The Bren Light Machine Gun - In the Movies

[@bushmanairsoft9578]

There’s many Victoria cross speeches that begin with “and he picked up a Bren light machine gun”

[@thekhoifish0146]

"Corporal! There're too many Jerries, we need to pull back!" *loads Bren as "The Girl I Left Behind Me" plays in the background* "I didn't hear no fockin' retreat order"

[@geordiedog1749]

That’s a very good point. I’ll bet you’re right!

[@HO-bndk]

And there's even one where the guy realised the enemy had overrun a position with an abandoned Bren in it and...ran back to get it! A gurkha (need you ask?)

[@geordiedog1749]

@@HO-bndk Oh course a Gurkha

[@markfryer9880]

@@HO-bndk May God have mercy upon the souls of those enemies who face a Gurkha!

[@philipdee1415]

Trained with and fired the Bren routinely into the early 1990's with the Irish Defence Forces Reserve. An excellent weapon...well made, accurate, easy to break down and clean / reassemble. Great credit to designers and manufacturers...

[@tonytendencies4698]

I remember as a kid in the early 80s in Skerries hearing the unmistakeable sound of the army test firing their Brens 11 miles up the coast in Laytown. How did I know it was a Bren if I was only a kid? My grandad told me about 20 times whenever he'd hear them. He was a Seargent in the irish army and served in the Lebanon and Congo. He knew a lot about guns and loved to tell me about them. He held the accuracy record for the Vickers machine gun within the Irish Army.

[@eeusei...3747]

RIO DE JANEIRO POLICE STILL USE BREN

[@razor6888]

It is simply outstanding yes, but even you must concede that being accurate depended on the state of the barrels supplied... wore out barrels were simply that. The slow twist rate of the cartridge needed a tight barrel. But it was rare to get one. But that said, in its role, it was simply one of the best. Speaking in the current era of the last 50 years. Back in the day at full auto shoots it was a joy to fire and use.

[@stephenobrien5909]

Was that the Bren or the LMG? By that time the Irish Army (don't know about the FCA) was armed with the LMG, my personal weapon onCrusader 80 in Germany. After a day the novelty wore off.

[@razor6888]

@@eeusei...3747 wow, that's simply amazing, I bet it's a convert to 7.62 NATO... but I cannot deny those were a system that could do the job. Sigh I wish we still had full auto shoots here but they are prohibited here now... so its donate to a museum or get destroyed. So much to preserve history.

[@colinp2238]

I fired one of these aged about 15 when I was in the Army Cadets 50 years ago. A few years later I was introduced to the GMPG in the regular army. What I remember of the Bren is that it pulls you forward as it fires, but still a good bit of kit. Later in life a gaffer of mine into shot guns told me I knew nothing about weapons. I served in the Royal Artillery and I have fired almost anything from a .22 number 8 Lee Enfield up to a 175mm howitzer!

[@johntomasini3916]

You are certainly right about the Bren pulling you forward. At Puckapunyal (1964) while in the Army Cadets we were firing 303's, followed by Brens, the difference in feel was amazing.

[@nigelevans7146]

@@johntomasini3916 and it discharges the empty cases downwards, not an issue in combat but in training makes it easier to gather up your brass

[@BadBomb555]

The early Bren guns actually had a scope mount and could have been fitted with scopes, but due the fact many them were left behind Dunkirk, the newer Brens had to cut off that feature for production reasons. The Japanese LMGs still had the scope mount and some were used with scopes to devastating accuracy.

[@damionkeeling3103]

That makes zero sense. They were made in factories in the UK, not cloned from existing weapons.

[@sergeandou9853]

@@damionkeeling3103 It was a high demand for good optics for aircrafts and tanks probably, sniper rifles, AA and artillery, not mentioning naval demand. And you could produce only limited number of good lenses considering the process. So they just cut it on LMGs.

[@cosmiccolonel]

My late father carried one of these from Anzio, up through Salerno, on to Lake Commachio and ultimately on to Berlin….. he still remembered it’s number more than 60 years later…….

[@rustomkanishka]

Anzio and Salerno were bloodbaths. Was your dad okay with what he'd seen?

