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Double Dovetail Bren gun

Article about: A recent pick up... A 1940 dated double dovetail Mk1 Bren gun. This one is not Kings Crown - although the Enfield logo and date are still on the right of the receiver. This gun was probably

  1. #1

    Default Double Dovetail Bren gun

    A recent pick up... A 1940 dated double dovetail Mk1 Bren gun. This one is not Kings Crown - although the Enfield logo and date are still on the right of the receiver. This gun was probably manufactured towards the end of the true Mk1 production run before the transition to the Pattern 'A' (Mk1 M) began. It is all matching serial numbers and came from the batch of guns which were sold to the Irish Army in 1940. All parts are original to the gun - no Inglis or Lithgo bits, and all parts are either marked with the B.S.A logo or Enfield. I have photographed it above my Mk1 transitional gun to highlight the differences. Click on all pictures to enlarge.


    Double Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gun


    The next few pictures are of the very hard to find Mk1 Bren gun magazine. Most were modified to Mk1* and very few survive in their original form. The first picture shows the Enfield made Mk1 on the left, and the later MA magazine on the right. The second picture of the magazine base plates shows the the major differences between the two, the early magazine being the bottom magazine. The last two pictures show the other change to the magazine. A second spring was added to stop the nose of the bullets catching on the inside front of the magazine, the ends of the spring were folded over on the outside of the magazine to hold it in place. The top magazine is the later magazine with the spring.


    Double Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gunDouble Dovetail Bren gun


    Cheers,
    Steve

  2. #2

    Default

    Great looking Bren steve and a all matching one at that, was the change in the magazines due to the well known jamming of these? Looks to be in great shape, congrats on the pickup!

  3. #3

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    Yes, the change was due to the feed issues.
    Cheers,
    Steve

  4. #4

    Thumbs up

    A superb example ! Thanks also for posting the pics & info regarding the magazine differences - something I wasn't previously aware of.

  5. #5

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    Quote by Martin Bull View Post
    A superb example ! Thanks also for posting the pics & info regarding the magazine differences - something I wasn't previously aware of.
    These magazines are like gold dust. WD Militaria currently have one for sale at £150... but I found mine at half that price. The seller has two more for sale, one priced at £70 - and one at £75. Well at least he did when I last looked!

    Cheers,
    Steve

  6. #6

    Red face

    Quote by HARRY THE MOLE View Post
    WD Militaria currently have one for sale at £150...
    Hmmm...that's only £20 less than I paid for my cased Bren (admittedly a long time ago). Being an old skinflint, I'll pass......

  7. #7

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    Quote by Martin Bull View Post
    Hmmm...that's only £20 less than I paid for my cased Bren (admittedly a long time ago). Being an old skinflint, I'll pass......
    These early magazines have never cheap - because they are so rare. But talking about price increases, I purchased my last Vickers MMG off the late Doug Preece for £600 in December 2000. It was a light pattern Vickers, serial number C8995 from early 1917 - and complete with it's 1916 dated tripod. Enfield Guns.com have a boxed 'K' (1918) gun with NO tripod for £4,500... And if you are really feeling flush, John Carlin (J.C Militaria) has a 1914 five arch light pattern gun for sale - and again it's just the gun - for £9,500... He's touting it as an aerial Vickers - which it isn't, it's a damned fine ground gun though... but not so fine as to be worth £9,500! Prices are reaching ridiculous levels, and it makes you wonder where it will all end.

    Cheers,
    Steve
    Last edited by HARRY THE MOLE; 05-25-2022 at 08:23 PM. Reason: Typo's

  8. #8

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    Outstanding Steve,and in super condition too,nice to see an example with all original matching parts and no swapsie,Is it true around 8000 mk 1's we're lost at Dunkirk? or was that just a myth.you have some seriously nice de-acts.

  9. #9

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    Hi Jake, depending on the source you read, between 26,000 and 28,000 Bren Mk1 were left behind - or destroyed during the retreat from Dunkirk.

    Cheers,
    Steve

  10. #10
    ?

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    Congratulations Steve on that addition to the collection.
    Semper Fi
    Phil

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