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My quest was successful - markII Inglis 1943
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../34smbsx-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...5/fxcp5x-1.jpg
I'll try & get some better pictures. Bore isn't bad, bipod is a little buggered, overall pretty good. not a dewat, semi auto
Hi Infidel, has it got an original Serial number? I may be able to pin a month of production down for you.
Don't worry about the bipod, its a Brit Daimler/monotype Bipod which would be wrong for your gun. You should be able to pick up a Inglis Mk3 type bipod for a pretty good price in the States. Which parts are worn/damaged? If its the fit on the gas cylinder it could be that its worn or the bipod is badly worn. check the earlier post on the forum about Bren Mk1 gas system upgrades as I've a fealing the early Mk2 guns had the press fit version of the Mk1 gas cylinder (Mk2?3?) which had 2 rows of holes.
Cheers, Chris.
here are a couple of pics. what is the appropriate bipod? You can see that this one is missing the eye for the sling.Not sure how to tell the state of the gas regulator. There is some wear.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../25kn2mp-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../1zldsg8-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...5/6dzn7c-1.jpg
It's not missing the eye bolt loop. That little projection is to stop it tipping over. On the cheap Mk2 and 3 bipods (and variants.....) the sling was attached to the bar below the legs. It also went through the rifle type loop on the butt too. Saves using the big hooks that caused havoc with the wooden butts!
Thanks Peter, the edge of the projection is rough, and it looked like something had snapped off
The Mk3 bipod is basicaly the Mk1 (Adjustable legs) but with fixed legs instead. Your gun is from around the end of October/begining of November.
Cheers, Chris.
Canada and Australia had different ideas as to what constituted Mk2 and 3 bipods. We (the UK) also had a variant that was authorised on DP Brens and that was a sort of 'home made' Mk3..... where you could use unserviceable adjustable legs, with the inner and outer legs bolted together to become NON-adjustable, but useable on the DP guns. A way of utilising unserviceable bits when/where acceptable
As I remember, the inners and outers were only available as matched sets which was a bit wasteful bacause they WOULD/COULD interchange, even with a bit of simple filing to fit! Oh well.........
Did the Indians call their brazed up Mk1 type bipods the Mk3?
If I may ask - based on this discussion, is this Mk3 bipod? Thank you!
That LOOKS to me like a Canadian simplified Mk1 bipod, called the CMk3. The UK Mk3 was a lightened cheaper version of the cheapened Mk2. It's confusing I know!
The tapered outer legs were shipped across the Atlantic the OTHER way because initially, Canada didn't have the rolling presses necessary to roll the tapered tubes.
Yep, thats the Canadian Mk3 as used on the Inglis Mk2. Gripweed, Is your Mk1 a Enfield? It looks it, it also looks like a British Mk2 barrel but I cant quite tell. Would you mind telling me the serial number?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gripweed
Cheers, Chris.
Yes, its Enfield Mk.I body BB4135 (1943).
I think that barrel is british Mk2, butt slide is Mk1, body is for sure also british Mk1, but confused about bipod and butt. If the bipod in canadian one, its more mixed I expected...:runaway:
Butt looks like Mk2, but what about the straight butt plate? I would expect the curved one :dunno:
And finally Mk2 piston inside...
What about the sign JI hammered on the parts? Is this mark of particular company?
The butt is a Mk2. I don't think I've seen a non-curved mk2 butt plate before and I would be interested to know what it is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gripweed
The 'JI' is the mark of the John Inglis company of Toronto, Canada. (I believe the Whirlpool company is their modern descendent) As well as complete MkI, MkI(m) and MkII Brens, I get the impression they made a lot of Bren spares - many of which are to be found reducing the originality of my 1940 Enfield MkI.:lol:
Mark
Thank you - so it proofs suggestion that bipod is canadian (Inglis) made.
The straight Mk2 type butt plate without the overhang is in fact the Mk3 butt plate. It's little known but was used to replace the awful overhung Mk2 butt plate. The Mk2 butt plate caused nothing but trouble to Armourers because every time the gun was put down on its butt, it punched the nose of the overhang into the wood recess that it was fitted into (along the top of the butt.....) and split it. It also bent the top butt plate screw and stripped the threaded hole too. This meant patching the butt.
The first relaxation was that the top of the wooden butt could be made off so that the top strap of the butt plate was level with the butt and not recessed into the wood. That was all well and good but it STILL knackered the screw and hole..... which needed drilling out, wood peg plugged, drilling and a new screw. Common sense prevailed and the Mk3 butt plate was introduced - as shown, and this solved the problem.
The overhung Mk2 butt plate also prevented the gun from going into the chest unless a small chamfer was cut into the right hand end to allow the overhung butt plate to squeeze the butt onto the buffer and then into the chest. Mk2 butt plates, an Armourers worst enemy........
Oooooops, minor error slipped in here! The FLAT butt plate for the Mk2 butt, as shown on Gripweeds gun is the PLATE, butt, Mk4 and NOT the Mk3 as I said.
As a matter of interest, the Mk3 butt plate was a Mk2 butt plate, modified to fit onto the lightened Mk2 butt (called the Mk3, that looked similar to a Mk4 butt.....), for the Mk4 gun. Just HOW much more confusing can it get? Anyway, for the lightweight Mk3 Bren gun, it used the Mk5 butt plate on a Mk4 butt
Got all that regarding Bren butts and butt plate configurations..... because I'll be asking questioins on it during the next lesson......