Bren light machine gun

E191271

The Bren light machine gun is a British gas-operated, magazine-fed squad automatic weapon widely used by Commonwealth forces from the 1930s through the Cold War, renowned for its reliability and accuracy.

All labels observed (8)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (61)

Predicate Object
instanceOf light machine gun
squad automatic weapon
action gas-operated tilting bolt
barrelLength approximately 635 millimetres
cartridge .303 British
7.62×51mm NATO
coolingSystem air-cooled
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
derivedFrom ZB vz. 26 light machine gun
designedFor section-level automatic fire support
designedIn 1930s
effectiveFiringRange about 600 metres
feedSystem detachable box magazine
firingModes fully automatic
selective fire
semi-automatic (some variants)
hasFeature carrying handle
folding bipod
quick-change barrel
top-mounted magazine
wooden stock
introducedInService 1938
knownFor accuracy
reliability
robustness
manufacturedBy Inglis of Canada
Lithgow Small Arms Factory
Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield
mass approximately 10 kilograms unloaded
mountingOptions bipod
tripod
nameEtymology portmanteau of Brno and Enfield
notableVariant Bren Mk I
Bren Mk II
Bren Mk III
Bren Mk IV
L4 light machine gun
operatingPrinciple gas-operated
overallLength approximately 1150 millimetres
primaryUserRole section automatic rifleman
rateOfFire approximately 500–520 rounds per minute
retiredFromFrontlineService late 20th century
sightType iron sights
standardMagazineCapacity 30 rounds
successor L7A2 GPMG
linked to: HK21 machine gun
usedAs anti-aircraft weapon (on special mounts)
section light machine gun
vehicle-mounted weapon
usedBy Australian Army
British Army
Canadian Army
Commonwealth armed forces
Indian Army
New Zealand Army
South African Army
usedInConflict Indo-Pakistani conflicts
linked to: Indo-Pakistani wars

Korean War
Malayan Emergency
Second World War
linked to: World War II

Suez Crisis
Vietnam War

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (12)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield notableProduct Bren light machine gun
Lewis machine gun replacedBy Bren light machine gun
subject linked to: Lewis machine guns
Jewish Brigade primaryWeapon Bren light machine gun
RSAF Enfield designed Bren light machine gun (British production variants)
linked to: Bren light machine gun
RSAF Enfield manufactured Bren light machine gun
Bren light machine gun notableVariant Bren Mk I
linked to: Bren light machine gun
Bren light machine gun notableVariant Bren Mk II
linked to: Bren light machine gun
Bren light machine gun notableVariant Bren Mk III
linked to: Bren light machine gun
Bren light machine gun notableVariant Bren Mk IV
linked to: Bren light machine gun
Bren light machine gun notableVariant L4 light machine gun
linked to: Bren light machine gun
Lewis gun replacedBy Bren light machine gun
Long Range Desert Group equipment Bren light machine guns
linked to: Bren light machine gun