MANUFACTURER – Diecasters Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, W J Carmichael and Co. Melbourne, Victoria
STATUS – Obsolete
SERVICE – Australian military
Another result of the Australians not being able to depend on an outside source of small arms was the Austen submachinegun. Developed when there was a very real chance of the Imperial Japanese Empire invading mainland Australia, the Austen was developed in just a year. This quick design time was made possible by the adoption of parts from existing submachinegun designs, notably the British Sten Mk II and the German MP38/40. From the Sten came the receiver and it’s trigger mechanism, the barrel assembly, and the magazine. Also the name of the weapon, Austen, being a contraction of AUStralia and STEN. From the German submachineguns was taken the telescoping mainspring and firing pin assembly, the general bolt layout, and the folding stock assembly.
The folding joint of the stock assembly was made stronger than that of the German weapons. And a vertical foregrip was added for quicker handling. The horizontal magazine of the Sten was retained, but this was not well liked by the Australian fighters who used it as the magazine could get easily hung up on jungle growth. The double-column, single feed of the Sten magazine combined with the barrel assembly made the manufacture of the Austen relatively simple. But the basic design also maintained the weak points of the Sten – sensitivity to magazines and their being easily damaged. Troops generally disliked the Austen for its lack of dependability in the field. Though nearly 20,000 Austen guns were manufactured, the design never met the same level of acceptance among the troops as did the Owens.
