Can anyone give me any info on the 100 Round drums made for the Bren guns? I have a Canadian Made 100 round drum and can find little about it. I have read that a DD Sherman that was recovered off Juno Beach in the 80s had a few inside the hull. Now I know that the Shermans did not use the Bren. So why was it carring the drums. Also you never see the drums used if photos. I have talked to amny WW2 Veterans and none of them remember these. Dean
I have never seen the bren with a drum and can not concieve that it could take a drum where the mag would have gone but there was a vickers gun that uised a drum mag. you will see them used by the SAS in the desert on the jeeps etc in pics. As for the Shermans ..?????????????? does the drum you have specify Bren, or just .303 drum? regards #Arm.
Possibly drums for a Vickers K machinegun.? SAS and LRDG etc used tem as Arm has said. It had a 97 round magazine. See http://www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk/kgun.html Aye MalcolmII
This drum is for the Bren, I had it mounted for the D-Day display at Camp X. I have also seen several wooden crates that are marked " 100 round drum, Bren" However as I said this is the only Drum I have seen. A few years ago in " After the Battle" ( The magazine) They mentioned the Canadian DD Shermans that were recovered had these Bren Drums in them. The drum I have fits right into the " Mag feed" in the same way the standard Mag does. Dean
Just found a photo, seems they were used early in the war for AA Mounts. I would guess these drums were carried ashore on D-Day to provide extra "firepower". Heres a modern photo of the Bren being fired with a drum. http://www.magna.freehosting.net/index16.htm Dean
twenty years ago there was not a gun made that i could not identify and yet i have never seen or heard of this 100 round bren. thanks for the picture, it just shows ya that your not to old to learn. Arm.
I have never heard of it before either. Astounding! I can see it used in an anti-aircraft role as already stated, with a special AA sight fitted, but I would think that the drum would obstruct the view through the standard offset infantry sight.
Hi, I have a 2WW vehicle designed to take twin Brens and for those to fire the 100 round mags The vehicle is fitted with 6 holders for the mags. I have been trying to locate a mag so I can make copies of it to fit the slots in the vehicle. The vehicle is a Humber MkII Scout Car attached is a photo taken on the 4th June 2004 on the beaches in Normandy As you may be able to see I only have the normal mags on the guns
Send me your email address and I will contact you about these 100 round drums. northland@sympatico.ca Dean
Hello guys The drums were made initially by Vickers as a development of the K gun mag, they hold 97 rounds plus 3 dummy follower rounds and were used amongst other things for AA role. Thats why the Mk1 Bren tripod can convert into an AA tripod. The Drums came in boxes of 4. Until recently I had one of these in my collection. They had 4 drums packed in the wooden case and a winder handle and adaptor for the gun to fit the drum. The adaptor slid on over the mag housing after taking the barrel off, which was then replaced. The drums were made in a Mk2 config. with an integral winder to tension the helper spring inside. These were made in the UK by Vickers [marked VAC] and also by the Kelvinator Company in Canada. [marked KC]. I am interested in aquiring one if anyone has one for sale! This is to go on a display with a gun in the AA role. Commandos and possibly Paras used these as well, I have some photos of the Commandos using them on the ground Bipod to provide covering fire on beach landings, they look interesting for sure! Slightly better than the 30 round box mag, but the drum mags are fairly heavy! Anyone know where there is some for sale? Regards MG