[@cosmiccolonel]

@@rustomkanishka he never really talked about it much, just little snippets, like the time a sniper put a bullet between his feet while he was taking a dump! Or the time a mate of his was killed when he jumped off a wall, straight on to an anti tank mine….. he kept a lot bottled up but sometimes things slipped out, usually after consuming a glass or two of Scotlands finest. He was still hill walking in his eighties and he bumped into a bunch of Royal marine commandos….. he saw they had “Commachio” on their shoulders, he said “I was there”….. the command was shouted out, “right you lot, get a brew on”, they sat and listened to him for an hour and made him feel like a million bucks and I’ll bet they were told a lot more than we ever knew….👍

[@rustomkanishka]

@@cosmiccolonel that was quite nice of the Royal Marines. I have PTSD but it's from some family tragedies. I was trying to get an idea of red flags to avoid as i got older. I don't drink anymore, so that's not a big concern. If there's a God, may he bless and keep the men who suffered the war. Fighting fascism is definitely god's work.

[@frankpolly]

You actually put footage in of the movie "New kids Turbo", that's amazing.

[@lucabanks6581]

BAM JONGE

[@woutheffels9288]

@@lucabanks6581 KUT

[@LordGingerBerry]

NIEMAND KOMT AAN MAASKANTJE JONGUH

[@TheSkskitey]

I was trained on a Bren Gun in the cadets in the 1960s , great to fire as no recoil . In training we were told never change the magazine by holding the barrel but of course i got a burnt hand doing just that :-)

[@jonohowland0689]

My grandfather was a cadet in 1969 and he gave me his cadet manual and it has all the details of how to strip the bren and operate it. if u can get in touch with me ill send you a photo.

[@notwocdivad]

Even G/S R LEE ERMEY said after a back to back test the Bren was a better weapon than the BAR! High praise indeed from an American

[@robertdraper5782]

I was just going to post the same comment, Ermey said it was the ease of mag change that gave the Bren the advantage over the BAR as a force multiplier.

[@edmundscycles1]

@@robertdraper5782 and its much lower recoil .

[@justalex2.0]

I don't understand why so many ww2 games don't include the brits.I think they contributed a lot of things to the war and a british campaign like the one shown in cod 2 they also have a lot of iconic weapons

[@neilwilson5785]

CoD3 (2006) had a Canadian unit that used the same weapons, so there is that.

[@guts-141]

World At War was going to add British in the game but they cut it in the end The leftover data such as Sten was added in Reznov flashback Mission

[@doleofdolonia8859]

Because most well known WW2 games were made by American companies that want to cater to the romanticized D-Day image of American soldiers inspired by movies and shows like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers.

[@nicholaswilson1851]

@@doleofdolonia8859 to be fair, the Americans had the most successful breakouts of D-Day, while the British got stopped at a city, can’t remember the name though

[@doleofdolonia8859]

@@nicholaswilson1851 They faced the brunt of German panzer forces at Caen alongside the Canadians. The Americans had a hard time at Cherbourg but then proceeded to basically just stroll down the German lines south and loop back up until they encountered retreating Germans at the Falaise gap. The commonwealth faced a lot of odds which would be great for area for storytelling.

[@vincec4248]

Love the content. Had no idea the Bren was used that extensively and really entertaining to see it used in so many other non-war movies.

[@lostonearth7856]

Well I mean it had to happen to an iconic gun of a Major that had seen massive use during the Second World War by the British and Commonwealth forces, all the way to the Falklands Wars used by the British Marines with it still in service under the Indian Army.

[@vincec4248]

@@lostonearth7856 i’m only familiar with the Bren in WW2, thought it faded through the Cold War with so many new developments. Thanks for the additional info! Truly an icon

[@lostonearth7856]

@@vincec4248 Actually, I did make a mistake, the Indian Army phased it out in 2012, unlike the Aussies and Brits who did so in the 1990s and the Irish being the last Western Country to continue using the Bren gun, which is very sad as the Bren gun was amazing, I hope someone does bring the Bren back from the dead just like the "The Left Arm of the Free World," also known as the FN FAL and bring it to the Twenty-First Century.

[@fredflintstome6532]

If you want to see how great this weapon was check out how many Victoria Crosses were won wielding one. I had the pleasure of training on an L4A4 Bren in 7.62 NATO in the 90's. Great weapon loved every minute of it.

[@cameronnewton7053]

You noted that the Bren was hip fired in the battle of Kokoda, but i think the example you were thinking of was at he battle of Isurava where private Bruce Kingsbury of the 39th militia battalion rushed the Japanese lines firing his Bren gun from the hip, although he was killed by a sniper that attack beat back the Japanese allowing the Australians to hold out for a couple days longer and quite possibly saving Port Moresby, and Australia. Kingsbury was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions, and to my knowledge was the first and only VC won on Australian soil ( Papua - new guinea then being a Australian mandate)

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Thank you for adding this! It's exactly what I was referencing however I don't always have time to go into detail in these short videos so I'm glad you got it and shared here in the comment section for everyone.

