BREN GUN CARRIERS

Putaruru Press, Volume XXI, Issue 1232, 29 May 1947, Page 5

BREN GUN CARRIERS

FARMERS INTERESTED IN MACHINES Conversion Into Tractors Offers were recently invited by the War Assets Realisation Board for a number of surplus Bren gun carriers, and some farmers are reported to be interested in the machines. The Australian authorities last year did a good deal of work to discover -whether the carriers had any real use in. agriculture, and the evidence so far produced gives little definite indication, either for or against. The journal Power Farming in Australia records that the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and the Army Inventions Directorate began an investigation by making machines available to a number of farmers to see what they could make of them, and by asking engineers to suggest modifications. Field trials were carried out, and after several months of detailed research and experiment the authorities concluded that the machines appeared to be suitable, with slight modifications, for general farm work, but that their operating life was probably 1000 hours, arid that fuel consumption was heavy compared with normal tractors. The final conclusion was that the carriers could be operated efficiently only by persons who had at least a moderate degree of mechanical knowledge and were prepared to spend, a certain amount of time on the maintenance of the engine, brakes and track mechanism generally. “It will be seen from what has been said,” the report of the trials concludes, “that the machinegun carrier has a very limited use in Australian agriculture.” Since the publication of the first report, the Victorian Government has ordered 150 of the machines for conversion into tractors, on a specification worked out by Mr J. Strickland, of Melbourne. The machines are priced at £SO each by the Disposals Commission, and to convert them brings the cost up to about £2OO. There are some hopes, that the carriers will prove suitable for farm work, as there are about 8000 of them in Australia for disposal, as well as a huge stock of spare parts. Even if their life is 1 limited they might, very usefully -fill a gap until the ordinary tractors again become plentiful. A considerable stock of these vehicles muc't also exist in New Zealand; there are 192 carriers at Burnham alone. If they could be bought and converted easily they might help to tide over the present shortage of tractors.

PUTARURU DISTRICT AMBULANCE SOCIETY (Inc.). The FIRST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING will be held in the STJOHN AMBULANCE BRIGADE ROOM at 7-30 p.m. on THURSDAY sth JUNE, 1947. BUSINESS—1. Annual Report and Balance-sheet. 2. Election of Officers. 3- General. All interested cordially invited. V. L. DRUMMOND, Secretary.