I recently bought a 1939 Bren MK1. serial number C2780. Is more known about this series of serial numbers with dates, for example?
cheers,
Matthijs
December 39, post some photos as it may be ex Irish.
I’ll give you a break down of what you have.
The Body is a December 39 assembled item.
The barrel is a Monotype Mk2 from 41-45 manufacture.
The barrel lock is Mk3 so could be 1944 right upto the 70s.
The bipod is a Inglis manufactured bipod mk3 for the Inglis Mk2.
The lower is the correct specification for 1939 and could be matching. The butt could be Australian Lithgow and is missing the butt plate (I think there is, or was one on eBay).
Depending on where you are in the world, it could be relatively easy to source the correct parts, or if in the U.K. very difficult.
the stock, barrel lock and receiver are all number matched. the barrel is a different number and not a mk1 of course. the buttstockplate is missing and i am looking for 1 indeed. It's an EU DEAC so I'm not going to change it much. I was looking for an early Bren Mk1, the fact that it has a different barrel seemed very logical to me since a machine gun barrel sometimes needs to be replaced.
By stock, I assume you mean the lower, the stock or butts weren’t numbered unless it was a CZ Bren. The lower would be and is totally correct with all the fancy machining. The barrel nut has been etch numbered (electro pencil) to match, the original isn’t machined in the same way. The barrel is a scarce item as there’s not many monotype mk2s left.
I suspect your gun is one of the ex Greek guns imported by Kent ex.
yes that's right, the barrel nut is etch numbered. I am a Soviet collector myself, so the bren is completely new to me, but it is a truly beautiful weapon. Do you happen to know what the F224D means next to the serial number on the stock(Lower)? and what do you mean by ex Greek imported by Kent ex?
thanks for sharing your knowledge, it is always very interesting to know the history of a gun.
F224D sounds like a steel batch number, I.e. they can track the batch if one fails.
The Greeks had thousands of Bren in service and they sold them off to the market in the 1980s. Kent Exports bought most of them and over the next 30 years, sold them onto the dealers to deactivate them. Your gun is a typical example of an ex Greek gun.
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