A Very Rare, 1940 MK1 'Dovetail' Bren Gun LMG. By Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield, Dunkirk Vintage, Deactived & Fully Cocking Etc.

A very rare 1940 MK1 'dove site' Bren gun, one of only 2,300 Bren guns left to defend England after the Dunkirk debacle.
27,700 MK 1 Bren guns were either left to the mercy of The Third Reich as captured booty and used by them henceforth, or, were destroyed by the Tommies on the beaches of Dunkirk. Thus, this gun is either one of 2,300 remaining examples { some claim 4000}, or, even rarer, {judged by current unknown survival rates of MK1 Brens used by the Third Reich } it is one of the ones used by 'Jerry' SS, Heer or Falschirmjager, against us!. See photos in the gallery of MK1 Brens used by Nazis in WW2.

The dovetail was designed to mount the FLS {fixed line sight} but after Dunkirk the site and its dovetail were no longer made on the Bren gun in order to save time and costs.

The barrel was 25 in. long with a concentric, right handed, six groove rifling which offered one complete rotation for every 10 in. (total of 2.5). This gun has the 1939 MkI* barrel, which was adopted after the original MkI barrels were discovered to be prone to jamming after prolonged periods of fire, this being caused by an excessive build-up of carbon in the gas regulator)

Sights were a bladed foresight with an aperture rear sight.

System feed was a vertical box magazine of 30 round capacity (usual practice was to only fill to 28 in order to prolong the spring's life); each magazine weighed 17oz (0.48kg) empty and 2lb 12 oz (1.25kg) full.

The Bren was first produced at the RSAF Enfield in 1937.
Each gun weighed 22lb 2oz (10kg), was 45.5 in. (1155 mm) long and had a rate of fire of 500 rounds per minute. It fired the .303 in (7.7 mm) standard British rifle round.

Non EU {ie British} sales Only. Can be redeactivated to EU/ UK spec, if required but not if not. Deactivated rare Bren MKI Dovetail Model .303 Light Machine Gun. Early 1940 dated, E within D stamp for RSAF Enfield production, and in very good overall deactivated condition.

The Bren was a modified version of a Czechoslovak-designed light machine gun, the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. They were loved by the troops who used them as they rarely went wrong and withstood all conditions equally well. They were very accurate and because they could fire in semi auto, they were often used to pick off long range targets. It was such an effective design that in modified form, it served in the British armed forces until very recently. They can still be found in Africa and work perfectly well to this day.

Photo in the gallery of the WW2 French Milice. The Milice participated in summary executions and assassinations, helping to round up Jews and résistants in France for deportation. It was the successor to Darnand's Service d'ordre légionnaire (SOL) militia (founded in 1941). The Milice was the Vichy régime's most extreme manifestation of fascism, and force of around 30,000 strong.

Any deactivated weapons sold by The Lanes Armoury are deactivated in the United Kingdom and hold London or Birmingham proof marks and a certificate stating that the weapon has been deactivated correctly. Can be redeactivated to EU/ UK spec.

Code: 25264