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How many Sten magazines does a 1937 pouch hold?

This is a question for re-enactors. How many Sten magazines could be put into a standard 1937 ammo pouch? Could the cover be closed? If not, how did British soldiers keep their magazines from falling out? Finally, how many Sten magazines are usually issued?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hopefully somebody better informed will answer this question.

[1] Here is a comment from source [1] below --- which, by the way, seems to be a good and fair description of the Sten's virtues and vices.

"Sten Gun magazines were originally carried in the basic infantryman's pouch on the 1937 Pattern webbing. The pouches could not be fastened, however, and a longer pouch was eventually designed, though few seem to have been issued before the end of the Second World War. A special Sten Gun bandolier was also issued to Airborne troops."

The 1937 webbing and pouches had been designed long before the Sten was introduced. That's why they didn't fit the job of carrying the magazines.

[2] There is an illustration at source [2] of a pouch to hold 5 sten magazines. But I think that it is an m-41 pouch, not the 1937 model.

The same source mentions (but doesn't illustrate) an 8-magazine pouch for the Sten. I doubt that would be a military issue pouch at all, but rather a holster style open-ended pouch that would be of little use on active service.

[3] There is a photo of an ammo belt and four Sten magazine pouches at the eBay link. I doubt those are 1937 pouches, because they are shown closed. Each pouch seems to be for a single magazine.