Bren question

[Tiredboots]

I just finished the book "fighting for the soviet motherland" by Loza. At the begining of his service he was a lend-lease Matilda tank commender and mention the secondary armament of the tank as being a bren fed by 100 rounds drums(PP 27.) Does anyone know about such an weapon? Did a google search: nothing.

[NameUsedBefore]

http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/bren.htm

Do you want the gun or...?

[Tiredboots]

I never heard of of a bren fed by a drum/disc magazin, was wondering if the author was mistaking the vickers mg for the bren. Wich would be rather strange coming from a professional.

[JasonC]

The coaxial MG was a besa not a vickers, but belt fed. However, it was possible to mount a Bren for the TC, AA style. "A Bren .303 anti-aircraft mg. could also be fitted." That is probably what he meant by "secondary". (It is also possible the Besa was lacking in his vehicle for some reason, and they had only an AA mount Bren, but that seems less likely).

[Tiredboots]

Specifically the author refers to a matilda stuck in mud and the crew establishing a defensive perimeter using a dismounted bren, quote: "...making it a good LMG for ground use. Each tank carried several loaded 100-round discs." Details like that make me wonder the truth of the whole thing.

[Bigduke6]

To me that's the ring of truth. It was SOP for lend lease weapons to arrive in Soviet control fully ammunitioned and kitted out with secondary weapons. Newly-arrived Shermans were particularly favorable targets, as they came equipped (among other things) with a pair of Thompson submachine guns, which Red soldiers disrespectful of the supply chain would lift if at all possible. It seems to me a bunch of factory-loaded circular magazines aboard an imported vehicle as absolutely credible.

As to a "professional" calling a Vickers a Bren, hey, this is the Red Army we're talking about and that was a foreign weapon. It's not like German rankers distinguished particularly between T-34C and D, etc; never mind the Americans and their captured "Schmeissers" and "Spandaus". Slang terms for foreign weapons is pretty much the norm, and I would assume "Bren" was what the Red Army used to describe any British-made LMG.

Especially since "Vickers" in the Soviet experience meant, if anything, the belt-fed heavy gun of WWI vintage.

[flamingknives]

A few points, if I may:

1) the drum magazine-fed WW1 vintage MG is a Lewis gun. 47 rounds in the mag, IIRC.

2) the Vickers K, a later invention, was also fed from a top mounted drum of about 100rds capacity

3) the Bren could be fitted with a 100rd drum for AA/Vehicle use.

I don't recall reading that the Vickers K was ever used on tanks for AA use, while the Bren was.

[Tiredboots]

Well Flamingknives answered my question, there was such a thing as a bren fitted with 100rd drum. First time I come across this info, thanks.The only two british lmg that i knew of using drum mags. were the lewis & vickers k.

[Michael Dorosh]

Too late....:blush: