Bren light machine gun

Bren
A Bren Mk.1 gun
Type	Light machine gun
Place of origin	Czechoslovakia (design) United Kingdom (manufacture)
Service history
In service	1938–2006
Used by	See Users
Wars	See Service
Production history
Designer	Václav Holek
Designed	1935
Manufacturer	Royal Small Arms Factory John Inglis and Company Lithgow Small Arms Factory Rifle Factory Ishapore
Unit cost	£40[1]
Produced	1935–1971
No. built	500,000[2]
Variants	Mk I, II, III, IV L4
Specifications
Mass	Mk1 & Mk2: 22.8 lb (10.3 kg), 25 lb (11.3 kg) loaded Mk3 & Mk4: 19.15 lb (8.69 kg), 21.6 lb (9.8 kg) loaded
Length	Mk1 & Mk2: 45.5 in (1,160 mm) Mk3 & Mk4 42.9 in (1,090 mm)[2]
Barrel length	25 in (635 mm)
Crew	2, gunner and assistant
Cartridge	.303 British 8×56mmR (for Bulgaria) 7.92×57mm Mauser (for China in World War II) 7.62×51mm NATO (L4 series, Gun Machine 7.62mm 1B) 7.62x39mm (for China after World War II)
Action	Gas-operated, tilting bolt
Rate of fire	500–520 rounds/min practical 120 rounds/min sustained
Muzzle velocity	2,440 ft/s (743.7 m/s)
Effective firing range	600 yd (550 m)
Maximum firing range	1,850 yd (1,690 m)
Feed system	30-round detachable box magazine 100-round detachable pan magazine (.303 variants only) 20-round L1A1 SLR magazine (7.62mm variants only)
Sights	Iron

The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or be vehicle-mounted.

The Bren gun was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun which, in turn, was a modified version of the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren gun featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel.

The designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer.

In the 1950s, many Bren guns were re-barrelled to accept the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and modified to feed from the magazine for the L1 (Commonwealth version of the FN FAL) rifle as the L4 light machine gun. It was replaced in the British Army as the section LMG by the L7 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), a belt-fed weapon. This was supplemented in the 1980s by the L86 Light Support Weapon firing the 5.56×45mm NATO round, leaving the Bren gun in use only as a pintle mount on some vehicles. The Bren gun was manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories as the "Gun Machine 7.62mm 1B"^[3] before it was discontinued in 2012.^[4]