The ROFSTEN was a British prototype submachine gun that was produced by ROF Fazakerley.
History
The ROFSTEN was a derivative of the Sten designed at the Royal Ordnance Factory of Fazakerley, Liverpool, in 1944. It was intended to be submitted to the Ordnance Board for trials, but ROF Fazakerley were unable to secure funding to produce any more than one prototype. The project was then cancelled. The sole prototype is currently located in the National Firearms Center in Leeds.[1]
Design
As per above, the ROFSTEN is a prototype derivative of the Sten, with some obvious differences; the most obvious being that the magazine is placed vertically as opposed to on the left of the weapon. Inside the weapon was two return spring rods with a buffer between them; a large flash hider was fixed to the barrel and a No. 5 bayonet could be affixed to the front as well.
The weapon's charging handle is a ring-styled loop located on the rear of the receiver, and is pulled to the rear to charge the weapon. The ROFSTEN was also noted to have been made to a very high standard, which could have been a reason as to why there was a lack of funding for the weapon due to most weapons at the time being made mainly for mass production.