The MAGNIFICENT Bren

[Peter Laidler]

Hopefully, within a couple of weeks when the Forumers have seen the guiding light that is emitted from every Bren, we'll be able to re-name this chapter to The MAGNIFICENT Bren.

The longest continually serving bit of kit in the British Army, lasting from Agust 1938 until April or so 2007, albeit by default.

We have the very last 7.62mm L4 and .303" Brens held on charge preserved for posterity at Warminster

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[trooper554877]

I concur with peter,
I have had the good fortune to have had the oppourtunity whilst serving to have been qualified and carried and fired many rounds through one of these, albiet in 7.62mm version.
It was actually preferred in the jungle due to the ammo being kept dryish in the mags. The only down side was trying to scrounge enough puches to carry all 10 that where issued with the gun!
Damn fine weapon that is very wothy of the MAGNIFICENT kudo.
I look forward to to reading this forum.
Cheers
NED

[Badger]

Hi Peter ...

Way back in the early 60's when I first did my basic infantry training, I was assigned to the LMG group and trained on the Bren for a period of time, until they replaced it with the FN-C2 and put us through re-training.

I loved the Bren and hated the FN-C2.

That old girl was such a pleasure to handle and shoot, while the FN-C2 kicked the heck out of my face and body. I wasn't able to maintain accurate fire with it, yet with the old Bren, it was like a comfortable glove laying down smooth covering fire.

I wish we were allowed to own them over here in Canada, but successive left wing governments have made it impossible to own it except in the form of a DEWAT.

Even one of those I'd love to have to sit out on the coffee table and drive the wife crazy, but I haven't been able to find one for sale here that has been disabled in such a way that I can still enjoy stripping and assembling it.

If anyone knows of a DEWAT Bren with complete kit in great condition, please let me know.

Good luck with the forum Peter. I hope it attracts a lot of interesting members who focus their collecting on this wonderful old milsurp.

Regards,
Doug (Badger)

[Peter Laidler]

I was priveliged to be a young Armourer in Malaya when the Small Arms School were there trying to replace the jungle Brens with the GPMG. It wasn't their lucky day....! After several months trying to sort out the particular 'jungely' problems of the GPMG, they were forced to relent and the Bren stayed the course.

One of the problems was the dangly belts of ammo but this was said to have been solved by a waterbottle pouch that carried the belt. Good try, but no cigar! The next try was the now familiar belt box but this was worse that a dangly belt. Still they tried and still they failed.

They did say (and one of them was later, my boss at the Small Arms School.....) that as soon as we (Australians and Kiwis ....., The UK troops had gone pretty well left by mid '68) were back home, the Bren would be a relic. Little did they realise it then that the trusty magnificent Bren still had another half its life ahead of it from '38 to '68 then '68 to '98 plus a few more years.

If ever there was a magnificent beast that was truly worthy of its own chapter, then it MUST be the Bren.

You might be interested to know that we recently assisted TOMMY ATKINS media (tommyatkinsmedia.co.uk) make a 90 minute video of the Bren and other LMG's. Naturally, the Bren (and the MG34/42) takes centre stage as it truly deserves. I haven't seen it but whenever we live fire a Bren, I make sure that I put a couple of magazines through it '......just to hear it running'. My son has also filled his boots with the Bren too. Words don't do them justice.

One of the VERY senior, high ranking big-wigs at Warminster is retiring soon and he has mentioned that he'd like to fire a Bren again, as a retitement present, Not a 7.62mm gun, but a real .303" Bren. And his wish is about to come true in January. Just 500 or so rounds will do...............

[Stevo]

Well, I'm not a "serious collector" of the Bren so I'm not sure I should post here.

Mine, all mine. And not a dewat:

[x westie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_Foster


Thought this might get you Bren Gun fans drooling.....and smoking back then was considered very cool..!

[Sarge]

I've had my 1941 Mk I (with a Mk II stock unfortunately) for about 15 yrs. Of all my many full autos it is one of my 2 most favorites - the other is an FN/FAL select fire.
Here it is with some of it's stable mates.
Sarge

[Peter Laidler]

The Wikipedia girl has an early Inglis Mk1 gun with the double dovetail. It also has the early Mk1or 1* barrel with a stepped taper flash eliminator.

The original design and the designers kept on that the stepped taper served no purpose except to complicate production....., but Enfield knew best!

There was a problem with ridges (up to 3 or 4 if it wasn't cleaned regularly.....) of glass hard carbon forming within the narrow stepped taper. So they designed a scraper reamer to form part of the combination too. Yep, that's what it's for (and the barrel acts as a tommy bar when the spanner part is used to unscrew the return spring tube.....) but if you CAN'T clean the carbon, then the emerging gas ball that overtakes the bullet causes extreme turbulence that upsets the bullet that just goes..., well, anywhere. They found this out, along with another VERY serious gas problem, just when they really didn't need more problems, while they were fighting in France!

The next barrel went back to what they suggested in the first place....., a straight taper that eliminated the problem.

It took the Mk2 gun to sort out the next serious gas problem, with a redesigned gas cylinder but it was like drawing teeth............

[Kev G]

Stevo,do you mind saying what the serial number prefix is on your 7.92 ?

ATB Kevin

[Stevo]

Stevo,do you mind saying what the serial number prefix is on your 7.92 ?

ATB Kevin

No mind at all, I'll check when I get off work. How many digits do you want?