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10-03-2018 06:05 AM
# ADS
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I seem to recall that we only marked the barrels with the serial number and the letter prefix, such as A 12345 (and the S if it was the second barrel as here)
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Legacy Member
My one arrived as well, Lithgow as predicted.
It has 2 numbers, neither are struck out A1791 (with the 1* marking) and also 3729 a bit further round. Looks like a 2 42 date stamp. Did Lithgow Bren serial numbers start at A1?
Evidence of green paint on the handle for some reason
Nice to see the dealer painting over the exposed metal, though not sure if I may try and improve that part somehow
Some pictures below, please let me know if there is any interesting history or info to be gleaned from them.
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Contributing Member
ON BEHALF OF FLYING10UK
MK1 Bren barrel, deactivated of course, which I have recently purchased from WWA? It is of Lithgow manufacture and I believe that the barrel sleeve with the lip at one end (similar to the MK2 sleeve but with a lip) was unique to Australia. Flying10uk
'Tonight my men and I have been through hell and back again, but the look on your faces when we let you out of the hall - we'd do it all again tomorrow.' Major Chris Keeble's words to Goose Green villagers on 29th May 1982 - 2 PARA
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Thank You to Gil Boyd For This Useful Post:
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The sleeve is just a Mk1 without the holes. A simplification that led to the elimination of the lip and ended up as a rough casting which evolved into a sleeve which was a cross between the Mk2 and the Mk4/L4 type.
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Thank You to Brit plumber For This Useful Post:
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There are Enfield marked examples of the simplified pattern with lip out there. The Aussies did the MK1 pattern then the simplified pattern with lip then moved onto a sleeve with out lip, then progressed onto the early British MK2 pattern around 4'43, which seems a bit back to front but thats how they did it. Two new patterns of sleeve recently surfaced on two '54 dated barrels which i will try and put photos on the forum.
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Thank You to ZGB For This Useful Post:
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I count my blessings that the barrels we have in the US are not required to be cut up (or deactivated) IF they arrived before the reign of Obama. I can not express how much it bothers me to see all this good and HISTORICAL material reduced to something one step away from scrap metal by your UK Government.
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The Following 2 Members Say Thank You to AmEngRifles For This Useful Post:
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OMG
I saw the pricing of the barrels. Wow, live working barrels are cheaper here in the US.
Thanks for sharing your info on Deactivated Barrels.
Brit plumber Also looking for barrel number info. I'll work on it.
Later 42rocker
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I am not sure of the real purpose or sanity of this, but this thread makes me want to purchase EVERY live Bren barrel I can, to save them. I will NEVER be able to ship them out of country now that they are here, due to things like ITAR and EU regulations, but I can hardly bear that all this history gets cut up. Guess I could apply the same thought process to Short Sterlings, and Lancasters, but can't afford to pick up many of those. :-)
I wonder just how many Bren guns and barrels were shipped to the US in the good ole days? I am the proud owner of a working semi auto. I currently have both an early and a later Mk I for my Mk I semi auto. I have a Mk II and a Mk III, all in what I would term good plus plus. Not excellent, but pretty clean and with plenty of rifling. What am I missing as far as models or types? Wish I could get another Mk III, but those seem a bit scarce here.
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