At the end of the Second World War, Britain looked to modernise it's small arms arsenal. With the Vickers MG a reliable but ageing weapon and the Bren limited to its 30round magazine capacity, a more modern, beltfed, 'general purpose machine gun' was sought. Despite excellent existing designs such as the German MG42, Britain decided to go its own way and build upon its popular Bren gun.

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We are the Royal Armouries, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Discover what goes on behind the scenes and watch our collection come to life. See combat demonstrations, experience jousting and meet our experts.

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