British infantry in action to the north of Primosole Bridge, Sicily, July 1943 (b/w photo)

British infantry in action to the north of Primosole Bridge, Sicily, July 1943. Photograph by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, Sicily, 1943. Members of 15th Infantry Brigade engage Italian and German forces during their drive towards Catania. The figure in the background is armed with a Bren Gun. This weapon was the centre of a British platoon's firepower during World War Two. A gas-operated weapon, it used the same .303 ammunition as the standard British rifle, the Lee-Enfield, firing at a rate of between 480 and 540 rounds per minute (rpm), depending on the model. From an album containing 241 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), 1943-1944.