Bren (machine gun)

Bren
general information
Country of operation:	Great Britain, Commonwealth of Nations , Ireland
Developer / Manufacturer:	Václav Holek , Royal Small Arms Factory
Manufacturer country:	UK, Canada, Australia, India
Production time:	Bren Mark 1, 1937 to 1971
Weapon Category:	light machine gun
Furnishing
Overall length:	1156 mm
Weight: (unloaded)	10.53 kg
Barrel length :	Mark 1, 635 mm
Technical specifications
Caliber :	.303 British (7.7 × 56mm R)
Possible magazine fillings :	30 or 100 cartridges
Ammunition supply :	Cam or drum magazine
Cadence :	500 rounds / min
Fire types:	Either single or series fire
Number of trains :	6th
Twist :	right
Closure :	Tilting block
Charging principle:	Gas pressure charger
Lists on the subject

The Bren light machine gun was used by the armed forces of Great Britain during World War II and served as a light machine gun at the group level.

history

The name is based on the first letters of the two places Br no (dt. Brno , Czechoslovakia ) and En field . Brno, because there the starting model, the ZB vz. 26 was made. The Bren machine gun was manufactured under license by the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield and later also at the Small Arms Factory in Lithgow, NSW, Australia, and replaced the obsolete Lewis MG . It is a closed gas pressure loader with a tilting block lock similar to the Czechoslovakian ZB vz. 26. During World War II it missed the cartridge Cartridge, SA, Ball, .303-inch , Mark VI , which also for the Enfield rifles Lee was used.

During the Second World War, the Chiang Kai-shek armed forces were supplied with around 43,000 Bren, 7.92 × 57 mm Mauser, manufactured by John Inglis in Canada . The production in this caliber was not a problem, since the original weapon ZB vz. 26 was set up for this caliber.

After World War II, the Bren machine gun was used in many conflicts such as the Korean War , Malaysia, Cyprus, and Yemen.

At the NATO (-ammo 7.62 × 51 mm adapted) (now called L4A1 to L4A6), which used British Army the gun until the 1990s in conflicts such as Northern Ireland , the Falklands War and the Gulf War . It is still in use today by the armies of India , Pakistan and many other countries with ties to the Commonwealth . The Republic of Ireland did not phase out its stocks until 2006.

function

Infantryman of the 5th Canadian Armored Division with a Bren Mark 1, 1945

The Bren machine gun is a self-locking gas pressure loader with a tilting block bolt that locks rigidly at the top of the breech block. The moving parts when firing are the gas piston with the control piece and the bolt block placed on it. During the return movement, the control piece releases the locking of the locking block in a first phase and runs back with it until it stops. The empty case is ejected downwards and the closing spring located in the piston is tensioned via a connecting pin. In advance, the breech takes a cartridge from the magazine inserted above, pushes it into the chamber and is stopped at the end of the run. The control piece continues to run and uses a ramp to push the rear part of the bolt upwards, where it locks in the bolt housing. In the last preliminary phase, the control unit triggers the ignition of the next cartridge.

commitment

The Bren machine guns used by the Allies during World War II had curved magazines , as they fired tapered cartridges that also had a rim. They had a capacity of 30 rounds. In order not to overload the magazine spring, only 27 to 28 rounds were usually loaded. Drum magazines with 100 rounds could be used for anti-aircraft defense.

The Bren-MG has compared to the German MG 34 and MG 42 , a lower cadence 480-540 rounds per minute. This cadence was sufficient in infantry operations. It made the weapon more controllable and saved ammunition; only for air defense would a higher rate have been advantageous. The magazine capacity of 30 rounds was the norm for a light machine gun at that time, changing the magazine was a matter of seconds and could be done while running.

The handle attached to the barrel and the replacement barrel made it possible to change the barrel without any problems, even when the barrel was hot. Folded down on its side, it was used to guide the weapon when firing from the hip stop.

Although the Bren was intended as a light machine gun for shooting from the bipod and from the hip, there was a simple tripod mount that could also be used as an anti-aircraft prop. The weight of the Bren with a full magazine was 11.3 kg (Bren Mark 4: 9.95 kg) for a light machine gun, but it was often dismantled on longer marches and carried in parts by two soldiers.

The Bren was known for its reliability in cold and heat. The adjustable gas nozzle at the front end of the gas cylinder made it possible to remedy poor functioning of the weapon with a simple movement. In addition, the magazine inserted above contributed to the fact that the cartridge feed worked even in poor conditions. Since the magazine well and the case ejection opening could be locked, the mechanism did not get dirty even during long marches and bad weather conditions, which was particularly evident in the desert war.

Versions

designation	description
Mark 1	Manufactured from August 1938. Corresponds to the Czechoslovak ZB vz except for a few technical improvements. 26th
Mark 2	Introduced in 1941. Simplified version of the Mark 1.
Mark 3	A shortened and lighter Enfield Mark 2, barrel length 565 mm, manufactured for combat in Asia from 1943 onwards.
Mark 4	Manufactured from 1944, barrel length as Mark 3
L4A1	Mark 3 conversion to 7.62 × 51 mm, with Mark 1 bipod
L4A2	Mark 3 conversion to 7.62 × 51 mm, with a lighter bipod
L4A3	Mark-2 conversion to 7.62 × 51 mm
L4A4	L4A2 version with chrome-plated barrel
L4A5	Mark 3 conversion to 7.62 × 51 mm with normal barrel for the Royal Navy
L4A6	L4A1 version with chrome-plated barrel
L4A8	L4A4 version with assembly device for optics (similar to GPMG)
L4A9	L4A8 version with reinforced bipod mount to prevent tipping

See also

Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl

literature

• Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun: Infantry weapons yesterday . (1918-1945). In: Illustrated encyclopedia of infantry weapons from around the world . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-89488-036-8 , weapons, p. 289-293 .
• George M. Chinn: The Machine Gun. History, Evolution and Development of Manual, Automatic and Airborne Repeating Weapons. Prepared for the Bureau of Ordnance, Department of the Navy. Volume 1. United States Government Printing Office , Washington DC 1951, pp. 472-479.
• WHB Smith: Small Arms Of The World. The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1962, Library of Congress Card No. 62-18587
• Jane's Infantry Weapons. Macdonald & Janes Publishers Limited, London 1976.

Web links

Commons : Bren  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Maxim Popenker: Bren. In: Modern Firearms. Retrieved November 17, 2016 . 
• BREN - Light Machine Gun , at 12pulkulanow.com