Bren
The
Bren (from
'Brno, the Czechoslovakian town of design, and
Enfield', the location of the British
Royal Small Arms Factory), usually called the
Bren Gun, was a series of
light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles into the 1980s. Whilst it is best known for its role as the
British and
Commonwealth forces primary infantry
light machine gun (LMG) in
World War II, it was also used in
Korea and saw service throughout the later half of the 20th century including the
Falklands War and the
1991 Operation Granby /
Gulf War.
It was a version of a
Czechoslovakian design developed to British requirements for a competition in the 1930s, and originally featured a distinctive curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. In the 1950s it was rebarrelled to accept the
7.62 x 51 mm NATO cartridge, which also meant that straighter magazines for the 7.62 rimless ammunition needed to be used. Although fitted with a
bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod and on many vehicles.
The Bren was replaced as the section LMG by the
L7 GPMG, a heavier
belt-fed weapon. This was in turn supplemented in the 1980s by the much maligned
L86 LSW (Light Support Weapon) firing the
5.56 x 45 mm NATO round, leaving the L4 only in use on some vehicles.
The British Army adopted it in 1935 following extensive trials of the
Czech ZB vz.26 light machine gun which was manufactured in
Brno, although the ZB vz.26 was not actually submitted for the trials, a slightly modified model was submitted; the ZB vz. 27. A licence to manufacture was sought and the Czech design modified to British requirements. The major changes were in the magazine and barrel to take the
.303 British round which was rimmed rather than the rimless
7.92 mm Mauser round. These modifications among others led to designations changing from ZB vz. 27, to the ZB vz. 30, ZB vz. 32, and finally the ZB vz. 33. The name was formed as a contraction from "
Brno" and "
Enfield" (the
Royal Small Arms Factory, or
RSAF, in
Enfield, where it would be manufactured).
Other weapons that were submitted for the trials were; the Madsen, Vickers Berthier,
BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle), and the Neuhausen KE7.
A gas operated weapon, it used the same ammunition as the standard British
rifle, the
Lee Enfield, firing at a rate of between 480 and 540 rounds per minute (rpm), depending on the model. Each gun came with a spare barrel that could be quickly changed when the barrel became hot during sustained firing, although later guns featured a
chrome-lined barrel which reduced need for the spare. Also, it only accepted magazines, and so usually demanded more frequent reloading than belt-fed machine guns. It was however several pounds lighter than belt-fed models, and could be used more easily on the move and from standing positions. The magazines also prevented the rounds from getting dirty, something that was hard to do when using 50-round belts.
|
Bren carried by a Canadian soldier in 1945 |
The Bren was fitted with a 30 round magazine that in practice was usually filled with only 28 or 29 rounds to prevent jamming and avoid wearing out the magazine spring, something that was common to other firearms as well. Care needed to be taken with magazine loading to ensure that the cartridge rims did not overlap, causing a jam. There was also a 100-round
drum magazine available for the Bren used in the
anti-aircraft role.
Some considered the Bren too accurate because its cone of fire was extremely concentrated. When used for
suppressive fire this was not as useful, however for accurate shooting it was much better; rather than spraying as many bullets as possible for a hit, it relied on the accuracy of the gun and an experienced gunner.
For a light machine gun of the period it was about average weight. On long marches in non-operational areas it was often partially disassembled and its parts carried by two soldiers. Writing about his experiences in the infantry during the
Burma campaign[George MacDonald Fraser, Quartered Safe Out Here (1992): The Harvill Press ISBN 000-272-660-2], the author
George MacDonald Fraser stated that one Bren gun was issued to each eight man
section. One soldier would be the gunner and another would be his 'number two', who would carry extra ammunition and the spare barrel and change magazines in combat. On occasion, one soldier would use the gun on the move like an automatic rifle. Generally, each soldier's equipment included two magazines for his section's Bren gun and every man would be trained to fire the Bren
(although they did not receive a Bren gunner proficiency badge, like the Bren gunner did) in case of an emergency.
The Bren was also used on many vehicles as well, including
Universal Carriers to which it gave the alternative name "Bren Gun Carrier", on tanks, and armoured cars. However, on tanks it was not used in the co-axial role but on a pintle mount
(rarely used). The co-axial requirement was filled by the
Vickers or the;
Besa, another Czechoslovakian machine gun design adopted by the British.
It was popular with British troops who respected the Bren for its high reliability and combat effectiveness and few would have swapped it for anything else. Many considered it the best light machine gun ever made. The quality of the materials used would often ensure minimal jamming. When the gun did jam or had some foreign object stuck in it, the operator could simply turn a gauge which fed more gas to the piston. It was even said that all problems with the Bren could simply be cleared by hitting the gun, turning the gauge, or doing both.
Re-worked to take the
NATO standard 7.62 mm round, it was redesignated as the L4 series of light machine guns and continued in British Army service into the 1990s. The change from rimmed to rimless cartridge meant the distinctive curved magazine could be replaced by an easy-to-use almost straight magazine as on the original Czech design. 20 round magazines from the 7.62 mm
L1A1 SLR (Self Loading Rifle) could also be used. The conical flash hider was also lost in the transition, being replaced by the slotted type similar to that of the contemporary L1 rifle and L7 general purpose machine gun.
The completion of the move to a 5.56 mm cartridge for all infantry firearms has seen the end of the Bren/L4 in infantry service. The Bren had an effective range of 600 yd.
Mark 1
From September 1937. The original Bren based on the Czech gun.
Mark 2
Introduced 1941. A simpler version of the Mk 1. Produced by the Monotype Group through a number of component manufacturing factories.
Mark 3
A shorter and lighter Bren made by Enfield for the war in the East from 1944.
Mark 4
From 1944
L4
From 1958. L4 Brens can easily be identified by their straighter magazine. All L4s are chambered for
7.62 x 51 mm NATO rimless ammunition.
| Designation | Description | | L4A1 | Bren Mk III conversion, with Mk I bipod and steel barrel |
| L4A2 | Bren Mk III conversion, lightened bipod and steel barrel |
| L4A3 | Bren Mk II conversion |
| L4A4 | L4A2 variant with chrome barrel |
| L4A5 | L4A3 with chrome barrel for Royal Navy |
| L4A6 | L4A1 variant with chrome barrel |
| L4A9 | Bren conversion with L7 dovetail |
*RSAF Enfield, UK: 400 per month.
**1943: 1,000 per week.
*
John Inglis and Company,
Canada: A Contract was signed with the British and Canadian governments in March
1938 to supply 5,000 Bren machine guns to Great Britain and 7,000 Bren machine guns to Canada. Both countries shared the
capital costs of bringing in this new production facility. Production started in
1940; and by
1943 John Inglis and Company was producing 60% of the world output of Bren machine guns.
*Lithgow, Australia.
*British and Commonwealth forces (Some still in use with Reserve Forces in New Zealand.)
*Irish Defence Forces (Some still in use with Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) in the Republic of Ireland) These have been replaced by FN MAG in 2006.
*Chinese Army of
Chiang Kai-shek*The Bren gun can be seen in action in the British gangster movie
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
*
Bren Gun discussion forum*
Nase noviny*
Modern Firearms (additional information)Bren is also a commune of the
Drôme département in
France.
