Owen Machine Carbine
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The Owen gun, known officially as the Owen machine carbine, was an Australian
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
that was designed by
Evelyn Owen Evelyn Ernest Owen (15 May 1915 – 1 April 1949) was an Australian who developed the Owen gun, which was used by the Australian Army in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Early life Evelyn Owen was born on 15 May 1915 in Wo ...
in 1938. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It was used by the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
from 1942 until 1971.


History

The Owen gun was created by
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
private
Evelyn Owen Evelyn Ernest Owen (15 May 1915 – 1 April 1949) was an Australian who developed the Owen gun, which was used by the Australian Army in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Early life Evelyn Owen was born on 15 May 1915 in Wo ...
in 1931, who finalised the design in 1938, when he was around 23. Owen submitted the design to the Australian military, but was rejected, as they were waiting for the British
Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production co ...
to finish development. By May 1940, Owen had enlisted in the
Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...
, and was set to deploy to the Middle East, but after speaking about his design to the manager of a local plant of Lysaght, who had an interest in the design, Owen was transferred to the Central Inventions Board. In June 1941, Owen was discharged from the army and began to manufacture the Owen gun. After conducting tests in September that year, the Owen was found to be more accurate and reliable than competing designs such as the Sten and Thompson.


Production and use

The Owen went into production at the John Lysaght factories at Port Kembla and Newcastle. Between March 1942 and February 1943, Lysaght's produced 28,000 Owen guns. However, the initial batch of ammunition turned out to be the wrong type and 10,000 guns could not be supplied with ammunition. Once again the government overrode military bureaucracy, and took the ammunition through the final production stages and into the hands of Australian troops, at that time fighting
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese forces in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. Approximately 45,000 Owens were produced from 1942 to 1944. Contemporary sources vary as to the cost of production during wartime, with some suggesting that the basic cost was as little as 8 (US$24); a 1945 issue of ''
Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...
'' claimed that the Owen cost US$30 (A£12). The Owen gun proved popular with soldiers in the Pacific. New Zealanders fighting in the
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
and
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
campaigns swapped their Thompsons for Owens, as they found Owen guns to be more reliable. During the gun's life, its reliability earned it the nickname " Digger's Darling" by Australian troops, and many of the Australian soldiers who had used the Owen came back to personally thank the Lysaght team as they believed the Owen had saved their lives. General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...
considered equipping American troops in the Pacific with the Owen. The Owen was later used by Australian troops in the
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...
and
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
s, particularly the scouts in infantry
section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...
s. It remained a standard weapon of the Australian Army until 1971, when it was replaced by the
F1 submachine gun The F1 is a 9x19mm Australian submachine gun manufactured by the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. First issued to Australian troops in July 1963, it replaced the Owen machine carbine. Like the Owen, the F1 had a distinctive top mounted magazine. It ...
and, later, the
M16 The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine. In 1964, th ...
.


Design

The Owen has a simple blowback design, firing from an open bolt. It was designed to be fired either from the shoulder or the hip. It is easily recognisable, owing to its unconventional appearance, including the top-mounted magazine, and the side-mounted sight required to allow the firer to aim past it. The placement of the magazine allows gravity to assist the magazine spring in pushing cartridges down to the breech, which improves feeding reliability. Another unusual feature is the separate compartment inside the receiver, which isolates the small-diameter bolt from its retracting handle by means of a small bulkhead. This prevents dirt and mud from jamming the bolt, and makes the Owen a highly reliable weapon. The top-mounted magazine meant that if mud entered the weapon, it would either fall out on its own, or be pushed out by the magazine spring. When tested, the Owen gun was able to continue firing despite being dipped in mud and drenched with sand, while a
Sten gun The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design with a low production co ...
and a Thompson also tested stopped functioning at once. In jungle warfare, where both mud and sand were frequent problems, the Owen gun was highly regarded by the soldiers. To facilitate cleaning, the ejector was built into the magazine, rather than the body of the gun. This allowed the barrel to be removed rapidly, by pulling up a spring-loaded plunger in front of the magazine housing. After removing the barrel, the bolt and return spring are removed in a forward direction, completely dismantling the gun. Like the Sten, the Owen had a non-folding wire buttstock, but also had pistol grips like the Austen. Two horseshoe magazines were constructed in the field, of 60 and 72 rounds. Little information exists as to the success of these experiments. In 2004, an underground weapons factory was seized in
Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...
, yielding, among other things, three suppressed copies of the Owen submachine gun and parts to make six more. These had magazines inserted underneath rather than overhead, and were suspected of having been built for sale to local
gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...
involved in the
illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, exce ...
. During Operation Ironside in 2021, an Owen submachine gun, magazines and ammunition suited for the firearm were found alongside a plastic fuel can containing petrol in a parkland on Gleeson Crescent at Rostrevor by STAR Group and Dog Operations Unit officers of the
South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Po ...
.


Users

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Engineering heritage award

The gun received an Engineering Heritage National Marker from
Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...
as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.


References


Further reading

* ''The Owen gun'', 1991, Wayne Wardman * ''The Owen gun files: An Australian wartime controversy'', 1994, Kevin Smith


External links


Local Boy Saves Nation: The Australian Owen SMGService Tests of Modern Sub Machine Guns’ (1941) and other Historic Films on the Owen Gun (1940s)
Hunter Living Histories, University of Newcastle
Kokoda SMG prototypes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen Submachine Gun Simple blowback firearms Submachine guns of Australia World War II infantry weapons of Australia World War II submachine guns 9mm Parabellum submachine guns Recipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942