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| | ==Invention of the Owen gun== | | ==Invention of the Owen gun== |
| − | By 1938, Owen had constructed a prototype which used .22 inch (5.6 mm) calibre ammunition.<ref name=Wardell549>Wardell, 2000, pp. 549 – 550</ref> The following year, he took the gun to an ordnance officer at Victoria Barracks in Sydney. Despite advising that the gun could be upgraded to a larger calibre, Owen was told that the Australian Army would not be interested. Submachine guns, such as the [[Thompson Machine Gun]], were regarded as being unimportant, and furthermore, there was a perception in the army that such weapons were for gangsters rather than soldiers.<ref name=Mellor326>Mellor, 1958, pp. 326-327</ref>
| + | The weapon that eventually bore his name, the Owen sub-machine gun, had its genesis in [[1931]], but he did not perfect it until [[1938]]. Repeated testing proved that little could jam or interrupt the gun's rate of fire, making it superior to the [[Thompson gun]]. But the following year when he attempted to interest the military, Owen was rebuffed, being told that neither the Australian nor British armies had any need for such a weapon. |
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| − | Owen, disappointed with the lack of interest in his firearm, enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in May 1940. He was assigned to the 2nd/17th Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment.<ref>[http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/script/veteran.asp?ServiceID=A&VeteranID=140705#summary1 "WW2 Nominal Roll: Evelyn Owen]"] ''Commonwealth of Australia''.</ref> However, just before embarking for the Middle East with his unit, he managed to interest the manager of the Port Kembla plant of Lysaght's Newcastle Works, Vincent Wardell, in the gun.<ref name=Mellor326/> Australia had no experience in the development of mass-produced firearms and relied entirely on designs sourced from the United Kingdom for the manufacture of its small arms.<ref>Mellor, 1958, p. 325</ref> Wardell believed that the gun could be quickly manufactured in Australia in quantity and raised the matter with Lysaght's owner, Essington Lewis. Lewis arranged for Owen to meet with a representative of the army's Central Inventions Board, Captain C. M. Dyer.<ref name=Mellor326/> | + | Owen enlisted in the AIF in [[May 1940]]. Just before embarking for the Middle East with his unit he managed to interest the manager of the Port Kembla plant of Lysaght's Newcastle Works, Vincent A. Wardell, in the gun. Wardell spoke to Sir Percy Spender, Minister for the Army, who had Owen transferred to the Central Inventions Board. |
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| − | The German Army's use of submachine guns during the French Campaign of 1940 had demonstrated the potential of such weapons, and consequently some elements of the Australian Army were now more receptive to the value of Owen's gun. Dyer, despite a lack of enthusiasm from his superiors, arranged for Owen to obtain leave with a view to constructing more prototypes. Working with Lysaght, by March 1941 Owen produced versions utilising .32 inch (8.1 mm) and .45 inch (11.4 mm) rimless ammunition. Trials with these prototypes were such that a formal approach was made to the Master-General of the Ordnance, Major General Edward Milford.<ref name=Mellor326/>
| + | In [[June 1941]] Owen was discharged from the AIF and began work at Lysaght who manufactured his gun. In September 1941 Owen's gun was ready for testing against similar weapons; the [[USA|American]] [[Thompson Machine Gun|Thompson]], the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Sten]] and the [[Germany|German]] [[MP18|Bergmann]]. In the first test the Owen proved more accurate and able to group its shots better. Having then been variously immersed in water, mud and sand, the Owen proved itself almost impossible to jam while the other weapons faltered and eventually became unworkable. Those present at the test agreed that the Owen was the simplest, cheapest and toughest of sub-machine guns. |
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| − | It transpired that a potential barrier to the adaption of the Owen gun by the army was the development of the [[Sten]] gun in the United Kingdom, which was expected to be available by the end of 1941. Milford advised Owen that the army was prepared to wait for the Sten, unaware that significant compromises had been made to the design of the Sten to facilitate mass production. However, the government, in the form of the Minister for the Army, Percy Spender overruled the decision and placed an order for 100 guns. This allowed large scale testing to be completed.<ref name=Mellor328>Mellor, 1958, pp. 328-329</ref>
| + | By late [[1942]] the Owen was being used in jungle fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea. More than 45,000 Owen guns were produced during the [[Second World War]] and they continued in use during the [[Korean War]], the Malayan Emergency and in the early years of the Vietnam War. |
| − | [[Image:CompletedOwenGun1942.png|right|thumb|220px|The [[Owen Gun]] circa 1942]]
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| − | In late June 1941 Owen was discharged from the AIF and began work at Lysaght who manufactured his gun. In September 1941 his gun was ready for testing against similar weapons; the [[USA|American]] Thompson Machine Gun, the [[Sten]] and the [[Germany|German]] [[MP18|Bergmann]]. The Owen proved superior to the other weapons and having been variously immersed in water, mud and sand, it also proved itself almost impossible to jam while the other weapons faltered and eventually became unworkable. As a result of the success of the trials, the initial order of 100 firearms was increased to 2,000.<ref name=Mellor328>Mellor, 1958, pp. 328-329</ref> After further difficulties, the Owen gun entered mass production in Australia.<ref name=Mellor331>Mellor, 1958, p. 331</ref>
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| − | The gun was eventually patented in 1943,<ref>[http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/auspat/pdfSource.do?fileQuery=%7Bw%8B%88%60%85%95%92%9A%91I%89%8C%8F%88%91%84%90%88%60dxT%5CWTSSUUVZeSQ%93%87%89I%89%92%9B%60%89%92%9B "Australian Patent No. 115,974"] Department of Patents.</ref> and Owen, the patentee, received royalties per gun built. He later sold the rights to the patent to the [[Commonwealth of Australia]].<ref name=Mellor328>Mellor, 1958, pp. 328-329</ref>
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| − | By late 1942 the Owen was being used in jungle fighting against the Japanese in [[New Guinea]]. Despite the development of an Australian variant of the Sten, the [[Austen submachine gun|Austen]], the Owen was found to still be the weapon of choice amongst soldiers.<ref name=Mellor332>Mellor, 1958, p. 332</ref> More than 45,000 Owen guns were produced during the [[Second World War]] and they continued in use during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and in the early years of the Vietnam War.<ref name=Wardell549/>
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| | ==Later life== | | ==Later life== |
| | Owen received £10,000 in royalties and from the sale of patent rights, and used the money to establish a sawmill near Wollongong, where he lived alone. A heavy drinker, Owen was admitted to Wollongong hospital where he died from a ruptured gastric ulcer on 1 April 1949 at the age of 33. | | Owen received £10,000 in royalties and from the sale of patent rights, and used the money to establish a sawmill near Wollongong, where he lived alone. A heavy drinker, Owen was admitted to Wollongong hospital where he died from a ruptured gastric ulcer on 1 April 1949 at the age of 33. |
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| − | == References ==
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| − | {{reflist}}
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| | ==External links== | | ==External links== |
