Universal Carrier 1936-48: The 'Bren Gun Carrier' Story [Paperback]

David Fletcher (Author), Tony Bryan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2005

The Universal Carrier was a fast, lightly armed vehicle developed by the British Army to carry infantry across ground defended by small-arms fire, specifically the Bren light machine gun, hence the name ‘Bren Gun Carrier’. This name would stick with the Universal Carrier and all of its future variants. This book details the Carrier, which was employed in a number of roles including carrying ammunition and towing anti-aircraft guns and trailers. All Allies used the Universal Carrier extensively during practically every World War II campaign. By the war’s end, the Universal Carrier had proved itself to be an invaluable and successful cross-country vehicle that was both agile and fast for its time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For Allied/Commonwealth modellers the Universal Carrier has always been a popular subject. Bearing in mind the paucity of good reference books and only one 1/35th kit of the subject, this new book from Osprey Publishing comes into the 'sight for sore eyes category' - a truly welcome addition...." -Jim Rae, Armorama (May 2005)

From the Publisher

The unrivalled illustrated reference on fighting vehicles, transport and artillery through the ages. Each volume is illustrated throughout, making these books uniquely accessible to history enthusiasts of all ages.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (June 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841768138
• ISBN-13: 978-1841768137
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.1 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Story, September 1, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Universal Carrier 1936-48: The 'Bren Gun Carrier' Story (Paperback)

The second sentence in this book pretty well sums up the entire story of the Bren Gun Carrier: 'Designed for a role that it never really fulfilled, it was adapted to dozens of others for which it was never entirely suited and was still in service, in vast numbers, long after it should have been pensioned off.'

In effect it was something like a tracked version of the Jeep. It was armored (sort of, about 1/3 of an inch), and because of the tracks had very good cross country mobility. It was reasonably reliable (in later versions) and cheap. It was made in several factories in the UK as well as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.

This book is another of Osprey's specialist books describing a single line of vehicles in great detail from its history to cut away drawings, dozens of variations, a magnificant set of photographs. It is probably the last word on Bren Gun Carriers (a name by which they are universally known, that was totally incorrect).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good work on an almost useless weapon!, December 15, 2008

By 

JAG 2.0 (IN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Universal Carrier 1936-48: The 'Bren Gun Carrier' Story (Paperback)

This is about what one would expect from an Osprey title: well researched and written, excellent color plates and photos.

The Universal Carrier ("Bren Gun Carrier") is amazing in that a sophisticated, well-funded military would actually buy and field such a useless weapon - and in quantity! Truly, here is a weapon that was useless in its intended role. It was too poorly protected to support infantry with direct fire and too small to carry any useful load.

The Universal Carrier is an excellent example of poorly thought-out weapons development.

3.0 out of 5 stars Universal Carrier 1936 - 48, May 11, 2010

By 

Clarence (Aiken, South Carolina) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Universal Carrier 1936-48: The 'Bren Gun Carrier' Story (Paperback)

This book is a good primer for someone looking to become informed on the Universal Carrier or the Bren Gun Carrier. It tells the history leading up to its use in World War II and has some interesting and unique pictures of the development of the vehicle. I was interested in the models that were used by the BEF in France during the Battle of France in 1940 and I found this to be somewhat lacking. Perhaps the information I am looking for is not available, because at this point I have not found it. I saw a picture in "Dunkirk 1940 Operation Dyanmo" (another Osprey book) that shows a Universal Carrier towing an Ordnance QF 2-pdr Mk IX antitank gun. I got this book expecting or hoping that it would provide additional pictures and history of its use in France during 1940. While there is an excellent story of its use against the Germans during the Battle of France, most of the book concentrates on the use and development after the Battle of France. However the Scout Carrier used at this time is reasonably well documented, its use in most other roles for the Battle of France is weak.

The color plates are good as are the pictures, just that I am more interested in the use and application during the Battle of France.

This is a good first book on the Universal Carrier for a WW2 book collection.