[@maxbest20s11]

Fired it in Corp training (Infantry) here in Australia in the late 70s, 7.62 version. An outstanding weapon, easy to maintain, reliable, accurate, ergonomic. Superior to the M60 which replaced it in terms of maintenance, reliability, the only benefit being the M60 was belt fed (Australia apparently bought the M60 off the plan without trialing it, correct me if wrong).

[@Penekamp11]

I own an M60 and while it’s far from perfect, I have to think that continually changing magazines for the Bren would at the least prove to be a distraction and at worst give the enemy time to maneuver. I have never fired or trained on a Bren and only have experience with belt fed weapons and submachine guns so I could be wrong.

[@terryharris1291]

@@Penekamp11 It only takes a few seconds to change a mag,the rest of your section would still be firing.

[@stephentazare9382]

A movie that has a lot of Bren action is “A hill in Korea” featuring a young Michael Caine

[@eamonnclabby7067]

A young Michael Cain aka Mikkelwight, who actually was a machine gunner during the Korean war...

[@kaneo6162]

Maurice Micklewight rulz.

[@gavincook4684]

He was brought in on this film as a technical advisor. Filmed in Portugal Michael Caine is on record as saying Korea looked more like Wales but, as he had never been to Portugal he kept it to himself.

[@panther7584]

Yes, I saw the part where 3 Bren gunners lay down on a hill and ambushed 300 NK soldiers who were walking in the open field until NK soldiers decided to retreat.

[@kevin_1230]

And robert shaw I think.

[@HO-bndk]

2:42 Yes, it's the bipod. Men who couldn't group well with the rifle would invariably group better firing the Bren on Repetition ("single shot" for you shooter game players). It's not because the Bren was more accurate than the rifle (because it certainly wasn't!), it was all because of the bipod (and the almost total lack of recoil - surprised you didn't mention that in the video, actually. The Bren would actually pull forwards away from you in a long burst).

[@redrb26dett]

No it's not that's just myth more accurate than a MG42 but not a SMLE mk3 or No4 but the Bren is a great weapon first MG I was taught on and gained my classification (mg) badge but was taught on the No4 also and passed my APWT and got a marksman classification badge and yes the box mag as advantages but still prefer the L7A2 or better known as the gimpy

[@MrPh30]

Bren bipod was later copied of Parker Hale as the excellent bipod for rifles of many kind . Versapod copied it later on ,as a lighter and cheaper model but just as good and simple.

[@RandomPerson-ob1hk]

Do British people call semi auto repitition?

[@thegunnut1944]

@@RandomPerson-ob1hk these days we don't mostly because of American influence but we use to back in the day.

[@RandomPerson-ob1hk]

@@thegunnut1944 maybe the only thing we came up with that makes more sense than Europe is that semi-auto is repeated clicks and goes with auto being single hold click

[@CurtRowlett]

I'm a volunteer docent with my local military museum. We just received a donation of a Bren gun that is in almost perfect condition. I admit that I didn't really know much about the gun, but watching this video has helped. Nice job.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

I envy you! We just have a big farming museum where I am lol

[@CurtRowlett]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq I live in a fairly small town in Florida called Naples. But, a large part of the population here is made up of veterans. Our museum is located in the airport, so word gets around about it. The guy who donated the Bren actually brought it from New York on a private plane. Our airport security didn't check inside the wooden crate he had it in for any machine guns. 😀

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

@@CurtRowlett If I am ever in Florida I'll have to check it out :) Not too many machine guns in Canada for me to look at lol

[@johnrohr6400]

Modified 7.62 bren were held as war reserve stocks as late as 1980s in Australia

[@jonprince3237]

The Vickers Machine Gun Collection and Research Association in the U.K. has free pdf. downloads of the original Bren training manuals available on its website should you want further information, along with videos covering the Bren on their KZbin channel. You can also drop them a line if you ever have specific Bren related questions as there's an ever increasing amount of Bren related primary sources finding it's way into the Association archives from their ongoing work with the Vickers.

[@mathewkelly9968]

Nice to see someone outside of Australia has heard about the Kakoda campaign and actually seen the movie .

[@notwocdivad]

I have the movie on disc and must say that the Aussie soldiers went through a living hell on the Kokoda trail, non front line troops fighting the best the Japanese had and holding them at bay

[@72mossy]

My father was a Bren Gunner with the 34th Battalion in the Congo 1961. He was an Irish UN peacekeeper.

