Owen gun was an Australian-designed and manufactured submachine gun. The Australian Army used it from World War II (1939-1945) until the early 1960’s.
The Australian inventor Evelyn E. Owen of Wollongong, New South Wales, invented the Owen gun. He produced a test model in July 1939. The Australian steel company John Lysaght Limited agreed to help develop the gun at its Newcastle Works. After testing the gun, the Army ordered 100 units. But the results of later tests were so favorable that the order was increased to 2,000. Delivery of the Owen gun began early in 1942.
The Owen gun had a magazine that held 32 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition. It could be fired at a rate of 800 rounds per minute. The gun was usually used to fire a burst of two or three rounds, or single shots. It weighed 11 pounds (5 kilograms). It could be fired from the shoulder or the hip.
