Hi Folks; Anyone got any information/facts about how widely distributed the 7.62mm Bren was to these forces? I am not wanting to start debating IF they were used. This is not meant to sound off putting but I just know someone would be itching to point out I am wrong. I already KNOW most of these were converted to 7.62 AFTER the war but I also know for a FACT some were sent out during the war, and that's what I am interested in. images/smilies/default/biggrin.gif There are a few examples in the Polish Army Museum, for sure, which were dropped in late 1944 and early 1945, but what about elsewhere? Kind regards MG
Hi MG, At the risk of incurring your wrath, is it possible you mean 7.92? The only 7.62 caliber (rifle) round in general service was the US .30-06. The 7.62x51 or 7.62 NATO cartridge wasn't developed until the mid-50's, if I remember correctly. From the standpoint of equipping resistance forces in occupied territories, it would seem to make logistical sense to send weapons in the caliber of the occupying forces (7.92mm and 9mm, like the Sten). Edit: Just doing a little googling, I came across this post at brenlmg.com http://brenlmg.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/3306062793/m/1526059374 : "My Bren is a C&R WWII Inglis Bren marked Mk.1 in 8mm. It is a resistance Bren as it is not marked with CH or Chinese characters. Of the 500,000 est. Brens manufactured during the war between Enfield and Inglis, only approx. 22,000 were originally made in 8mm. 20,000 were destined for Chinese resistance forces in China fighting Japan and all these were marked serial prefix CH and had Chinese characters designating mark and caliber. Originally the Chinese government had petitioned the US for BARs, but our production was so far behind they passed the request on to Inglis in Canada. Approx. 2,000 8mm Brens were decided to be made for European theatre operations against Nazi and Italian forces since the Chinese guns were being assembled. These were not marked with the CH prefix. The British government was shipped approx. 1,400 of the production run before the end of the war."
The 7.62mm "NATO" cartridge was not adopted by the US government until 1954 and the M14 rifle, which fires it, did not appear until about 1957. Other NATO countries introduced the cartridge in a variety of different rifles between then and the early 1960s. The cartridge, close in design to the commercial .308" Winchester cartridge, was not developed until after WWII and the intention was to develop a rimless cartridge with the same sort of performance as the .30-06, but with a shorter case. Sorry, but the NATO standard 7.62mm cartridge just did not exist during WWII. (Buckeye67 @ Dec 5 2005, 09:48 AM) [post=42667] approx. 22,000 were originally made in 8mm. 20,000 were destined for Chinese resistance forces in China ....... ........... Approx. 2,000 8mm Brens were decided to be made for European theatre operations against Nazi and Italian forces since the Chinese guns were being assembled. These were not marked with the CH prefix. The British government was shipped approx. 1,400 of the production run before the end of the war." [/b] Although described as 8mm here, they were actually chambered for 7.92mm Mauser, the standard German WWII cartridge, which had also been adopted by a number of other countries, such as China. Picture here: http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/bren.htm
Hey ho folks Well spotted on the typo error, thanks for throwing me to the lions on that one - should read things more carefully. Bet you were all wondering where the 7.62 ammo would have come from! images/smilies/default/biggrin.gif I should really go to bed sooner and get up later. Serves me right for googling in a quest to help on other posts! I'd never ever heard of the 8mm versions. As Angie says I wonder if thats just a slight 'wartime' rounding up of the figure 7.92? Probably something like that. The Brens from this series that were exported to the Czechs and Poles were OT prefix serial numbers. This was of course so they could use captured german Mauser ammo etc! Saves on dropping ammo supplies I guess. Its possible that they got some chinese marked ones captured by the Russians and then supplied by their Military Mission to Yugoslavia during the war, but thats pretty slim. Kind regards and many thanks for the links MG
Sure you've heard of 8mm weapons MG. The 8mm is the popular term for the German 7.92X57mm round that was fired in the Kar98k, MG34, MG42, G41, G43, and the FG42. It was the standard German rifle round as well as several other countries.
