4x4s.org NAMED MODEL · 1941
NAMED MODELMilitary · New ZealandNew Zealand

Carrier, Bren No. 2 Mark I/L (New Zealand)

Forty Bren carriers built at the New Zealand Railways workshops at Woburn in the Hutt Valley from early 1941, copied from a stripped British carrier after Dunkirk ended supply from Britain.

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Sources & evidence
BASE VEHICLEMachine-gun, Bren and Scout carriers (1936–40)BUILT BYNew Zealand Railways, Hutt WorkshopsIN SERVICE1941OPERATED INNew ZealandPRODUCTION40LAYOUT4 wheels

The record

The steel for them was salvaged from the Port Bowen, a ship aground at Wanganui since 1916, and the plan to replace it with proper armour plate never happened; within two years they were obsolete. The L in the designation stood for Land forces. The later name LP1 is, according to the New Zealand Military Vehicle Club, a mistaken back-formation. They had hydraulic brakes and the Ford V8 of 85 hp. The only two original British Bren carriers known to survive, HMH 243 and HMH 244, are in New Zealand.

Specification

MANUFACTURED1941
ENGINEFord flathead V8 petrol, 85 hpFord flathead V8
PRODUCTION RUN40
COUNTRY OF ORIGINNew Zealand
OPERATED INNew Zealand
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINEBren and Scout carriers
FAMILYBren and Scout carriers
WHEELS4
BODY STYLEopen
CATEGORYMilitary · New Zealand

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

Factory colours

  • Khaki Green No. 3

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1A History of New Zealand Bren Carriers ↗New Zealand Military Vehicle Club · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-24 · status: researched