Australia’s Owen Gun

For these design reasons, as well as the gun firing only the light .22 caliber round, the Australian Ordnance Officers in Sydney informed Owen that his weapon would not be suitable for the Army, although it fired accurately and did not jam. Finally, an Australian Army colonel rejected Owen’s gun because Australian Imperial Force (AIF) commanders saw no value in SMGs, stating, “That is an American gangsters’ gun; the army has no use for those.” A second reason for not supporting an Owen SMG prototype centered on the Australian Army’s disinterest in a locally manufactured gun.

Source: warfarehistorynetwork.com