[@sssenseiii]

I heard in another video that the flaw of the Bren was that it was too acurate to suppress a wide area, having to swing around the gun. Same with putting it in tanks, sometime you want a bit of spread with a machine gun.

[@anselmdanker9519]

Last Victoria Cross awarded to a Gurkha ,involved the use of the Bren Bren modified to take 7.62 NATO at Gunung Tepoi,in Sarawak on 21November 1965.Lance Corporal Rambahadur Limbu Limbu attacked and destroyed 2 Indonesian machine gun positions. The Bren was used extensively during the Malayan Emergency as well.Thanks for highlighting it's use in films.

[@reynaldoflores4522]

0:10 That little British armored car is sooo CUTE!!

[@crumpetcommandos779]

daimler dingo gang

[@ghoull2010]

ye this is also one of my favorite movies so far bcuz it doesnt only include john lennon, but include ✨️FANTASY✨️

[@gunner678]

The L4 was my carry for a couple of years. An excellent LMG even by the standards of today.

[@hansgruber3064]

The top loading magazine came in handy for my grandad when he was in North Africa, it stopped a bullet that would of most likely of hit him in between the eyes.

[@fortawesome1974]

I was trained as a specialist Infantry soldier In the Royal Australian Regiment in various roles including Signals, Mortars and DFSW (Direct Fire Support Weapons) which dealt with anti tank and Sustained fire Machine Gun Roles!! the Bren was dead accurate and didn't have a beaten zone that most SFMG guns have. We used the Mag58's on tripods and could put harassing fire out to 2.4km using the C2 Sight the same as used on a mortar so we could fire on targets we couldn't even see!! The Bren was an awesome weapon but was quickly superseded by the M60 then the MAG58 and then the Minimi. Each section used to have a scout group with 2 scouts and the and Corporal, the rifle group and gun group with the Lance corporal. 3 men in each group. Then when the Minimi came in we basically had 2 gun groups and a scout group. Way more firepower with 2 belt fed machine guns in each section.

[@harry9392]

I was an L4A1 LMG (bren) gunner in my section and I loved it , it was very accurate, my section commander also loved the L4A1 LMG(Bren). It was 7.62 NATO straight mag , compared to the L7A2 GPMG FN MAG, It had no cone of fire rounds went straight to the target were the GPMG had a cone of fire had a spread ie the beating zone, as I said my section commander would want to carry it so I had his SLR when doing check points I got in cover with my LMG . This was in Northern Ireland during the troubles,

[@billbergin8953]

Supply drops to the French Resistance contained a great many useful supplies. However, Brens were in constant demand. There were never enough of them. Who could blame the French for asking???!!!

[@qzg7857]

Now imagine Polish resistance that had 0 of those drops

[@KhoaLe-uc2ny]

@Alenas Kvasninas lol true

[@bighamster2]

​@@qzg7857Yep, although it makes some sense considering how much more difficult it was to make drops from Britain to occupied Poland compared to France/Belgium/Netherlands

[@Great_Sandwich]

Sometimes weapons just fall into legend. The Bren is one example.

[@reubendorman]

My grandfather was a Sargent/ Churchill tank commander in Egypt who had the record for fastest disamble and reassemble time

[@Rottenflieger.]

I’m interested to know what the fastest recorded time for disassembling a Churchill was. I suppose a well placed round from a Panther might do it in under a second if it hit the ammunition storage…

[@howardchambers9679]

@@Rottenflieger. not through the front though. The Mk4 had 152mm of armour at the front.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

Did he used to work at the factory where they made them?

[@reubendorman]

@@bob_the_bomb4508 no he was a commander of a Churchill in Egypt 1944 to 1946 he also a medic and he would make bets with his friends and he beat every one of them at disassembling and reassembling the bren. Also he experimented with making a Sherman transport version or something

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

@@reubendorman Fair enough :)

[@geordiedog1749]

Great stuff. When I saw the title a load of films flashed in my head and I think you got them all. The alt. Sniper rifle scene was there too. There’s this myths around the MG42 that has evolved which is just annoying sometimes as it what I call a ‘Top Trump’ argument ie someone just looks at some stats and concludes what’s best. MG42 were great…… if you had thousands of rounds of ammo, a large pile of spare barrels and you didn’t have to move anywhere in a hurry. I’d take a Bren any day like I’m some bad ass veteran!) A great book about WW2 called ‘Quartered Safe Out Here’ by George MacDonald-Fraser (he of Flashman fame) is the auto biography of a soldier in Burma. In it he described the Bren gun as the most important thing in the whole platoon. I’d totally recommend this book btw. It’s a fantastic read. Great work again Jonny.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Thank you for the recommendation! I'll check it out :)

[@mikebrase5161]

I own a Yugo M-53 I would take it all day every day over a Bren. There is a reason why the M-42 platform is still in use and the Bren is not.

