Bren or BAR.

I'm sorry but why was the No.2 issued with a rifle in that case? My grandfather was a Bren gunner from June 1944 until mid 1946 and noted his No.2 as being an excellent shot. Ergo, he used his rifle. And yes, the spare barrel bag was issued but a number of contemporary sources show and depict it being carried through the pack.

Jesus, people here are bloody hard to please.

It there at least on paper was there not 3 in a Bren gun team ( Can someone who actually knows clarify ?). My Grandfather was a Bren gunner in the paratroopers and was at Arnhem don't prove I know anything about anything.


With the last sentence of your post i am quoting you are a you seem to be troll or trying to engage in a flame war. I only wish I could leave reputation

 

Hardly he was speaking his mind & I actually agree with him.
People on here are hard to please, I should know I've been here bloody long enough.
Oh & have left Fruitcake rep point 27 positive ones.


I found everybody on the most part very friendly and resealable maybe if he had had as many post as you I would have taken it differently but his own CP does say he is bad temped does it not. If you think people here are hard to plz you should see some of the other forums and news groups I have seen over the years and the chilling feeling when someone went Meow.

 

World War II: Bren light machine gun


Users

British and Commonwealth forces.
Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) during the Border Campaign and up to 1964
Irish Defence Forces (Used by the Reserve Defence Forces (RDF), until replaced by the FN MAG in 2006).
Chinese National Revolutionary Army of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War
Brigade Mobil SOF of Indonesian Police still use Bren in services. After Independence War 1945-1950 TNI use Bren as machine gun squad.
Hellenic Air Force (HAF).
General Operations Force of the Royal Malaysian Police (before replaced by the 7.62 NATO HK 11).
Both sides of the Nepalese Civil War.
Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949).
Indian Army
Sri Lanka Army
Canadian army during WWII
Poland during WWII.
Nepalese Army

 

Drawing from my book - Bren-gunner firing at He111. By Andreas Hauge:

 

I found everybody on the most part very friendly and resealable maybe if he had had as many post as you I would have taken it differently but his own CP does say he is bad temped does it not. If you think people here are hard to plz you should see some of the other forums and news groups I have seen over the years and the chilling feeling when someone went Meow.

So because he doesn't have a million posts, he's only worth writing off as a 'troll'. Yeak, ok mate.

 

LEWIS GUNS TESTED IN USA 1916 - British Pathe

 

It there at least on paper was there not 3 in a Bren gun team ( Can someone who actually knows clarify ?). My Grandfather was a Bren gunner in the paratroopers and was at Arnhem don't prove I know anything about anything.


With the last sentence of your post i am quoting you are a troll or trying to engage in a flame war. I only wish I could leave reputation

Fruitcake knows. Ask him instead of being sarky, we're re-enactors, not morons.

The Bren 'team' was a two man affair, as the photo above clearly shows. The Bren 'group' was a three man affair which consisited of a Bren 'team' under the control of a lance-corp. This was then classed as the sub-section of a rifle section which consisted of ten men usually under the control of a corporal.

The No.2 sits off to the gun's left, usually as he needs access to the barrel relaease catch which is on the left side of the gun. His duites involved changing magazines, counting said changes to let the gunner know when he'd expended his tenth mag and then changing the barrel and mag with him. An experienced team should aim to have this done in 7-8 seconds.

With regards to the spare barrel, it was carried in the barrel bag or, like I have done it, stuffed in the small-pack flap.

It has taken us ages to get this right, even going so far as to make sure the brush and mop for the end of the cleaning rod are the correct WW2 pattern, so don't dismiss us as being clueless or as someone who 'doesn't actually know' because we don't post here often.

 

Spare parts and barrel wallet usually barrels were marked 1 and 2, Gunners knew how each barrel performed.

One tin contained oil another graphite powder for sandy conditions.

The scissor like black tool for removing fouling (Carbon build up) chamber cleaning rod gas fouling. Gas regulator vent reamers for clearing fouling. Spare breech block, tin contains springs and spare firing pin, an expanding mandrel for removing separated case from breech.

 

With the last sentence of your post i am quoting you are a troll or trying to engage in a flame war. I only wish I could leave reputation

How rude. I put a lot of time and effort into that to get it right and you point out things I did 'wrong' when it's clear you don't know 100% yourself. Would it not have been better to ask? The reason why you can't 'leave rep' is for that very reason. You'd have done me down over a subject you're not sure on yourself.

I'm no troll, thank you.

 

Nice to see the 59th Div depicted.
The 'forgotten' division from the Normandy campaign.

5th Battalion East Lancs Regiment. It's one of our local regiments and as you say the 59th appears largely forgotten, so it seemed a natural choice for us.

Plus, we mainly do that impression at events in Yorkshire...

 

How rude. I put a lot of time and effort into that to get it right and you point out things I did 'wrong' when it's clear you don't know 100% yourself. Would it not have been better to ask? The reason why you can't 'leave rep' is for that very reason. You'd have done me down over a subject you're not sure on yourself.

I'm no troll, thank you.

I would have left bad rep because of your comment. "Jesus, people here are bloody hard to please." and would have said so in the reason. I found it a provocative statement and said so openly.

 

OK, if you say so.

No positive comments on information provided?

You were wrong to just jump in and tell me I was not doing it right. If you'd have asked and not presumed, a whole ugly episode could have been avoided but never mind.

 

OK, if you say so.

You were wrong to just jump in and tell me I was not doing it right.

Probably right If I had a problem with your post should have called the forum MPs, but it sounds silly but that seems like sneaking.

After reading again the post with your quote it I did come over a bit harsh and I did think I hand d put a seems into the sentence.

 

I would sugest the longevity of the Bren should be testiomony to how good a weapon it is. With detachable barrel, good magazine capicity after the gas system problems had been sorted out it became one of the finest light machine guns ever.
The BAR was good for its day being one of the more portable LMG's of the First world war. It probably had a better round than the Bren.

 

Hello Rifleman.

I'm naturally biased towards things American, but weren't the ball .303 and 30-06 almost identical ballisticlly? The 06 rimless case would seem to be an advantage for magazine design but the Bren design handled the rim fine.

Dave

 

At the start of the war the No2 also had to carry the Tripod and Dial sight. However try doing it.
The Rimmed .303 case added in possibility of extra stoppages caused by misloaded magazines, The curved mag was to accomidate the rim. The Gun itself handled the round well.
The Bren and the cezch ZB series is the best family of LMG's in the world. I have seen the LMG hold its own against the GPMG and out class the LSW (Not difficult).
The BAR because of the 20rd box and fixed barrel couldn't hope to provide the levels of support fire a bren could. Its still a great design I think its little Brother the Colt Monitor was a missed opportunity for the US army. But Browning was a genius the M1919 is an excellent design and the GP35 is probably the best semi automatic pistol of the inter war period.

 

Being British, I feel like I am obligated to favour the Bren Gun, however there is something about the BAR that just amazes me. I've wanted a deact BAR since I was about 6, and have since aquired a Bren Mk2, but I still think I must say the BAR (Sorry Great Britain).

 

The Bren can be and was used as an assault weapon, there is at least one picture around showing it being fired while slung from the shoulder. Pretty effective in that role it seems, having the mag on top did facilitate quick changes on the go.