The Owen Gun - In the Movies

Just an FYI I'm using the term ANZAC ambiguously to refer to any joint Aussie Kiwi forces. This is generally okay but ANZAC does more specifically refer to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

Contrary to popular belief, the magazine on the Owen gun isn't actually on the top, it's just the normal view from an Australian perspective that makes it look that way.

The Owen Gun, an All Australian Gun. Shame it's not well known because of the Thompson and Sten. The Owen deserves more love. And this is coming from an American.

As a half Australian and personally being named Owen, I have to say that this gun is the best sub-machinegun out there.

I am an Australian and my Surname is Owen. Evelyn Owen the designer or the Owen Submachine gun was a distant relative of mine. Distant cousin of my Grandfather and Great Uncle. My Grandfather, his brother and all the cousins all fought in some capacity in WW2, funnily enough my Great Uncle used this very gun while fighting in the Solomon Islands and Bougainville, although he told me when I was a small child that he picked it up off a dead fella that didn't need it. He originally had a Lee-Enfield 303. He said the gun was perfect, never jammed on him. And went into great detail of the damage it did to Japanese soldiers......

I like the Owen. It’s as simple a design as you can make and have it still work. It’s as close to soldier proof as any gun I’ve seen.

Danger Close is such an amazing movie. Fantastic record of Australian IMT (Infantry Minor Tactics), and Arty FO'ing.

I think this would only be interesting to Indonesians but Owen appears in a lot of 70s and 80s war film about Indonesian National Revolution. Usually it was carried by senior officer such as then Lt. Colonel Suharto (future President of Indonesia) in the movie Serangan Fajar (Attack at Dawn) about General Attack of 1 March at Yogyakarta, which is then a occupied capital of Indonesian Republic. I remember it was in several movie such as Janur Kuning (set in the same backdrop as Serangan Fajar), Kereta Api Terakhir (fictional story based on how Indonesians try to bring all the locomotive to new capital of Yogyakarta) and Pasukan Berani Mati (Suicide Troops, another fictional story on group of rebels commit suicide mission on Dutch territory). The usage of Owen is based on real life that this gun is so desirable that usually officer welds it. Shame that many old Indonesian war movie didn't have an official release since VCD era in 2000s, while story and effect might not be the best, but it's unique and I think you can tell a lot of story from it.

British: “why is the Sten so bad? How do we fix this?” Australians: “lol this right side up magazine is great”

Sten "who are you?" Owen "I'm you but better"

The most gloriously simple, inelegant and reliable bit of metal piping to exist in the Australian armoury :)

such an underrated gun. Some of the camp patterns they came up with were damn cool too!

This was probably the BEST smg of the war

Another great video Johnny, thanks for the shout-out for "Danger Close" too. The reliability factor in close jungle fighting can't be underestimated I think. The "Digger's Darling" was the right weapon in the right place at the right time for sure.

Numbers were supplied to US forces in the SWPA. Interestingly, the design allows a calibre change simply by changing the front barrel assembly. Further, later models had a bayonet fitting added, which was continued in the design of the Owen's successor, the F1. Finally, the Owen (and F1) are technically 'machine carbines', according to the design nomenclature originally produced. Last point, but not specifically about the weapon, but relevant...the australian 9mm parabellum round used by the Owen and the F1 were both supercharged (I can't comment on the WW2 loading though, just Vietnam era onwards), giving the projectile a muzzle velocity slightly over 1400 fps, which was well above velocities for other handgun and SMG rounds at the time. The F1 combined a lot of feedback and features derived from australian tactical doctrine and experience...it was intended to be able to shoot someone, stab them or beat them to death, a truly fine close quarters all-rounder.

FINALLY, some well deserved recognition of this unique firearm! And the film Danger Close is an excellent film!

When I first saw the Owen submachinegun I thought it was just a variation of the Sten. But the more I read about it the more I realised how much better it was. For one thing come the 1960s the Sten had been replaced by the Sterling SMG, a very much better version. Whereas the Aussies still had the Owen. They also came up with a fighter during WW2 which would have given the Spitfire, P-51, FW-190 and a number of tohers a run for their money if it had gotten into production. They even built a tank. No not the Bob Semple tank. The other one. The AC1 Sentinel, of which there was three versions. And its successor the AC3 Thunderbolt

About 10 years ago an old guy walked into the local police station (UK) with one of these and handed it in to my dad at the front desk. Said he was searching through his attic and found it! Unfortunately it ended up being destroyed. My old man took a picture with it and as I recall it still had some of the yellow/green cam paint on it.

Went to the Australian War Museum in Canberra. Wonderful museum. Great exhibits. Tons of amazing artifacts including some Owens. Top notch.

3:18 Guy firing full auto next to a crowd — hey! let’s throw some sand in his eyes! 😂