Netherlands OOB

[The Dark]

Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic

I've just had a look through the pdf that Olefin linked. Does anyone know if those Bren Guns (1949 of them) were in .303 or 7.62x51mm calibre?
I was going to assume they were 7.62mm but considering the sheer number of M1 Carbines and M1 Garands they kept in storage, it's probably dangerous to assume!

Since you committed yourself to 7.62mm, naturally they were in .303. Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons has a copy of 1943 manual No. 802, titled "Ontwerp-Voorschrift voor den Lichten Mitrailleur van 7,7mm (Bren model I)."

Edit: I suppose they could have been re-barreled after the war, but I haven't seen records regarding that.

[mpipes]

From what I understand, most Brens in the world were updated in the late 1950s and 60s to the L4 7.62mm cartridge.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Originally Posted by The Dark

Since you committed yourself to 7.62mm, naturally they were in .303. Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons has a copy of 1943 manual No. 802, titled "Ontwerp-Voorschrift voor den Lichten Mitrailleur van 7,7mm (Bren model I)."

Edit: I suppose they could have been re-barreled after the war, but I haven't seen records regarding that.

Of course!
But seriously, thanks for the information. As mentioned, I was initially going to assume they were 7.62mm but I couldn't recall any images or general information that mentioned Dutch forces using the Bren (at least not after the 1950s anyway). So it was definitely better to ask!

Originally Posted by mpipes

From what I understand, most Brens in the world were updated in the late 1950s and 60s to the L4 7.62mm cartridge.

That generally holds true for nations that were/still are members of the British Commonwealth e.g. South Africa, Australia. But in non-Commonwealth nations, there doesn't seem to have been the drive to rechamber the Bren to 7.62mm (probably because they didn't see a particular need)

In the case of British forces, the Bren was kept on for two particular reasons: -
1. AAMG on some armoured vehicles e.g. Saracen APC
2. it was preferred by the Royal Marines over belt-fed MGs for artic warfare
In Australia, the Bren was rechambered to 7.62mm and allocated to second-line forces so it was a rare item in the Army inventory. It certainly wasn't part of the infantry or armoured forces equipment schedules, the only time I saw one in the hands of a front-line unit it had been borrowed from a transport unit to supplement the firepower at an OP.

[Olefin]

The Dutch continued to use the Bren for their National Reserve (NATRES) battalions long after it was no longer used by their regular army and marines

The only thing I could find on any details on it is this

"Each rifle group had either 1 x Bren light machine gun .303 inch or 1 x FN MAG 7.62 mm, and one bicycle"