NavyShooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- XMU Local .303
Fascinating! Looks like they strapped Brens on top of Bofors guns during initial training?
Co-Axial Bren Gun!
- Thread starter NavyShooter
- Start date
Fascinating! Looks like they strapped Brens on top of Bofors guns during initial training?
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
I was shown a photo just the other day with a Bren mounted on top of 25 pdr guns in the same manner. That was a austere model of sub caliber trainer. I have a mount for a similar setup out in the shed.
NavyShooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- XMU Local .303
Dammit,
You DO have all the cool stuff!
You DO have all the cool stuff!
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Nope, no 25 pdr yet 
I actually used one of the Bren / 25 Pounder combinations back in the late 1950's. It was in the basement of the Armouries and we mounted it. Then we took it to a local Gun Club range, and made a wheeled dolly with a cardboard tank that we pulled across the front of the range. With Tracer, it gave an indication of where the round would go in an anti-tank role. It was a good training exercise, and after we zeroed the Bren to the sight, it was fairly accurate. The big thing was that it gave the Gunners an idea of leading a crossing tank.
We tied a ball about 8 feet in front of the target tank, and used two pulleys, the first one being open at the top. This first one was at 90 degrees to the front of the range and the second one being about 20 feet parallel to the side of the range. In practice, there was a long "haybale twine" cord that a guy slightly behind the gun could pull to move the "tank" crossways for about 50 feet, then the ball would hit the first pulley and disengage, thereby "stopping" the tank for a bit while the slack in the twine was being gathered in. When it became tight again, the "tank" then changed to about a 35 degree angle and continued. The second pulley was big enough that the "ball" passed through it.
The "gunner" then had to earn his privilege by going downrange and retrieving his tank target, replacing it with another cardboard cut out, and resetting the carriage and line on the pulley.
I can see the value of mounting a bren loaded with tracer on a Bofors. It would help train a gun crew for lead and elevation when they could see where their rounds were going.
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We tied a ball about 8 feet in front of the target tank, and used two pulleys, the first one being open at the top. This first one was at 90 degrees to the front of the range and the second one being about 20 feet parallel to the side of the range. In practice, there was a long "haybale twine" cord that a guy slightly behind the gun could pull to move the "tank" crossways for about 50 feet, then the ball would hit the first pulley and disengage, thereby "stopping" the tank for a bit while the slack in the twine was being gathered in. When it became tight again, the "tank" then changed to about a 35 degree angle and continued. The second pulley was big enough that the "ball" passed through it.
The "gunner" then had to earn his privilege by going downrange and retrieving his tank target, replacing it with another cardboard cut out, and resetting the carriage and line on the pulley.
I can see the value of mounting a bren loaded with tracer on a Bofors. It would help train a gun crew for lead and elevation when they could see where their rounds were going.
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Nope, no 25 pdr yet
About the time I was 20 years old, the Government of Canada let me have a 25 Pounder Gun/Howitzer, an Ammunition Limber that held 32 rounds of shells, five guys to help me fire it, and a Duece-and-a-Half with a Driver to tow it around. No paperwork involved.
Now, the Government of Canada really does not trust me with a .22 Rimfire unless I have two and a half tons of paperwork!
How our Society has progressed.
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
Buffdog: was this the type of setup you used?
Buffdog: was this the type of setup you used?
That's the Baby. This one is on an earlier 25 Pounder (no muzzle brake) but it fit ours just like that.
Interesting picture --- note the steel helmets. With that Mark I Bren on top, I first though it might be a WWII picture but I think this one is later. Possibly 1950s but the Militia were still using the British style helmets up to the 1960s ---at least our Regiment did. Berets for the gun crews were typical when firing on the ranges.
From the picture it looks like it was a pause during a training drill. From the position of the ammunition limber behind the gun, I would think that this was a practice "Crash Action - Right", where you have to immediately engage a target and do not have time to properly set up for firing. The gun tractor or truck would have stopped, the gun crew would pile out, lower the base plate, pull the gun onto the base plate and unhook it from the limber. If time permitted, the limber was pulled slightly forward, but in most cases it was unhooked immediately, the doors opened, a tray of the proper ammunition pulled out, and the transport vehicle got out of there. Meanwhile the gun was swung around so that it faced the threat, and prepared to engage the target.
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Moparlover
CGN frequent flyer
I saw a partial look at his collection last week. super impressive, and it keeps growing. hope all is well at shilo.
