Australian Owen Sub Machine Gun

**spidge** · 11-05-2007, 12:28 AM

Australian Owen Sub Machine Gun

Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Para
Weight: 4.22 kg unloaded
Length: 813 mm
Barrel length: 247 mm
Rate of fire: 700 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 32 rounds
Effective range: 100-200 meters

Owen Mk.1-43 submachine gun in camouflage paint
owen_mk1-43.jpg

Owen Mk.1-42 submachine gun, field strippedowen_mk1_disasm.jpg

Evelyn Owen, an Australian, developed his first automatic weapon, chambered for .22LR cartridge, by 1939, and offered it to Australian army. This weapon was a strange-looking revolver-type contraption with fixed "cylinder" instead of magazine, and thumb-operated trigger. However, by 1940 Owen produced its next design, in somewhat more potent (but still relatively mild) .32ACP / 7.65x17 Browning cartridge. This was more "usual" weapon, with traditional trigger, dual pistol grips and detachable box magazine, inserted under the receiver and inclined rearward and to the left. By 1941, Owen produced several more prototypes, chambered in .45ACP, 9mm Luger and even .38 Special revolver cartridges; this work was done at Lysaghts Newcastle Works in New South Wales, Australia. 9mm prototype, made by Lysaghts, was tested against Thompson and Sten submachine guns, and found superior to both. Adopted in 1942, this gun was manufactured until 1945 in three basic versions, Mark 1-42, Mark 1-43 (or Mark 1 Wood butt), and Mark 2. About 45 000 Owen SMGs were made by Lysaghts, and these remained in service with Australian forces until 1960s, through World War 2, Korean and Vietnam wars. In general, these weapons were well liked by soldiers due to their robustness, reliability and simplicity. The only downside of Owen SMG was its somewhat heavy weight.
Owen submachine guns are blowback operated, top-fed weapons that fired from open bolt. Receiver is of tubular shape, with the bolt body separated from the cocking handle by the small bulkhead inside. This precluded the dirt to enter the receiver area through the cocking handle slot, but also required the barrel to be made removable, as the bolt and return spring were pulled forward out of receiver. Barrel was held in place by simple latch, located at the front of the receiver, ahead of the magazine housing. Muzzle was equipped with recoil compensator. Pistol grips were made from wood, detachable buttstock was made of steel wire on Mk.1-42 Owens and from wood on later models. Due to the top mounted magazine, fixed sights were offset to the left.

digger · 11-16-2007, 09:58 PM

A friend of mine, now deceased, that used the Owen with the 3rd Militia Bn in New Guinea liked it but told me it was "gutless" and the only good thing about it was its reliability under the most severe of service conditions. He preferred the Thompson as it "had oomph and when you hit something it stayed hit" weighed about the same as the Owen but suffered from the conditions.
An initial report on the Owen can be found here
http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/awm...8-2-25-014.pdf page 59 of the 25th Bde War Diary
They were used right up to Vietnam as the preferred weapon of the forward scouts until the AR-15/M16 became available in large numbers

**spidge** · 11-17-2007, 10:00 AM

I have read also that there was a problem with piercing matted type clothing (Korea)

The big advantage of the Owen with it's calibre was the close fighting that was synonymous with the jungle environments in ww2.

digger · 11-17-2007, 10:15 PM

The early Owens also had a faulty cocking handle that didn't seat in the recess propery. Any sudden bump or jarring would cause an accidental discharge much to consternation of those close to the carrier of the weapon

Rod

**spidge** · 11-17-2007, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by digger

The early Owens also had a faulty cocking handle that didn't seat in the recess propery. Any sudden bump or jarring would cause an accidental discharge much to consternation of those close to the carrier of the weapon

Rod

What do they say, never trust the "A" model of anything!

Cutaway · 12-10-2007, 06:30 PM

Id like to know more about the later F1 smg used in vietnam.

**Kyt** · 12-10-2007, 07:19 PM

Modern Firearms - F1 submachine gun

fangster · 12-17-2007, 03:04 PM

Funny how the yanks would give their eye teeth for an Owen, and swap their Thomsons for one if given half the chance. The things (Owens) worked in all conditions, unlike the others. The Owens were strange, ugly little things, but to those who have walked and lived in the jungles know that beauty is functionality, and the last thing you need to worry about is reliability.
The 9mm round is designed for close quarter work, and there were other weapons issued for further out stuff. But in the jungle, with it's rain, mud, and rotting vegetation which got into everything, the Owen was, and still is although outdated, matched but not beaten to those who cannot afford to have reliability issues.

**spidge** · 12-17-2007, 03:30 PM

Welcome to the forum Fangster,

Tell us a bit more about yourself in the introduction thread.

Cutaway · 02-01-2008, 09:39 PM

The 'tommy gun' of Australia.

The .45ACP one looks cool but the version chambered in .38spc sounds interesting the fact it fires revolver cartridges.

Although heavy, It would still be a badass SMG even today.