I am presently stationed in Kuwait and expect to remain her for at least four months before going north again. Should be able to get on weekly now and try to catch up on all I have missed. My thanks to all those who have gone before me for their dedicationa and service.

SFC E7

Stay SAFE, SFC, we'll be thinking of you and a happy Veterans Day to you. jorge

To all present and past veterans...I thank you and will think always of our safety here at home
be safe..

Mike Podwika
Mayor
Wyoming, Pa.

Have a safe journey, you are in our thoughts /

Turn your speakers on / broadband connection is best of cource

Listen to the song

Peter: Ex: RRR [ Royal Rhodesian Regiment ] rifleman / bren gunner (1963 - 1970)




To all the (young guns) out there - this is a bren which we had to lug around the HOT Zambezi Valley
in the old days of the Rhodesian Bush War, it was a heavy bitch to put it mildly, but nice firepower

Glad you are getting a little down time. Even more glad you haven't picked up any extra metal for your Xrays at physical time.

My youngest is with 2BN/19TH SFG. If you run into him please slap him upside the head and tell him that for buying him new body armor and rebuilding his M-4 upper he better come visit when I end up in a nursing home some day.

Here on AR we have had some monumental bitch slap fights lately. You know, like when two girls show up at the same big party wearing the same dress. Same old, same old.

If you need any extra puss gear (socks, batteries, Camelback parts, etc., etc.), just shoot a PM. Obviously, anything that you really need won't make it through the APO system (some weasel breathed, pimple faced Spec. 4 mail clerk and his b-buddy 2 Lt. will swipe it), but we will do what we can from the home front.

lawndart

Peter,

That Bren cleaned up nicely. Does it help keep the Maoris in your neighborhood on their toes?

John Charlie

Hey Balla Balla, how do you aim that sucker? Of course, I could see how it might work OK in CQ just by pointing, pulling the trigger and acting as if you're watering the lawn...

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
Hey Balla Balla, how do you aim that sucker? Of course, I could see how it might work OK in CQ just by pointing, pulling the trigger and acting as if you're watering the lawn...

Kamo Gari /

If you visit this website below you will see some pictures taken by one of the ex: Rhodesians fighting the bush war back in the 60/70 ies, it is a very interesting site and there is also a (hand sketch of the bren) as well done by Alan

Alan G Robers private webpage ....

Alan now lives in TEXAS ( A wise man he is ) Texans and Rhodesians are similar, they dont stand much bullshit


Kamo //

Here is the basic bio for you, it also explaind the sight/aim question .. Peter

Bren Light Machine Gun:

In the 1930's the British Army was looking for a replacement for the Lewis gun of First World War vintage. The British military attaché in Prague provided any enthusiastic report on a new Czech light machine gun, being produced by the State Armament Works in Brno. Surprisingly the War Office took note and after exhaustive tests lasting two years a manufacturing licence was sought.

The British wanted one or two changes before accepting design, such as using a 0.303-in rimmed cartridge instead of the original 7.92mm rimless one, and this may have not been advantageous. Other minor changes included a new butt, the removal of the cooling fins and a change to gas block. The first gun was manufactured in 1937, at the Small Arms Factory, Enfield and by July 1938 production was in full swing at 300 per month and it stayed at 400 per month for the rest of the war. The name Bren was derived forma combination of Brno and Enfield. Enfield was the only factory in Britain tooled up to make the gun, until Inglis in Canada, started production in 1943, which meant that one successful bombing raid in 1940 or 1941 could have been disastrous.

The Bren was an excellent light machine gun, being simple, strong, accurate and easy to fire. It was remarkably free from stoppages and other vices. It was a gas-operated weapon, using a long-stroke principle. The barrel was removable and locked to the body by a quick release nut. The gas block was on barrel and mated with the gas cylinder, which is below the barrel, but the block could be drawn outwards. Changing the barrel was both quick and easy, as the carrying handle is on the barrel, thus reducing the risk of burns. It was recommended that the barrel be changed every three magazines to allow the hot barrel to cool beside the gun. The gas cylinder had a long piston inside which ran back in the body and carries the return spring. The breech block rides on the piston extension and locked by tipping its rear end into contact with lugs on the body. Apart from the trigger mechanism there are few other working parts.


The magazine held 30 rounds and fed vertically downwards, and thus the sights were offset to the left side. The magazine was one of the weak points as it was essential that each round be fed in with its rim behind the one on front. Failure to do this with even one round caused a stoppage, though easily cleared. The magazines were also sensitive to damage, which could also cause a stoppage. Apart from this virtually the only other thing to break on a Bren Gun was the occasional firing pin.

The gun was an immediate success and it entered service as the Mark I in August 1938, and in 1941 a Mark II was introduced. It was simplified MK I on which the bipod legs no longer telescoped, the drum rear sight was changed for a ladder type and the butt-strap and lower pistol grip being discarded. This reduced the gun's weight, which was further reduced again in 1943 and 1944 along with a slightly shorted barrel. The Bren gun stayed in front line service until 1958, when the 7.62mm (0.300) rimless cartridge introduced.
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quote:

and thus the sights were offset to the left side.

Aha. OK, and thanks for the interesting history lesson.

KG