Balder

bigbore, Not at all. Machineguns have always been difficult to obtain a license for, today it is pretty much impossible. They're not inexpensive although probably less expensive than in the US. I fired this ammo because I wanted to see the effects of 40+ years in a lake. I was surprised to see how many actually worked. As for the risk to the gun I was not too concerned since I have experienced cases splitting before; both in the Bren and in my Vickers. They're both sturdy pieces of machinery and can take a beating, but the rest of this particular batch will be dumped in the ocean as soon as I have made an inert display belt for the Vickers. It's about time I start reloading .303 since it is getting harder to find over here. Balder

Send me an e-mail. I have a kit i will sell. Message sent - thanks! Balder

Range Report As expected there were quite a few duds, about 10-15 %. The ammo had been parachuted into Norway in 1943 and then stayed at the bottom of a lake until the early 80's. The British WW2 brass was inferior to the Winchester 1942-43, something I have experienced before. Even with good British cartridges that have been properly stored, the brass is thin and brittle and spilts/cracks easily. Probably due to the rather limited supply of brass in the UK during WW2. On the other hand the British primers all went off, this was not the case with the W.R.A. (Winchester) ammo. I had a great day at the range with my son-in-law who never had fired a Bren before. I will dump the rest of this batch of ammo in the ocean. The pictures should speak for themselves. Balder http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/BREN/P1100527.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/BREN/P1100533.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/BREN/P1100531.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/BREN/P1100530.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/BREN/P1060069.jpg Molten brass seems to have fused with the bolt face.

Gentlemen, Tomorrow I am taking my 1942 Enfield Mk I to the range to try out some WW2 ammo that was recovered from a lake a few years ago. I dismantled about 40 rounds to make a display belt, the powder was still good. I set the powder off in a steel wheelbarrow, much to my and my daughter's pleasure - not sure how the hedge-trimming neighbour felt about it though. There were also a few British WW2 rounds in there, with the spaghetti-looking cordite strands. It all burned pretty well. I'll post a range report tomorrow. Balder

Gentlemen, I am looking for a parts kit for an M3; I need everything except the receiver and barrel. Ideas anyone? Balder

TD & David, These manuals are few and far between here in Norway, I am actually surprised that David has no less than two different versions of it. The Norwegian WW2 use of the Thompson was, as far as I know, limited to personal sidearms for some SOE/Linge Company agents sent into Norway. The exiled Royal Norwegian Navy also received a number of them. Of course, Norwegian individuals serving in British units were equipped with whatever weapons that particular unit was issued with. A good example is the Norwegians serving with the Red Devils, there are some pictures showing them carrying M1928s during the fighting on the island of Walcheren in the Netherlands. Balder http://www.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/d/5349-3/5%20troop_No10_IA_Cdo.jpg

Gentlemen, I thought I'd show you the Norwegian Bren operating manual dated 1943, approved by the exiled Norwegian military command in London. David, feel free to use this and the other ones I posted in the reference section. Let me know if you want the original pictures by email. Balder http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Publications/manualBrenNO.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Publications/manualBrenNO0001.jpg

Gentlemen, I thought I'd show you the Norwegian Thompson operating manual dated 1943, approved by the exiled Norwegian military command in London. Balder http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Publications/manualThompNO.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Publications/manualThompNO0001.jpg

Gentlemen, I thought I'd show you the Norwegian operating manual dated 1944, approved by the exiled Norwegian military command in London. Balder http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Publications/manualStenNO.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Publications/manualStenNO0001.jpg

Gentlemen (please excuse my politically incorrect assumption that there are no ladies in this crowd either), I appreciated David setting up this forum but it has been surprisingly quiet in here. To get things going maybe we should introduce ourselves. I have no clue how many members this board has, but it seems as if the few posts present have been read a few times. I am a gun collector in Norway, focusing on WW2 in general and the Norwegian Resistance in particular. I have also taken a fascination towards Luger pistols, currently I have 11 of these contagious little things sitting in my gun vault. The reason why I am on this particular board is that I also have a 1942 Enfield-made BREN MK I. It is a real pleasure to shoot, although I had to permanently turn it into semi-auto only. My Vickers machinegun and my 1928 Thompson submachinegun I can legally own in full-auto. Go figure. The rest of my collection, totally counting some 60+ pieces, is made up of odds and ends mostly from WW2. Maybe others will chime in? Balder

Good job David! I sure wish we had events like that over here. Balder

Heck, what should I say - I started my tanker career on the original V-12 gasoline engine M48 tank. If the M60A1 is a museum piece, then I guess the M48 is pre-historic. Even more scary is the thought of what that makes me... Balder

David, My pleasure! It should be noted, though, that the material was originally scanned and compiled by a gentleman in the UK. I am just the delivery man. Balder

Gentlemen, I am looking for an M3 parts kit, I need everything but the barrel and receiver. Anybody? Regards, Balder

Bob, I was a little bit too fast there. What I meant to say was that the Mark I (M) was made by Inglis only. Sorry for the confusion. Balder

David, I'd be honored, go for it. Bob, It's a Mk I, the Mk I* was only made by Inglis in Canada and didn't have a telescoping bipod. There were also other differences. Balder

Gentlemen, Nice to see a BREN board, here's my 1942 Mk I Enfield. Balder http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/BREN/P1060415.jpg

Pitchy, I have the same Lee double cavity mold in .452. In my M1928 I found cycling and function to work much better after I bought a .451 sizing die to run the bullets through. Balder

A friend is the fortunate owner of a Marlin-made UD M42, delivered to the Norwegian Resistance during WW2. Truly a beautiful gun with great attention to finish, I've fired it on several occasions. Balder

As far as I know the UD M42 was made in 9mm only. Balder

I'm not at all surprised. I stopped participating on this board a long time ago, exactly because of all the flaming, arrogance and know-it-all attitudes being exposed. Running a board requires attention to what is going on, to me it seems like the admins haven't been doing their job. Too bad, because this board is also frequented by a lot of nice and knowledgeable people. I set up a Thompson board a year ago but out of respect for the Iannamicos I won't post the address here. Balder

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/WW2/thompwalcheren.jpg

Bye Thompson board. If anybody wants to join in on setting up a board dealing with Thompsons, feel free to contact me. No politics, micro/macro economics or personal vendettas. Other boards have managed just that. It should be possible with Thompsons as well. Balder

When I in 1991 picked up my Savage M1928, I noticed the buffer was made from an old Norwegian rubber shoe sole. Obviously a Norwegian Navy improvisation, it even had the "Viking" brand-name all over it. It's still there as part of the gun's history. Balder http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Balder_/Thompson/P1060013.jpg

dalbert, Yes, I am in Norway and I have never heard of our navy acquiring any number of Thompsons before WW2. However, during and after WW2 the Thompson was extensively used in our navy, especially on MTB's which is where my M1928 Savage served. I'll see if I can dig up more information. Balder