Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great deactivated display example of the iconic Bren MkII Light Machine gun, as used by British forces during WWII, complete with an original wartime issue Bren Tripod mount. It was built from all original parts on an original BATF compliant non-firing display receiver, making it a 100% legal Display Machine gun. This receiver was created by using portions of the original torch cut receiver, including the barrel bushing, combined with some new made steel portions. It has properly had a 25% section of the total length completely replaced entirely with solid steel bar stock. Meaning a 1/4 length section of the display receiver is solid steel, making this totally legal to own without a license of any kind. Every part on this display gun is original WWII manufacture other than 25% of the receiver replaced by solid steel (as required by BATF). Additionally many of the deactivated internal components were welded in place inside the receiver to increase the display potential.

The display gun comes complete with an original magazine, which still locks in securely, and can be released using the magazine catch. The MkII steel barrel on this example is still LIVE, with an intact chamber and none of the demilitarization that was done to barrels post 2001. The bore is still in excellent condition, with a bright finish and crisp lands and grooves, looking to have not seen much use in firing at all. It is easily removed from the display gun by disengaging the barrel lock and sliding it forward. 

The display gun is correctly marked BREN Mk II on the rear receiver over the cocking lever. It is also marked M 67 / 1943 farther up the receiver, which is the dispersal code for the Daimler Company Limited, an automobile manufacturer. It was part of the Monotype Group - a confederation of companies making parts which were assembled by the Monotype Corporation in Surrey. They produced around 72,000 Bren Guns from September 1941 onwards during the war. The loss of large numbers of Bren Guns at Dunkirk had resulted in the War Department contracting with many companies not previously involved in arms production to start production. Serial number U8927 is still clearly visible on the end of the receiver, and "U" is the correct prefix for Monotype made guns

This display gun has the correct MkII receiver, with a ladder sight attached to the rear, and the correct "high ears" on the front of the gas tube. The butt stock is the correct simplified version, with a sling swivel on the side, and a flat butt plate with a small shoulder rest at the top. The lower frame is the shorter MkII type, which stops after front tripod mounting location, and the receiver is fitted with the correct MkII pattern cocking handle. It comes with an original WW2 Bren magazine, which will be deactivated where required. Please note that due to how the receiver was rewelded, the magazine cannot lock into place.

Overall the display gun is in very good condition, with much of the original finish present on the original parts. Pistol grip and butt stock are in solid shape, with a great color and grain. There is just a bit of a crack at the end of the butt stock, as often seen on these due to the "lip" on the butt plate, but it does not display any movement. There is also a repair on the top of the butt stock where it meets the receiver, as we see on virtually all examples.

The included tripod is a lovely Post-Dunkirk MkII type, which was not designed to be used for Anti-Aircraft use. It does not have the third leg, nor a dovetail on the front attachment point where the leg or an SMLE could attach. It also does not have the fitting on the front leg for the gun either. It is well marked, with several broad arrow markings, as well as serial number H 9734 and a date of 41 stamped where the front leg would have attached on the early version. It is fully functional, with all legs being able to be extended and locked into place. It has the rear T&E fully functional as well, and the traversal stops on the traverse bar are both present and moveable. It looks to have been repainted OD green at some point long ago, and really looks smart!

A very attractive display piece for any collection!

The Bren was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun which, in turn, was a modified version of the 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, the Czechoslovak city in Moravia, where the Zb vz. 26 was designed (in the Zbrojovka Brno Factory) and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory. The designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer.

The Bren was originally very close to the Czech ZB vz 30 in construction, with carefully machined lightening cuts, dovetails, and other precision design elements. However, with the massive loss of arms during the evacuation at Dunkirk, the British Military needed a lot more Bren guns, and fast. Very quickly, a modified MkI Bren, called either the MkIM or MkI*, was introduced, which removed a lot of the bevels and lightening cuts that were machined into the original receiver. The complicated front adjustable bipod was also replaced by one with fixed legs. The extra sight dovetail on the left side was removed completely as well.

However, at the same time the MkI Modified was being developed, plans were already in motion for an even simpler redesign for new production lines that were not already set up to make the MkIM This new design involved a much simpler squared rear receiver, and did away with the complicated dial-driven rear sight. Instead a standard fold-away ladder sight was developed. The rear butt stock was dramatically simplified in design, being more of a slab, and it had a simple bent steel butt plate that screwed directly onto the wood. The MkI had a utilized a stamped "Cup" that snapped into special slots, and had a fold-away shoulder rest.

The most noticeable change to the layman however would be the new barrel. gone was the long stainless steel barrel shroud and flash hider that extended to the gas regulator. Instead, the flash hider was now pressed onto the end of the barrel, and was only about 3 inches long in total, with the front sight another piece that was pressed on. All of these changes together dramatically sped up production.