[@geordiedog1749]

@@mikebrase5161 That’s exactly the rubbish I’m on about.

[@eamonnclabby7067]

@@geordiedog1749 seconded, my Father in law RIP would agree with you ,

[@cameronnewton7053]

Hey! i have that book! It's also interesting to note that the author was at first issued with a Lee-Enfield .303 rifle, but later in the war was issued with a Thompson SMG he later threw this weapon away because he said that it jammed constantly and needed constant care to prevent rusting.

[@Tomkinsbc]

The first time I heard of soldiers using the Bren Gun from the hip, was during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. The Japanese where threating remaining Canadians in Port Stanley. Their commander had a number of them issued with Bren Guns, I believe there was 12 of them. There job was to run uphill in a cemetery and clear out the Japanese that were threating those defending Port Stanley. They succeeded in clearing out the cemetery of all the Japanese soldiers and reach the top of the hill of the cemetery where there were two now empty buildings. As there were only two of them left, they were forced to fall back to there side of the cemetery and defend Port Stanley from there. I have heard in other documentaries that the UK commandos were the first to use the Bren Gun in this way, but the fall of Hong Kong was December 25, 1941, so this action predates the claim that the British Commandos developed the use of the Bren Gun, firing form the hip. I am not saying the use of the Bren Gun in this way was developed by the Canadian during the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941, what I am saying is that it was the earliest time that I am aware of that the Bren Gun was used in this manner.

[@jacqueschouette7474]

In regards to using the Bren as a sniper rifle, if this was actually done, it would probably be because of the bipod and ballistics of the bullet at long ranges (but then you would probably want a scope and not iron sights). During Vietnam, GySgt Carlos Hathcock used a M2 50 caliber machine gun with a scope as a sniper rifle because the tripod and the ballistics of the 50 caliber bullet over long ranges.

[@edmundscycles1]

No need for a scope . The peep sights for the BREN were a le to reach out to 1200m . British and Irish riflemen could hit 1000m targets with iron sights due to them being peep sights . At ranges between 50 and 250m a large aperture "battle sight" was flipped up .

[@amadeokomnenus1414]

My grandfather, who fought in Korea, complained the Bren was ''too accurate'' and couldn't provide a big enough beating zone in repelling Chinese massed infantry attacks.

[@Zalijegamer]

Die russian pig

[@amadeokomnenus1414]

@@Zalijegamer LOL> ''emotional damage''

[@Tophet1]

That's what we were taught about it during qualification. Beaten zones of area fire with a Vickers HMG was the preferred option. Company level rifle fire could achieve the same effect but that teaching has dropped.

[@andyfriederichsen]

That's generally a myth about the Bren.

[@scandited2763]

Were there complaints about magazine size?

[@terryharris1291]

A great weapon to use, we were still using them in the early 1980s rechambered to 7.62mm.

[@HamanKarn567]

Love the wild geese that's one of my favorite movies.

[@ianashby6294]

Yeah it's pretty awesome

[@Ken_oh545]

I visited the prep school where Harris watches his lad play football, it is in Summertown, North Oxford

[@MRBasgames]

I love that new kids just showed up! Great film! ( 3:57 )

[@philtoynton7981]

I am pleased to say I Handled and Fired the Bren as a Cadet in around the 1970's - One attribute is that it 'kicked forward', important to have a good hold into the shoulder...

[@then00brathalos]

No country was ever more grateful for the Bren gun, than Malaya (now Malaysia)

[@petehall889]

In my collection, I have a 1940 dated Enfield Mk1 Bren with correct barrel, lensatic sight slot, butt handle, folding shoulder strap and BSA extending bipod. Such a superb LMG. I used to be able to handle one easily; 3 decades on, it seems to have gained weight just like me! 😄

[@richardshort3914]

Very good summary. The only thing I would add is in the name, _Bren,_ the *BR* stood for Brno, the Czechoslovak armoury and location of design and *EN* from Enfield, the UK armoury and location of customisation and original manufacture.

[@damirblazevic7364]

It's not Bruno, it's Brno (ger. Brünn)

[@dukecraig2402]

The Germans also used plenty of the original Czech guns they captured when they took the Brno facility, but movie makers only ever want to use the MG's in the hands of Germans in movies.

