Mk1 vs. Mk2 Buttstock Return Springs

[Peter Laidler]

The classic Bren total fiasco was machining gas escape in the gas cylinder, DIRECTLY underneath the bipod sleeve. Have a look at a Mk1 gas cylinder. Have you ever heard of such folly? The instructions said that after every couple of magazines, the gun crew should twist the gun on the bipod - left to right to left - a few times to break the carbon away. Good idea - if, during the heat of battle in France in May and June 1940, they remembered to do so. One or two (?) didn't...... The result was a bipod stuck solid on the gas cylinder. Even WORSE was the crews that DID remember to twist the gun on the bipod. The diamond hard carbon fouling was harder than the poor stainless (?) steel gas cylinder. So within a short time the gas cylinder and bipod sleeve were ground down, the gas escaped and soon was insufficient to cock the gun.

The quick fix was to increase the gas by reaming out the gas prts in the barrel.

Even BETTER was that for the first 5 years of production and service, until 1943 or so, Locking shoulders were not supplied as spare parts. So a worn out gun with oversize CHS remained a worn out gun with excess CHS..

As for the pure horse manure that the gun was so accurate that it could be used as a sniper rifle...................

But all that said, I loved it to bits. No doubt, the best incarnation was the Mk3 that had all the troubles ironed out and into the L4 A4. Just providing that you told the young Armourers in no uncertain terms, that you must never, ever, not NEVER rush a job working on a Bren.