Bren Light Machine Gun

The Bren Gun was the standard light machine gun of the Canadian Army from 1939 to the late 1950s.

In 1930, when the British Army set out to find a replacement for the Lewis Gun, and despite holding trials on several different weapons, the British military attaché in Prague sent in a report on a new weapon being built in Czechoslovakia by Brno; the Zb26. After purchasing several samples (in fact, these were improved Zb27s that actually arrived in England), and putting the guns through two years of tests, the British Army modified the weapon to .303 calibre (as well as changing the butt, barrel, magazine and gas block and removing a set of barrel-cooling fins) and named it the Bren (the first two letters of Brno, and the first two letters of Enfield, where the Royal Small Arms Factory was located).

The first British Bren Gun was assembled in September 1937, and Enfield maintained sole British production of the Bren (at first 300 guns per week, during the war increased to 400 per week and by 1943 a 1000 per week). After Dunkirk, only 2300 Brens remained in service in England. In 1940 Inglis of Canada began producing the Bren as well, and by 1943 some 60% of Bren Gun production was eventually carried out in Canada. Lithgow in Australia also built Bren Guns during the Second World War.

The Mark I went into service in August 1938. Though the Bren had been "officially" adopted earlier, in September 1939 only a handful were on inventory in Canada; by war's end some 60 percent of Bren Guns in the world would have come from Canadian manufacturers. In June 1941, the Mk II was introduced, with non-telescoping bipod legs, a ladder type rear sight instead of the dial of the Mk I, the lower pistol grip and butt strap were deleted, and other minor changes to the body. Also, the one piece gas regulator/flash hider/front sight assembly was exchanged for a three piece assembly. In July 1943 the Mk III came into production which reverted to the Mk I body, but kept the other Mk II features; it also had a shortened barrel (22.25 inches instead of 25 inches). At the same time the Mk IV was introduced, with a Mk II body and shortened barrel.

The Bren could also be fitted on a tripod, configured either as a ground weapon for firing on fixed lines or at predetermined co-ordinates, or the tripod could also be configured as an anti-aircraft mount.

The Bren was employed one per infantry section of ten men, or three per platoon. It was also used as a vehicle mounted weapon, most notably in Universal Carriers (often referred to as Bren Gun Carriers due to this armament). The Bren served throughout the Second World War, was used again in Korea, and remained the standard LMG until the adoption of the FN C2 in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

History

The Bren 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. While Brens in British service were rebarrelled to accept the 7.62mm NATO cartridge, Canada adopted a new gun - the FN C2 - instead.

In 1930, when the British Army set out to find a replacement for the Lewis Gun, and despite holding trials on several different weapons, the British military attache in Prague sent in a report on a new weapon being built in Czechoslovakia by Brno; the Zb26. After purchasing several samples (in fact, these were improved Zb27s that actually arrived in England), and putting the guns through two years of tests, the British Army modified the weapon to .303 calibre (as well as changing the butt, barrel, magazine and gas block and removing a set of barrel-cooling fins) and named it the Bren (the first two letters of Brno, and the first two letters of Enfield, where the Royal Small Arms Factory was located).

The first British gun was assembled in September 1937, and Enfield maintained sole British production of the Bren (at first 300 guns per week, during the war increased to 400 per week and by 1943 a 1000 per week). After Dunkirk, only 2300 Brens remained in service in England. In 1940 Inglis of Canada began producing the Bren as well, and by 1943 some 60% of Bren Gun production was eventually carried out in Canada. Lithgow in Australia also built Bren Guns during the Second World War.

Description

The Mark I went into service in August 1938. Though the Bren had been "officially" adopted earlier, in September 1939 only a handful were on inventory in Canada; by war's end some 60 percent of Bren Guns in the world would have come from Canadian manufacturers. In June 1941, the Mk II was introduced, with non-telescoping bipod legs, a ladder type rear sight instead of the dial of the Mk I, the lower pistol grip and butt strap were deleted, and other minor changes to the body. Also, the one piece gas regulator/flash hider/front sight assembly was exchanged for a three piece assembly. In July 1943 the Mk III came into production which reverted to the Mk I body, but kept the other Mk II features; it also had a shortened barrel (22.25 inches instead of 25 inches). At the same time the Mk IV was introduced, with a Mk II body and shortened barrel.