[@redrb26dett]

Bruno is a Austrian gay character created by Sasha baron Cohen ,Brno is a town in the Czech Republic 🇨🇿

[@richardshort3914]

@@damirblazevic7364 Thanks. Corrected damned spellchecker.

[@richardshort3914]

@@redrb26dett Thanks. Corrected damned spellchecker.

[@martinwalshe5657]

I was an instructor on the Bren and fired it in many a competition , beautiful piece of machinery and very accurate weapon

[@grogscol]

My Light Machine Gun (LMG) when I served in the Irish Army, accurate and 100% reliable, what more could you ask for.

[@AlliezAz]

B.r.e.n "Barely rapid empty now" Squire.

[@rtpfixit]

The Bren gun should have won an Oscar for its performance in Lock stock and two smoking barrels

[@garrisonnichols807]

In my opinion this was the best light machine gun of WW2.

[@tramlink8544]

in the Falkands war, when the Argentinian Skyhawks flew low and attacked the Sheffield, sailors were using brens as a last ditch AA attempt

[@lasdepique4805]

3:35 R.I.P Jean-Paul Belmondo 1933-2021 one of the biggest French actor of his time

[@observeandreport85]

I love that you threw in that scene from, “Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels”.

[@camm9032]

Its hard to not make a Bren Gun video without showing its not so subtle cameo in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...mightn't be a WW2 film but its a damn awesome scene...."where the f@#k did she come from".

[@aaronjohn6586]

Thanks for the great content and informative video, really appreciate showing what others used in battle.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

My pleasure!

[@rustykilt]

I used the BREN when in the Cadets. I used the VICKERS and the SMLE. In the Army I used the LIA1 SLR and later the AUS STEYR. The BREN will always be my favourite weapon

[@rolfagten857]

Great scene selection Johnny, especially that of "How I won the War" (1967) a comedy starring John Lennon. Lennon had a nice part as "private Gripweed".

[@eamonnclabby7067]

An underrated masterpiece....

[@Fran-fv6pf]

Thanks for naming and featuring the movies, nice touch and helpful. Great video.

[@GannicusMisteriosdeHonduras]

Now this is something you don't see everyday, Bren guns. Hey Johnny have you seen the trailer for the unknown battle on Netflix?

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

yah looks good! I'll see if I can work it into something in the near future. I just need to find it in Russian and not a horrible English Dub.

[@GannicusMisteriosdeHonduras]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq my bad is actually the forgotten battle, dutch movie coming up on the 15th

[@HankD13]

It was the LMG for my time in the Royal Signals in the 70-80's. Loved it.

[@aldrichcruz9321]

Fun fact Bren have been mordenized in the Cold War still useable till replaced by L7 GPMG of FN MAG MAGthe Bren have been renamed L4 Bren which fits a powerful caliber of a 762x51 the barrel is change include the magazine these guns were seen during the Irish terrorist attacks Falkland war by the Royal Marines and throughout the Cold War by 60s to the late 70s till they were replaced by L7s

[@kyber2830]

0:04 WE’LL BE RIGHT BACK

[@monkieie]

I thoroughly enjoyed my training on the Bren towards the end of the 80s. A dream to fire and with selective fire even got classified as a marksman 😎

[@markbarlow8770]

Thanks for the nod to Kokoda.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Excellent Australian WW2 film. Everyone should see it.

[@markbarlow8770]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq more the battle than the movie. Kokoda and Milne bay were the first land victories against the Japanese and yet even in our own country this is being forgotten so when it gets mentioned it is important to us.

[@Goffas_and_gumpys]

Bren was still in service in 1985 when I went through basic training prior to going into Bn. Loved its accuracy, but hated the fact it was mag fed. Belt fed is the way to go :-) Didn't see them in the Coys though, the M60 was in its place. Australian Army

[@chris.3711]

So the Bren was such an accurate light machine gun that it didn't offer the spread that British gunners desired. So they would often trade their newer barrels for ones that were more shot out.

[@cyberleaderandy1]

Theres an interesting Royal Armouries video about them trying to make a belt fed version of the Bren, that never really got anywhere.

[@shinkoreancookery952]

The Bren gun is a good gun to me and probably my favourite!

[@shinkoreancookery952]

Thanks

[@WhattAreYouSaying]

What a great video! I am lucky enough to own a real Bren gun. It's a Bren Mk1M made by Inglis in 1941. It's on display in my living room. I use to stub my toe on the damn thing when I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom...

