UK out of service date for the .303 Bren?

[mrclark303]

Evening chaps, I was watching a fascinating programme on BBC4 the other day about achieve defence footage from the 1960's.

Among the nostalgic V bomber scrambles there was an interesting film regarding BOAR exercises in circa 1962 ish, among the L1A1's and SMG,s troops seemed to be still using .303 Brens. So when did they finally leave front line service?

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[Peter Laidler]

There is no true final date as they were only ever declared obsolescent...... The old .303 guns drifted on for absolutely ages and ages, well into the late 60's and early 70's for rear echelon units. I would say that the very last 303 guns went with the that last CONBAT anti tank guns where they were used alongside the main gun as ranging guns. The 7.62 guns were also used but the trajectory didn't match the main armament unless the hapless gunner employed a conversion scale that was so complicated that......... Well, put it this way. Not many Infantry anti-tank gunners had a diploma in logarithmic mathematics (- or even a basic schooling sometimes!).

When the last Conbats left front line TA service, so did the .303 Bren. BUT....... They remained in Cadet force service until the last remains of the 303 guns were declared obsolete in 2003. But by this time a lot of the old .303 guns had already been replaced by L4A4 guns in Cadet service. Generally speaking, the last 303 guns were all Mk2's and certainly the vast majority in BAOR were Mk2's while the Mk3's were the preserve of Far-East Land Forces. The vast bulk of these FARELF Mk3's formed the backbone of the huge early 70's L4A4 conversion programme.

Not quite the answer you asked for but near enough..........

[mrclark303]

Thanks Peter, much appreciated.

Talking of Army Cadets using Brens, I remember being out hunting in the mid 1980's, when a bunch of young cadets ruined the peace, on land they shouldn't have been on (and scattered the rabbits for miles) trying to work their way through a very thorny hedge line .. the sight of a little 13 year old bedraggled lad, dragging a Bren Gun by the muzzle that was as tall as him, desperately trying to free it from the thorn bushes, cracked me up and still makes me laugh today when I think about it!

[Peter Laidler]

Off track slightly but regarding Brens. With the change in the UK dewat/deactivation specification of Brens, from 'working parts' and mostly strippable to welded up, the last of the old spec are almost gone as I understand it. In a year you'll be saying '.......I wish I'd bought an old spec when I had the chance'.

GO AND GET ONE NOW. It will be too late very soon!

[Flying10uk]

Did any .303 Brens remain in U.K. long term storage as "War Reserve Stock" long after they were declared obsolete together with other long obsolete weapons such as Stens. I have heard various rumours of this nature over the years but have no idea if there is any truth in them.

[Peter Laidler]

Nope - in short. Once any kit is declared obsolete it is destroyed or disposed of. Stuff in store is just an expensive way of storing fresh air. So while it is readied for disposal it is stored of course but disposal or destruction is generally a quick process

[Brit plumber]

Yep, we've gone away from storing anything these days and that's why we run out of things and have equipment shortages which ultimately be come more expensive. But it's all about who's budget pays for what.

[Flying10uk]

Someone did tell me in the last year or so that the thinking nowadays in the MOD is not to store much spare equipment even if current issue but to purchase it again new if needed. Presumably this is why so much current issue kit is seen on the surplus market. I'm not too sure about this theory/practice making economic sense for the poor old U.K. Tax payer???

[Peter Laidler]

Storeage of kit is always a thorny problem. To store it in what are now commercially run Ordnance Depots costs money. You could argue that there is absolutely no need to store valuable MAN lorry spares or Land Rover spares when a Field workshop order for, say, a rebuilt rear axle is directed straight to the UK distributor who sends it out to the unit as he would an order to the MAN lorry depot in Crewe.

A lot of stuff is simply not serviced now due to costs. Why repair a fairly cheap set of fixed focus binoculars that cost £70 or a quartz wristwatch that costs £22? Just replace it and send the old ones back to the manufacturer who decides if it's even economic to repair. I often used to quote the new cost of L4 and L7 BFA's against the cost of having them rebuilt..... Do we train apprentices over 3 years to repair night vision kit? Or do we let an unskilled(?) fitter do any un-important external fixes and send the internally damaged unit back to Pilkington for a like-new exchange unit?

A difficult one that I have had to see both sides of

[Brit plumber]

The problem we have is that the MOD didn't procure enough spares to account for those parts returned to 3rd/4th line or that the contract was never set up correctly in the first place. We used to have to rob tyres from one aircraft to fly another. Thank god that ridiculous position has passed.

One of the good things to come out of clearing out the Depots is the discovery of long lost things. Merlin Engine at Stafford, WM20s at Carlisle and a few years ago a 1940 Bren from Portsmouth.