Firing the Bren

The sights on the Bren were offset to the left, giving the advantage to right-handed firers; the recoil of the weapon tended to pull the weapon forward, when firing on automatic it would "walk" away from the firer. Some Bren gunners found that a bulleted cartridge driven through a hole in the bipod could temporarily keep the Bren in place.

The Bren was optimally employed from the bipod on the ground; it was a crew served weapon, and the Number 2 was tasked with changing barrels to prevent overheating and eventually warping or wearing out of the rifling. The Number 2 also reloaded the weapon by changing magazines.

The Bren could be fired from the shoulder or the hip, though with less accuracy. However, when fired from the prone or supported positions, it was easier to qualify as an LMG marksman than as a rifle marksman, and the weapon was extremely accurate when fired on semi-automatic, with effective aimed fire ranging as far as 600 to 800 yards.

Bren gunners generally fired on automatic in 2 or 3 round bursts of fire, intended to put bullets in a cone-shaped area. A 28-round magazine emptying burst would normally be used only in the anti-aircraft role, or if firing on fixed lines at night.¹

Bren Gun from the collection of Gary Crocker

Bren Gunner of the Perth Regiment.
PAC Photo

 

Employment

The Bren Gun formed the basis of firepower of the infantry company, and each Infantry Section was organized around its firepower. In action, a two-man team generally operated the Bren; the Bren Gunner (also known as Number One on the Bren) and his assistant (Number Two on the Bren).

The Bren Gun would be used to assist the riflemen forward to deal with the enemy at close range, the opposite of German section-level tactics in which the light machine gun was expected to do the killing with the riflemen supporting the machine-gunners.

The Bren was also used as a vehicle mounted weapon, most notably in Universal Carriers (often referred to as Bren Gun Carriers due to this armament). The gun could be used on a tripod, for sustained fire on fixed lines when in defence positions or when firing at night. There were also a variety of anti-aircraft mounts for the Bren (which were usually coupled with a 75-round drum magazine).

Farley Mowat, a platoon commander in the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, wrote about the first time he used a Bren Gun in action in Sicily in his book And No Birds Sang. His company had been ordered to withdraw:

Alex (the company commander) left us Nine Platoon's three Brens to free their crews from the weight so they could help with the wounded. Six light machine guns gave me a lot of fire power...or would have done except that we only had one or two magazines remaining for each gun.

Wriggling forward to the edge of the knoll, I passed the word to shoot at anything that moved - but to make every bullet count. Behind me I could hear stones rattling as Eight and Nine platoons broke cover and began their rush up the steep slopes. Instantly the metallic hail from an MG-42 swept over our heads in vicious pursuit of our retreating comrades.

I had my binoculars to my eyes at that moment and by the sheerest fluke glimpsed a flicker of flame and a filmy wisp of smoke coming from a pile of brush on the far side of the road. Mitchuk was lying next to me behind his section's Bren, and I grabbed his arm and tried to make his see what I had seen but he could not locate the target. After a moment he rolled over and pushed the butt of the gun toward me.

"You take 'em, Junior!" he said...and grinned.

The feel of the Bren filled me with the same high excitement that had been mine when, as a boy during October days in Saskatchewan, I had raised my shotgun from the concealment of a bulrush blind and steadied it on an incoming flight of greenhead mallards.

There was a steady throbbing against my shoulder as the Bren hammered out a burst. A stitching of dust spurts appeared in front of the patch of brush and walked on into it. I fired burst after burst until the gun went silent with a heavy clunk as the bolt drove home on an empty chamber. Quickly Mitchuk slapped off the empty magazine and rammed a fresh one into place.

"Give 'em another!" he yelled exultantly. "You're onto the fuckers good!"

