ROMANCE OF GUN

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 84, 6 October 1941, Page 9

ROMANCE OF GUN

AUSTRALIAN INVENTOR

GREAT PERFORMANCE

MAN'S ENTERPRISE

(0.C.) SYDNEY, October 1. A romantic story lies .behind the invention of the Owen sub-machine-gun, designed by a 27-year-old Australian, which last Monday overshadowed similar types of American and British weapons in exacting tests in Sydney. It is a story of triumph over official Army complacency and reserve, of two soldier brothers in Tobruk giving encouragement to the inventor, and finally of a small group of patriotic business men whose, faith in the g;un forced the authorities to recognise its possibilities. The yeai 1 war broke, Evelyn Owen, son Of a solicitor at Wollongong, 50 miles south of Sydney, where he had a ready-mixed mortar plant, submitted ' a sub-machine-gun of .22 calibre, which he had designed, to the military authorities "in Sydney. They rejected it, saying that there was no use for sub-machine-guns. Discouraged, Owen enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force nine months' ago with his two brothers, Peter and Julian. They were on final leave when Mr. V. A. Wardell (manager) and Mr. 'G. S. Wardell (chief engineer) of Lysaghts, Limited, a big metalworks company, heard of Owen's gun. Seized with its possibilities, they succeeded in interesting tha Minister of the Army, who had Owen released from the Army to resume work on his design. . A TRIAL SECURED. Owen was transferred to the Inventions Board, Melbourne. He was further encouraged in his efforts by persistent letters from Peter and Julian, who had been sent to Tobruk. "Always in my thoughts was the hope that I would be able to put my invention finally into the hands of- my brothers facing the Germans at Tobruk," said Owen. "They kept writing to me demanding, 'When are you going to give us that gun? It is badly needed over here.*" When his design was. completed Owen and his sponsors .interviewed Mr. Spender, who presented them to a meeting of Cabinet Ministers to put their plea. As a result of a trial, 100 Owen sub-machine-guns were ordered and it was one of these picked at random by Mr. Spender that was tested against the American Thompson gun and the British Sten gun. Equalling . them for accuracy of fire, it surpassed them in "bad weather" tests. To simulate desert conditions, hand'fuls of sand were thrown over the gun au it was being fired. It continued to fire normally, while both British and American guns jammed.' When all three guns were subjected to the test of being buried in a heap of sand the Owen gun was the only one to continue firing automatically. Immersed in water before firing, the Owen gun continued to fire more evenly than either the British or the American guns. Thrown into a mud bath, the Owen gun continued to fire automatic- I ally and normally, whereas both the British and American guns faltered. VER* CHEAP PRODUCTION. The Owen-gun has-other advantages over its rivals. It can be produced at a cost'of £6, against £60 for the Thompson, and weighs only lOilb, which' is lighter^than the Thompson. It has a clip of 30 cartridges which can be fired in a three-second burst or singly. If the musketry 'experts' report is favourable—and they seemed greatly impressed hy the trials—Mr. Spender said the Owen gun will be i mass produced to equip Australian units and probably 6ther . British troops. " ■ • I The next few days will be anxious ones for Owen, but he is quietly conr ', fident of what the report will be. He has been interested in guns since a small boy, when, in his father's tiny workshop, he tinkered with toy pistols. At the age of 13 he thought out the idea of making a bomb from a sparklet bulb, which he filled with cordite. He put what he thought was a long enough fuse on it, but apparently he stood too close when he fired it. The flying fragments entered his body, inflicting painful injuries. He still has the scars. PARENTS VERY CONCERNED. "My parents were very concerned," said Owen, "but admitted that they had expected something Of the sort to happen as a result of my wild experiments. About a year later I attempted' to make a pistol, using a ,22 rifle barrel and a bolt of ray own invention. I had it loaded and in a vice, but unfortunately the wrong end was lacing me. As I leaned over to make some adjustment there was a sudden roar as the gun went off and a bullet went through the side of my stomach and came out again. It was. ho wh}t discouraged and "continued with my experiments." , - Prior to the war Owen ..made tests I with ordinary service ammunition in ! the hope of adapting it to an automatic rifle he had devised. j