Bren

Bren light machine gun
Early Mark I Bren LMG, photo from a Canadian factory
Type	Light machine gun
Place of origin	Czechoslovakia, United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1938–2006
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II Indonesian National Revolution Chinese Civil War Greek Civil War Malayan Emergency Korean War Suez Crisis Sino-Indian War Congo Crisis Rhodesian Bush War The Troubles Falklands War Aden Emergency
Production history
Designed	1935
Manufacturer	Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield John Inglis and Company Long Branch Factory Ishapore Rifle Factory
Produced	1935–1971
Variants	Mk I, II, III, IV L4
Specifications
Weight	22.83 lb (10.35 kg) (Mk1 and Mk2) (25lb–11.25 kg loaded); 8.68 kg (Mk3 and Mk4) (21.6lb–9.75 kg loaded)
Length	42.9 in (1,156 mm), Mk IV
Barrel length	25 in (635 mm)
Crew	2, gunner and assistant
Cartridge	.303 British 8×57mm IS (for China in World War II) 7.62×51mm NATO (post-WWII)
Action	Gas-operated, tilting bolt
Rate of fire	500–520 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	2440 ft/s (743.7 m/s)
Effective firing range	600 yd (550 m)
Maximum firing range	1,850 yd (1,690 m)
Feed system	20-round L1A1 SLR magazine 30-round detachable box magazine 100-round detachable pan magazine
Sights	Iron

The Bren gun, usually called simply the Bren, 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 vehicle-mounted.

The Bren was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun, which in turn, was a modified version of ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. The name Bren was derived from Brno, Moravia, the Czechoslovak city where the Zb vz. 26 was originally designed (in the Zbrojovka Brno Factory), and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory. The original and main designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer.

In the 1950s many Brens were rebarrelled 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 heavier belt-fed weapon. This was, in turn, supplemented in the 1980s by the L86 Light Support Weapon firing the 5.56×45mm NATO round, leaving the Bren in use only as a pintle mount on some vehicles.