Original British WWII Bren Light Machine Gun MkI Tripod – Dated 1941 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of a very hard to find, early-production Bren LMG tripod, which were originally designed to be assembled as a standard ground mount or used with the two-part leg to convert to an Anti-Aircraft configuration. Only the early tripods were made with the leg, which is stored inside the tripod cross beams, released by pull knobs inside the leg wing nuts. It was then assembled and fitted into a SMLE bayonet style mortise fitting by the front mount, while the front leg of the tripod was extended upward and the fitting near the foot used to mount the Bren.

As with this tripod however, the third leg was often lost or discarded, as the anti-aircraft configuration was rarely used, and if needed, an SMLE rifle could substitute for the leg, as they used the same fitting as the rifles bayonet for the leg. We can tell this is definitely a MkI as it has the fitting for the leg by the front mounting point, and it also has the collar on the front leg where the mounting point for the gun would be, however it was removed. Included on the tripod is a complete traverse and elevation system (T&E), along with the sustained fire traverse stops.

This example is painted in the standard arsenal green, and is marked and dated where the anti-aircraft or SMLE would attach with 41 for 1941 and with serial number F 276. There is also a BROAD ARROW marking, as well as a maker mark, however it is partly covered in paint, so we cannot read it. Many of these were made in Australia, which has large deposits of iron, and its location away from the German Bombers made it an ideal area for production.

We have tested the tripod and aside from the missing A.A. leg, it is complete and everything functions, though the wing nuts for the legs are VERY stiff. The T&E is fully functional, and the traversal stops move easily. The front leg properly extends and retracts. The paint is relatively well retained, with some great wear giving it a lovely “been there” look.

Fully functional and ready to use to display your Bren!

The production of the Bren began at Enfield in 1937 and for every three guns produced, a tripod was also manufactured. The problem was that the Bren was not capable of fulfilling the role performed by the Vickers. While leaving the tripod as a useful accessory, this meant that the initial importance of it was now secondary. Likewise, the Fixed Line Sight, which was intended to be fitted to the additional open dovetail fixing when the Bren was deployed on the tripod in the sustained fire role, was considered obsolete.

The AA conversion involved a wonderful piece of engineering; the additional leg (which comprised two sections) was stored in the hollow tubes of the main frame when not in use and the fixing point utilized the same fitting and tooling used for the SMLE and the 1907 pattern bayonet. The seminal book, The Bren Gun Saga, does not indicate if this tooling option was merely a decision based on a combination of saving cost and time, or if it was done in order to make possible what resulted in the event of losing one or both sections of the additional leg, A standard-issue SMLE could be used in lieu of this item to create the required conversion. Unfortunately, as with the intended sustained fire option, the AA conversion was a short-lived concept. The speed of aircraft in the late 1920’s compared to that of those encountered just ten years later meant that the rate of fire of the Bren (450 rpm) was too slow to make the use of the AA point a practical option.

The tripods continued in use, despite the drawbacks highlighted above, throughout the war and a simplified version was also produced after Dunkirk, which omitted the AA leg (although curiously retained the ability of the SMLE to still complete the conversion), Many were later converted to allow for use with the American 30 Cal Browning.