The Owen gun, known officially as the Owen machine carbine, was an Australian submachine gun that was designed by Evelyn Owen in 1938. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of World War II. It was used by the Australian Army from 1942 until 1971.

It was the Owen submachine gun (SMG) or Owen machine carbine, and the Australian infantry often favorably referred to it as the “Digger’s Darling.” According to historian Michael Haskew, the “blowback-operated Owen was the only weapon of its type developed in …

2013年3月25日 · The Owen gun story begins with a young 23-year-old Evelyn Owen and his incessant tinkering with guns. In 1938 he perfected (well, sort of) a homemade full auto carbine firing .22LR from a drum-type magazine.

2023年2月28日 · The Owen gun underwent testing in September 1941, with the Australian military pitting it against the US Thompson and British STEN submachine guns. It immediately showed that it was the ideal weapon for combat in jungle and sandy conditions.

2023年2月21日 · Back during WWII when gun designers were crafting such conventional weapons as the German MP-40, America’s M-3 Grease Gun, the Russian PPSh, and the British Sten, an Aussie named Evelyn Owen crafted an upside-down SMG that ultimately took his name.

2023年12月26日 · Evelyn Owen sold the patent to the Australian government for 10,000 pounds and used that money to buy enough liquor to kill a herd of water buffalo—or one Evelyn Owen. He died at the age of 33 of a ruptured gastric ulcer, the result of consuming insane amounts of booze.

2025年3月12日 · An unsung burp gun masterpiece from Down Under, the now highly collectible Owen gun served Australia (and its friends) faithfully for generations. What was the Owen?

2019年4月20日 · If there were a contest for the weirdest and wackiest-looking submachine gun of World War II, Australia’s Owen would win hands-down. It looks as if the designer cobbled it together from ...

2013年3月24日 · The Australian-designed Owen submachine gun is a weapon with quite a story behind it. The Owen is arguably the best subgun used during WWII, and also probabl...

2019年6月3日 · Page details technical specifications, development, and operational history of the Owen SMG (Owen Machine Carbine) Submachine Gun (SMG) including pictures.