Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

Pre 1945 action rifles. Muzzle loading.

Moderator: dromia

Message
Author
User avatar
MrD
Posts: 263
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:47 pm
Location: Forres, Moray
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#21 Post by MrD »

Many....(very many actually) moons ago when I was in the ACF, I remember asking my dad about this. His opinion, from his personal experience in N Africa was that the beaten zone of the Bren was a fair bit narrower than that of the MG34. That doesn't mean it was too accurate to be effective though.

As for the 'special' ammo, this would surely have needed different head-stamps to identify it, and as others said become a logistical nightmare. I have seen no reference to this in any of the WW2-era Small Arms Training pamphlets.
Pre-war, the philosophy was that the infantry section was built around the Bren, with each member carrying Bren mags (hence the larger Patt. 37 pouches) and it was envisioned that the riflemen would support the Bren, rather than vice-versa. In action, the mags would be passed to the No2, with the empties being refilled if possible from the riflemen's own supply to keep the Bren in action.

Donald
Save it for a mammal who cares!

http://www.cawdorrifleandgunclub.co.uk/
User avatar
snayperskaya
Past Supporter
Posts: 7234
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 6:43 pm
Home club or Range: West Bank of the Volga.....
Location: West of The Urals
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#22 Post by snayperskaya »

kennyc wrote:
Ralph wrote:My farther used to say they used to bang their hand on the side of the gun wile it was firing to spread things about a bit,
he also told of cutting trees down with them, He also said they had brackets on their 25 Pounders that they fitted a bren to
for 25 pounder practice.
he's probably thinking about the Vickers HMG and similar, when mounted on tripods it was common to traverse them by knocking them sideways a bit at a time as 2mins in on this video, note how tight the spread is on this MG (I know the range is short, but even so)

Wouldn't the Vickers be classed as a medium machine gun as it is chambered for a standard rifle cartridge?.

I think of heavy machines having a larger calibre, such as the .50 Cal Browning M2 or the 12.7x108mm DShk.
"The only real power comes out of a long rifle." - Joseph Stalin

Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank.....give a man a bank and he can rob the world!.

More than a vested interest in 7.62x54r!
User avatar
BamBam
Posts: 2695
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:23 pm
Location: Royston vasey
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#23 Post by BamBam »

Vickers was more accurate than the Bren, if you watch that YT video I posted earlier it is all explained by Gun Jesus and Bloke on the Range.
Image
User avatar
kennyc
Posts: 2340
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 11:21 pm
Home club or Range: hunters NRPC
Location: Reading West Berks
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#24 Post by kennyc »

interesting article
Alan D
Posts: 89
Joined: Thu May 16, 2019 9:40 am
Home club or Range: Private range

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#25 Post by Alan D »

It was mentioned by Peter Laidler over on the Milsurps forum a while back.
User avatar
kennyc
Posts: 2340
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 11:21 pm
Home club or Range: hunters NRPC
Location: Reading West Berks
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#26 Post by kennyc »

BamBam wrote:Vickers was more accurate than the Bren, if you watch that YT video I posted earlier it is all explained by Gun Jesus and Bloke on the Range.
the Bloke has a full auto Bren, Ian has or had a Vickers, between them I think they know what they are talking about, although by the end of that vid they were slightly the worse for wear cheers
User avatar
BamBam
Posts: 2695
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2013 5:23 pm
Location: Royston vasey
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#27 Post by BamBam »

Quite long but enjoyable viewing none the less.

Has anybody ever heard of Ronnie the Bren Gun Girl?

Image

She was the poster girl for Canadian war production and worked at the Inglis factory I believe.
Image
User avatar
snayperskaya
Past Supporter
Posts: 7234
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 6:43 pm
Home club or Range: West Bank of the Volga.....
Location: West of The Urals
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#28 Post by snayperskaya »

BamBam wrote:Quite long but enjoyable viewing none the less.

Has anybody ever heard of Ronnie the Bren Gun Girl?

Image

She was the poster girl for Canadian war production and worked at the Inglis factory I believe.
Veronica Foster, she did indeed work at John Inglis Co. Ltd in Toronto.
"The only real power comes out of a long rifle." - Joseph Stalin

Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank.....give a man a bank and he can rob the world!.

More than a vested interest in 7.62x54r!
User avatar
kennyc
Posts: 2340
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 11:21 pm
Home club or Range: hunters NRPC
Location: Reading West Berks
Contact:

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#29 Post by kennyc »

at this point I would love to show the Bren gun scene in Carry on Sergeant, where Bob Monkhouse assembles one from parts in an admirably short time.....unfortunately some bugger has had it pulled because of copywrite wallhead
Andy632
Posts: 951
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:36 am
Home club or Range: Strathpeffer Rifle & Pistol Club (& Cawdor Rifle Club)
Location: Highlands

Re: Bren gun too accurate - myth ?

#30 Post by Andy632 »

Yup fond memories of doing all that shiete.
Rifle & Pistol Shooting in the Highlands with Strathpeffer Rifle & Pistol Club.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 8 guests