Bren .303 inch Mk I light machine gun, 1942

In the early 1930s trials took place for an infantry support weapon to replace the British Army's Vickers medium and Lewis light machine guns. A modified version of the Czech-designed ZB vz. 26 was selected and further adapted to take .303 inch rather than 7.92 mm Mauser ammunition. The term 'Bren' comes from the blending of the name of the Czech town where the weapon was developed, Brno, with Enfield, the home of the Royal Small Arms Factory, where the manufacture of the British variant took place from 1937.