Maybe I was. It is at least indisputable that after I had emptied the second magazine there was no further firing nor any sign of life from the brush pile. On the other hand, I never actually saw a human target, so I cannot be haunted by the memory of men lying dead or dying behind their gun. And for that I am grateful.

Models

Mark I Bren being fired by Private Syd Palman of the Calgary Highlanders on the range at Camp Shilo. Note the use of the pistol grip on the butt to steady the weapon. Photo courtesy The Calgary Highlanders Regimental Museum and Archives.

Characteristics	MkI	Mk I	Mk III	Mk IV
Calibre	.303
Weight Unloaded	22.3 lbs	23.8 lbs
Barrel Length	25 inches	25 inches	22.5 inches	22.5 inches
Muzzle Velocity	2400 fps (731m/s)
Magazine	30 rounds, though usually only 28 rounds were loaded to ease tensions on the spring
Cyclic Rate of Fire	500 rpm	540 rpm	480 rpm	520 rpm

Associated Equipment

The Bren Gun had much specialized kit associated with it; as an essential part of the firepower of section, platoon and company, it was vital that the gun remained in action. For that reason, spare barrels, ammunition, spare parts and a variety of maintenance equipment all had to be carried by the Bren team, and in the case of ammunition, by all soldiers in the section.

Sling A web sling was normally used for the Bren Gun, though canvas slings did make an appearance later in the Second World War. Similar to rifle slings, the Bren sling was longer, with metal carbine hooks to snap on to fittings on the Bren, or directly to the bipod.
	Above are two Bren Gun slings, with a rifle sling in the middle for comparison. Slings from the collection of Gary Crocker.

Utility Pouches

The utility pouches were a standard item of 1937 Pattern Web Equipment designed to carry additional ammunition. In theory, the Bren Gun Number Two would exchange empty magazines from these utility pouches with full ones from members of the section.

Below are reconstruction photos of the Utility Pouches; these could be worn on the soldier's front, or front and rear, They could also be worn attached to the sides of the haversack. These pouches were originally designed to be carried in unit transport and slung over the other equipment just prior to going into action.

Spare Parts Wallet

The Spare Parts Wallet was used to carry a pull through, oil bottle, combination tool, cleaning rags, and a tin box containing spare parts for cleaning and basic maintenance on the Bren Gun.

Bren Gun Holdall

The Bren Gun holdall carried many parts necessary to keep the Bren Gun operating. In the photo below can be seen a spare barrel, with cleaning brushes and a mop at left. Beside these are a brass oil bottle, a spare breech block, and a rope pull through with brass end. A wooden mop handle with metal eyelet and slider is above the barrel, and below is a plastic bottle (used after 1944; metal bottles were used previous to this). The holdall could also carry the Spare Parts Wallet in the large pocket on the outside. In action, this holdall, and the wallet, was often discarded or left with the platoon vehicle, and the parts distributed among the men of the Bren team. The spare barrel was sometimes simply thrust underneath the flap of the haversack, or web gear braces.

Bren Gun Holdall and contents from the collection of Gary Crocker.

Tripod

Two items of Bren Gun equipment not commonly seen in period photos include the drum magazine, and the tripod. The tripod could be configured for antiaircraft work, as at right, or as a ground mount to fire on fixed lines. When set up as a ground mount, arcs of fire could be set with stoppers on the tripod. In static positions, such as the I Canadian Corps front in Italy in early 1944, this was actually done. The tripod could be man-packed, but was usually stored by infantry sections on their platoon vehicle. For anti-aircraft work, two additional tubes (stored inside the hollow body tubes of the tripod) could be added, elevating the gun and giving it a 360 degree sweep.

Tripods were issued one per gun at the start of the war, and later in the war one per platoon in infantry companies (i.e. one for every three guns), though were not often seen given the state of the Luftwaffe and the co-operation of divisional machine-gun companies with infantry units in co-ordinating defensive positions when necessary.

 

Ammunition Box

Notes

1. Hogg, Ian V. and Mike Chappell. "Bren Gunners, NW Europe, 1944-45" Military Illustrated: Past and Present Magazine No. 20, Aug-Sep 1989. ISSN 0268-8328