Information AboutPolsten |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT POLSTEN | |
| anti-aircraft guns | |
| 20 mm artillery | |
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The Polsten was used as a subsitute for the Oerlikon in the same roles, one of which was as an airborne unit anti-aircraft gun. It was used on a wheeled mounting that could be towed behind a jeep. The Polsten gun was used for armoured vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft guns based on the Cromwell/Centuar tank. The Polsten was also mounted on early models of the Centurion Tank not coaxially with the main gun but in the left hand side of the turret. The origin of the name is not entirely clear. Some sources suggest Poland and the "Sten Company" to give Pol-sten, though the Sten gun was not made by a Sten Company. Official (United Kingdom) sources indicate the name to have been a compound based on Poland and the Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield in the same manner as the Bren gun (Brno + '''En'''field) or Sten ('''S'''hephard, '''T'''urpin + '''En'''field); also to reflect the gun design being mostly Polish (and the magazine mostly Czech) and the 8 Polish engineers in the design department. The "Sten" ending may also have linked in with the idea of the gun as a cheaper and quicker to produce weapon just like that gun was. SEE ALSO
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