[@azkyoutube8708]

Did anyone else notice at 2:07 the guy is firing his rifle with the bolt open?

[@keithorbell8946]

Love the Bren, in the Cadets at school I used to love giving the weapons training lessons on the gun.

[@paleoph6168]

2:20 Ian McCollum from Forgotten Weapons just made a video on how this scene in the movie is based on a very infamous myth surrounding the Bren gun.

[@richardwong5616]

3:03 (nice timestamp btw) this movie is called "Bukit Kepong". It's a movie about an isolated police station holding out against a Communist attack numbering over 100 guerillas during the Malayan Emergency, known also as Britain's Vietnam war The movie is actually based on a true story that happened in February 1950

[@Kickaha83]

I have a photo of my father carrying a Bren gun in Malaya but he was there later about 1960 and it was the 7.62 version, he only had it for the photo his weapon was normally an SLR, also a photo of soldiers on the range there that he took with multiple Bren guns

[@richardwong5616]

@@Kickaha83 it must have been the L4 variant of the Bren gun. Was your grandfather a British or commonwealth soldier?

[@Kickaha83]

Commonwealth, NZ 1st Battalion, the photo shows it fitted with the 20 round SLR magazine

[@richardwong5616]

@@Kickaha83 hats off to your grandad for helping out us Malaysians stomp out those commie bastards

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

That was my personal weapon in the Army. Never jammed not once.

[@KeepItSimpleSailor]

2:23 my father was on the Bren gun when he served, and I remember he spoke very highly of it as both a general purpose MG, but also as a sniping rifle, similar to how you describe. He was obviously very impressed with the gun. I think it was a .303 variant? Never handled one myself, having had the similarly admirable 7.62 SLR in my time.

[@esthera3923]

It's worth noting that India in particular fell in love with the Bren, still using it up into the present day

[@dondouglass6415]

As an army cadet in the 1970's I loved firing this weapon and later in my adult army service in the 80's I went to Bisley with a Bren... Great weapon, possibly too accurate but wonderful to fire and so easy to maintain... Happy memories..

[@minuteman4199]

A lot of Bren guns were made in Canada as well, By Inglis, a home appliance company.

[@anthonysalgado5118]

The SADF used the Bren up to the 80s rebored to take the 7.62 round the same ammo as our FNs(R1) using the same 20 round magazine.

[@mickmaxtube]

Saw a 7.62 Bren with a section of Australian Reservists / National Guardsman / Territorial Army while on exercise. I was going to 'borrow' it that night but they moved location.....This was in Australia in 1991.

[@TheCaptScarlett]

Loved using the LMG (7.62 version) on march-and-shoot competitions

[@nicholascarrington7912]

Ha! At 4.31, classic! Shows the blank fire barrel on the Bren. There was a steel half-circle welded onto the muzzle. This was because to fire 'blanks' and be fully automatic, the rounds had to be 'bulleted blank', that is the round had a balsa tip. When it was fired, the balsa burnt due to friction, but it was enough to allow automatic fire. I've only ever fired the Bren once using bulleted blank and it looks like a small flame thrower!

[@richardvernon317]

My Grandfather aways raved about two weapons he got to fire in WWII, the 17 pounder and a quad mounted AA mount he once fired fitted with 4 Bren guns fitted with 100 round drum magazines!!

[@Mod-rw9cw]

The best weapon I ever fired. Impossible to miss and will knock a wall down with its power and accuracy. We should still be using them today.

[@colinblick4903]

Fired the later LMG(Bren) 7.62 nato ammo. Was a crackin accurate weapon whose 30 rnd mag you could swap with a SLR mag…..(Belgium FN) rifle I know cus I did it 😂😂

[@arkaprava2561]

The INDIAN army still uses the Bren gun as an SAW for accurate fire Power. Old is gold bro 👍

[@sigmatus303]

Thank you for showing the Aussies and acknowledging our boys.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Fantastic soldiers the Aussies

[@georgekaragiannakis6637]

Thanks and be good to do a follow up on the Bren gun carrier. How it was used and its success as a battlefield weapon.

[@jamesbinns5178]

After the Korean War surplus Been Guns were allocated to Reserve or Militia Armouries in Canada. I remember our weekly training or weekend exercises in the late 1960's always included infantry section tactics using an old well cared for Bren. It was never fired although we did have some tucked away Lee - Enfield's in .303 calibre that were never used. We were equipped with FN C-1s but were never really trusted with C-2s. Money was tight and ammunition both live and blank was expensive. The honour of carrying of carrying a Bren Gun on a long trek was dubious despite being recognized as the 2IC of the section. John Inglis who made many of the WW2 Bren Guns also branched out into making fishing tackle after the war. Along with dryers and wash machines.

