Toronto Archives photo search on John Inglis Plant/bren guns

[tankhunter]

I would imagine from my Own Expierence in Defence Manufacturing. That the Tripod in question would have been almost certainly modified in the factory itself for the purpose of test firing of Brens from a purely conviniece point. And also, that the firing port on the indoor range was so high, it nessesitated the extention the the mount legs to enable the weapons to fire through it.
This would have been a simple mod to execute, by simply cutting the feet & the 'Clutch Heads' on the legs off. And rewelding onto tubes of suitable diameter & length desired, the feet & 'Clutch Heads' as required.
A LOT of one off's were done like this is various manufacturing plants to enable certain repetitive tasks to be done & expidite them as quickly as possible. Wartime manufacturing, as you can imagine was not about total
quality, but Quantitiy!
NOTE the Rifle slings attached to the Bren tripod, which was the CORRECT carrying method when being 'Manpacked' by manpower alone. I have in my own collection & im absolutey CERTAIN a lot of Fellow forum Member have also. A 'Purpose made' tan canvas tripod carrying harness for these tripods. They are very common here in the UK. This is to my mind, a strange affair, as In mY opinion. The web material is a tad on the Thin side for such a heavy mount. In service my view is that they would not survive for very long through wear & tear, & would quickly cut through the material after a short time in usage. I wonder if this was for Foriegn contract? Perhaps NZ or India? I dont know for sure, but all seem to originate from a factory in Stockport 'Up North'. Also, all seem to be in unissued condition, indicating that they were never used! The rifle sling method was fine, thick durable items that would easily survive in usage. So to that end, WHY were these thin harnesses ever made? And that they were, why was the material so flimsy to self evidently not be able to get through the Ravages od Military Service!............Anybody got any definitive Info? I would be very interested to know the Answer! Mike.