yeovil at waR
bren light machine gun
Weapons of the Home Guard
The BREN - BR named for Brno, Czechoslovakia where it was largely designed and EN for Enfield, England where it was manufactured at the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) - was adopted by Britain in the light machine gun role in 1935 after extensive trials during the late 1920's and early 1930's. It was used by the British Army until 1991.The Bren Mark I was an air cooled gas-operated weapon and used the same .303 calibre ammunition as the standard British rifle, the Lee Enfield, with a cyclic rate of fire around 500 rounds per minute with an effective range of some 600 yards (550m). It weighed 22lb 2oz (10.5kg) and was 45.5" (1156mm) long with a 25" (635mm) barrel.
As a side note, my dad (later Factory Manager at RSAF Enfield) re-designed the gas plug and the folding bipod for later Marks of the Bren, while mum manufactured gas plugs, both at RSAF Enfield during the Second World War.
The photo below is of my own Bren Mk I.
Adapted from my e-book "A Photographic Guide to the Taunton Stop Line"
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