Interesting Photo - 'Hybrid' Bren Guns Carried By Vichy French Milice Militia

[peregrinvs]

I've just got my copy of the July / August edition of the Armourer militaria collectors magazine and on page 27 is an interesting photo of three Brens being carried by members of the Vichy French Milice militia that had been intercepted from stocks parachuted to the French resistance.

What caught my eye is that they are hybrids of MkI and MkII parts. The picture is fairly clear and you can see that all three have MkI receivers and MkII butts. The gun closest to the camera also has a MkI* barrel, a MkI barrel locking nut, a British type MkII bipod and a MkII barrel handle. The second gun behind is partially obscured, but you can see it has a MkI* barrel. The third gun is also obscured, but you can see it has a MkII barrel handle.

I would make the assumption that these guns were probably captured 'out of the crate' and it is unlikely that the Milice would have deliberately mixed up the parts in what appears to be a uniform way from other captured British MkII Brens.

So does anyone know if Brens intended for the French resistance were deliberately put together as hybrids of MkI and MkII parts? The only reason I can think of is that it was thought that the MkII parts would be more durable or easier to field repair? But if so, why not just supply complete MkII Brens.

An interesting little mystery...

Mark

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