However, the slower rate of fire prevented more rapid overheating of the Bren's air-cooled barrel, and the Bren was several pounds lighter than belt-fed machine guns. The Bren was magazine-fed, which slowed its rate of fire and required more frequent reloading than British belt-fed machine guns such as the larger. Each gun came with a spare barrel that could be quickly changed when the barrel became hot during sustained fire, though later guns featured a chrome-lined barrel which reduced the need for a spare. 303 ammunition as the standard British rifle, the Lee-Enfield, firing at a rate of between 480 and 540 rounds per minute (rpm), depending on model. The Vickers-Berthier was later adopted by the Indian Army and also saw extensive service in WWII.Ī gas-operated weapon, the Bren used the same. Other weapons that were submitted for the trials were: the Madsen, Vickers-Berthier, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and the Neuhausen KE7. These modifications were categorised in various numbered designations, ZB vz. 303 British cartridge, a change from the various rimless Mauser-design cartridges used to date, such as the 7.92 mm Mauser round. The magazine was curved in order to feed the rimmed. The major changes were in the magazine and barrel. A licence to manufacture was sought and the Czech design was modified to British requirements. 26 was not actually submitted for the trials, a slightly modified model was submitted the ZB vz. The British Army adopted it in 1935 following extensive trials of the Czechoslovak ZB vz.26 light machine gun which was manufactured in Brno, although the ZB vz. This was in turn supplemented in the 1980s by the L86 Light Support Weapon firing the 5.56x45mm NATO round, leaving the Bren only in use on some vehicles.Īs of November 2007, the Bren is still manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories as the "Gun, Machine 7.62mm 1B". The Bren was replaced as the section LMG by the L7 General purpose machine gun (GPMG), a heavier belt-fed weapon. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or vehicle-mounted. In the 1950s the Bren was rebarrelled to accept the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge.
The later Bren featured a distinctive curved box magazine, conical flash hider and quick change barrel. The Bren was a modified version of a Czechoslovak-designed light machine gun, the ZB vz.26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. While 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 the Korean War and saw service throughout the later half of the 20th century including the Falklands War and the 1991 Gulf War.
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The Bren (from Brno, the Czechoslovak city 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 until 1991.