[@gregdzialo9998]

Don't forget Inglis also produced Browning 9mm M1935 Hi-Power pistols for the Commonwealth in WWII. 👍

[@mikhailv67tv]

Great content Johnny. Great use of both Funny and serious film

[@user-pc8tb7hg1lHandlesRDumb]

I"m glad you put the movie news in the clip for new videos : )

[@samtaylorcoll]

Damn thing was too accurate.

[@xirensixseo]

i saw a mark 1 that was shipped over from Canada in person at the national museum here in Singapore, its bigger than i expected, i could walk along it, its the size of my longboard! i wish i could have held any of the number of displayed world war 2 firearms

[@markwilliams2620]

The Czech's. So good at designing weapons the Nazis invaded them first.

[@elcid8943]

Bukit Kepong was a Malaysian movie. Thanks for this video! Amazing

[@kuroiuzu9754]

The single shot from the bren is due to it being more accurate at range than the Enfield rifle, the magazine affects the weapons balance and sight picture that's why it's removed

[@kennymackay6942]

Great tribute to the bren. I fired one once in the 1980s...sadly as a cadet it was only loaded with 10 rounds in the mag...we could only fire it in repetition..semi automatic... So tempting to slip it to full auto...hmm .

[@SaifulIkram]

Minute 3:02-3:07, the Malaysian 1982's movie Bukit Kepong, a fight of 18 Federation of Malaya policemen against 200 Communist insurgents during the first Emergency.

[@DuhThyHiTickler]

You should do one on the Springfield, 1903

[@mcintoshpc]

3:30 interestingly, i think the practical rate of fire of a bren was about equal to an mg42, owing to the bren’s magazine reload being faster than a belt change (Yes he said mg34 i know)

[@jimchoate6912]

I'm a little late to the game but I would like to express my gratitude for your work on these short yet very informative videos. Thank you. I know it takes a lot of time and effort and is more of a labor of love then anything else. Awesome job and thank you.

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

Thanks man I really appreciate that. I'm a one team so though the videos may appear not the most polished at times they are a decent amount of work for one guy.

[@jasonsantos3037]

Best machine gun from World War 2.

[@jayargo2109]

As a 13 year old , I was in the army cadets We went on an " excersise " and I had the Bren for company.... Icy cold , bitter wind , small hands and no real muscle development .... Total agony 😄

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

That would build some muscle!

[@jayargo2109]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq It might have helped a bit Johnny ... 55 now 👍🏻

[@fletches4084]

I used a Bren when I was in my school machine gun shooting team. I kid you not. Damn accurate when they needed to be. Once, as a cadet I got to do the full Rambo, Bren in each hand (BFAs fitted of course) charging the opposing position during exercises. I doubt that would be allowed these days unless you are in America where it seems an AR15 is the de rigueur 1st birthday present.

[@runertje5505]

the fact that u added New Kids Turbo made me giggle. This was movie was the biggest and most trending thing everyone talking about in 2010 & 2011

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

I try to aim to make myself laugh at least once when making a video. New Kids Turbo was an easy one here.

[@runertje5505]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq haahah have you seen it?? I am Dutch myself and I think it's hilarious when non-Dutch people watched it

[@JohnnyJohnsonEsq]

@@runertje5505 haha yah man it was a good laugh

[@runertje5505]

@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq hahaha it's actually kinda funny because I live really close to Maaskantje (if you can remember, where the movie takes place). And many friends of mine have visited it. Even the snackbar where many iconic scenes were shot is real :)

[@Tophet1]

Loved the Bren. When used properly It was a specialist piece of kit.

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

I carried the FNC2A1 and valued the bipod and weight for accurate single shots. All iron sights back then. The second hardest part about shooting at a one metre square target 800m away, was seeing it. Hitting it was only slightly harder. It pleased me greatly to see cousin Sean carrying a BREN in the Longest Day.

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

If you look carefully, the Bren - this time a 7.62x51mm NATO version (you can tell because the magazine is straight and not curved as on the .303 versions) - appears in the hands of the one of the German soldiers rushing out of a bunker on D-Day. Crazy, right, to put a British weapon into the hands of a German soldier, but back then, they sometimes had to make compromises on equipment and historical accuracy when making films. "The Longest Day" remains a classic, and that small error eccentricity always makes me smile when I see it. And heck yeah - Sean Connery looked good carrying that Bren!