#EquipmentOfTheWeek - Second World War Edition The Bren Light Machine Gun The Bren was the standard-issue light machine gun used by the Canadian Army from 1939 until the late-1950s. A gas-operated weapon, it used the same .303 ammunition as the Lee-Enfield rifle and fired between 480 and 540 rounds per minute (depending on the model). It could be mounted on a tripod and configured either as a ground or anti-aircraft weapon. One Bren was issued per each infantry section of ten men, or three per platoon. It was often mounted on vehicles, most notably in Universal Carriers (frequently referred to as Bren Gun Carriers because of this). The John Inglis Company Limited of Canada began producing the Bren here in 1940. Three years later in 1943, 60 per cent of Bren Guns were manufactured in Canada. The Bren served throughout the Second World War and Korea, and remained the Canadian Armys standard Light Machine Gun until the adoption of the FN C2 in the late-1950s. #StrongProudReady #RememberThem Photo 1: Veronica Foster, an employee of John Inglis Co. Ltd., and known as The Bren Gun Girl, posing with a finished Bren in the John Inglis Co. Ltd. Bren gun plant, May 1941. Credit: National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada (PA-119766) Photo 2: A Universal Carrier of the 4th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, Vaucelles, France, July 1944. Credit: Lieut. Ken Bell / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada (PA-153423)
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 02:00:00 +0000