville and Beverley Plants during WW2. They were used by the Australian Army onshore and on small boats. Several prototype gun mountings were also developed but did not see service.

Uses

The Polsten gun was used for armoured vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft guns based on the Cromwell/Centaur tank and for the Skink anti-aircraft tank. The Polsten was also mounted on British LVTs and on early models of the

Centurion tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

, not coaxially with the main gun but in an independent mount on the left hand side of the turret. The Polsten was used by the anti-aircraft platoons of some British infantry battalions during the North European campaign of 1944-45.White, P., With The Jocks, History Press 2002

Etymology

The origin of the name is not entirely clear. Some sources suggest Poland and the "Sten Company" to give Pol-sten, though the

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost ...

gun was not made by a Sten Company. Official (United Kingdom) sources indicate the name to have been a compound based on Poland and the

Royal Small Arms Factory The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) was a UK government-owned rifle factory in Enfield (though some parts were in Waltham Abbey), adjoining the Lee Navigation in the Lea Valley. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and sw ...

Enfield in the same manner as the

Bren The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used ...

gun (Brno + Enfield) or Sten (Shephard, Turpin + Enfield); also to reflect the gun design being mostly Polish (and the magazine mostly Czech) and the 8 Polish engineers in the design department. The "Sten" ending may also have linked in with the idea of the gun as a cheaper and quicker to produce weapon just like that gun was.

Operators

Former operators * * * * *

Notes

References

External links

Airborne Polsten gun

{{WWIIBritishCommGuns World War II anti-aircraft guns World War II weapons of the United Kingdom World War II weapons of Poland 20 mm artillery Autocannon Poland–United Kingdom military relations