L4 7.62 Conversion Question

Hello, I'm new to the forum so if I ask really stupid questions please bear with me.

I am building an L4 for our British Army Cold War display, circa 1980. We had a demilled Mk II Bren to start the conversion. Since this will only be for display with no internal parts, I'd like to have the exterior look as good as possible, which will include the appropriate markings. We have all the parts to make it into an L4, but I have some questions.

Were Mk II's only converted to L4A3's?

Were L4A3's used by the British Army, or were they only used by the Royal Navy?

Were L4A4's only converted from Mk III's?

Thanks in advance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dangerous Don

Hello, I'm new to the forum so if I ask really stupid questions please bear with me.

I am building an L4 for our British Army Cold War display, circa 1980. We had a demilled Mk II Bren to start the conversion. Since this will only be for display with no internal parts, I'd like to have the exterior look as good as possible, which will include the appropriate markings. We have all the parts to make it into an L4, but I have some questions.

Were Mk II's only converted to L4A3's? YES but technically the L4A5 also, but it gets a little complicated with timings and it appears the A5 actually became the A3.

Were L4A3's used by the British Army, or were they only used by the Royal Navy? Royal Navy and foreign sales. Supposedly the MOD asked Interarms to refurb the Navys A3s for the TA but they received the GPMG instead and the contract was terminated before delivery.

Were L4A4's only converted from Mk III's? Yes, the L4 is the Bren part and the A number is the derivative, so each A number will only ever be the same for each.

A1 initial conversion to 7.62mm from Mk3
A2 better conversion from Mk3 and very little similarities to the A1
A3 conversion from Mk2 as per A2 design
A4 as A2 but single chrome barrel
A5 as A3 but single chrome barrel (this is the odd part, the A3 production didn’t begin until after the A4 was well established so it appears all A3s were built with a single chrome barrel. That would make them A5s but as the A3 hadn’t been built, they simply called it the A3).
A6 as A1 with single chrome barrel
A7 conversion of Mk1 believed for Greece but didn’t happen.

There’s also the Indian variants of the A4 if you can find them.

Thanks in advance!

Comments above.

Thanks a bunch! That's what I thought, but the info was scattered all over the place. This makes it nice and concise.