Lewis gun
The Lewis gun (or Lewis automatic machine gun or Lewis automatic rifle) is a First World War–era light machine gun.
| Lewis gun | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Light machine gun |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1914–1953 |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | First World War Easter Rising Pancho Villa Expedition[1] Emu War Banana Wars Irish War of Independence Irish Civil War Russian Civil War Latvian War of Independence Polish–Soviet War Chaco War Spanish Civil War Second World War Korean War Malayan Emergency 1948 Arab–Israeli War Vietnam War Algerian War The Troubles and other conflicts |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Samuel McClean Isaac Newton Lewis The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited |
| Designed | 1911 |
| Manufacturer | The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited or BSA Savage Arms Co. |
| Produced | 1913–1942 |
| No. built | At least 202,050 (50,000 in First World War and 152,050 in Second World War) |
| Variants | Mks I–V Aircraft Pattern Anti-Aircraft configuration Light Infantry Pattern Savage M1917 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 28 pounds (13 kg) |
| Length | 50.5 inches (1,280 mm) |
| Barrel length | 26.5 inches (670 mm) |
| Width | 4.5 inches (110 mm) |
| Cartridge | .303 British .30-06 Springfield 7.92×57mm Mauser 7.62×54mmR |
| Action | Gas-operated long stroke gas piston, rotating open bolt |
| Rate of fire | 500–600 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 2,440 feet per second (740 m/s) |
| Effective firing range | 880 yards (800 m) |
| Maximum firing range | 3,500 yards (3,200 m) |
| Feed system | 47- or 97-round pan magazine |
| Sights | Blade and tangent leaf |
History
changeThe Lewis gun was invented by U.S. Army colonel Isaac Newton Lewis in 1911, based on initial work by Samuel Maclean.[2]
The start of the First World War increased demand for the Lewis gun. BSA began production, under the name Model 1914. The design was officially approved for service on 15 October 1915 under the name "Gun, Lewis, .303-cal."[3] No Lewis guns were produced in Belgium during the war;[4] all manufacture was carried out by BSA in England and the Savage Arms Company in the US.[5]
Production
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The Lewis was produced by BSA and Savage Arms during the war. The two versions were very similar, but there were enough differences to stop them being completely interchangeable. This problem was fixed by the time of the Second World War.[6]
Design details
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The Lewis gun was gas operated. [7][8]
The Lewis gun used a pan magazine holding 47 or 97 rounds.[9]
The gun fired about 500–600 rounds per minute. It weighed 28 lb (12.7 kg), only about half as much as a typical medium machine gun of the era, such as the Vickers machine gun. It could be carried and used by one soldier.[10]
Service
changeFirst World War
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During the first days of the war, the Belgian Army had put in service 20 prototypes (5 in 7.65×53mm and 15 in .303) for the defense of Namur.[11]
Aircraft use
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The Lewis was the first machine gun fired from an airplane. On 7 June 1912, Captain Charles Chandler of the US Army fired a Lewis gun from the foot-bar of a Wright Model B Flyer.[12]
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Notes
change- ↑ Canfield, Bruce (October 2016). "1916: Guns On The Border". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association.
- ↑ Skennerton (2001), p. 5
- ↑ Skennerton (2001), p. 6
- ↑ Skennerton (2001), p. 7
- ↑ Skennerton (2001), p. 41
- ↑ Skennerton (2001), pp. 15, 41–46.
- ↑ Ford (2005), pp. 68–70.
- ↑ Smith (1943), p. 31
- ↑ Smith (1943), pp. 28, 32.
- ↑ Hogg & Batchelor (1976), p. 27.
- ↑ Grant (2014), p. 11.
- ↑ Bruce, Robert (March 2000). "The Lewis Gun". Guns Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 August 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
References
change- Bullock, Arthur (2009). Gloucestershire Between the Wars: A Memoir. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4793-3. Pages 62–64, 66, 69-70, 85-86.
- Chant, Christopher (2001). Small Arms Of World War II. London (UK): Brown Partworks. ISBN 978-1-84044-089-8.
- Ford, Roger (2005). The World's Great Machine Guns from 1860 to the Present Day. London: Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-84509-161-3.
- Glanfield, John (2001). The Devil's Chariots – The Birth and Secret Battles of the first Tanks. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-4152-5.
- Grant, Neil (2014). The Lewis Gun. Oxford (UK): Osprey. ISBN 978-1-78200-791-3.
- Hogg, Ian V. (1978). The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Firearm. A&W. ISBN 978-0-89479-031-7.
- Hogg, Ian V.; Batchelor, John (1976). The Machine-Gun (Purnell's History of the World Wars Special). London: Phoebus.
- Skennerton, Ian (1988). British Small Arms of World War 2. Margate QLD (Australia): Ian Skennerton. ISBN 978-0-949749-09-3.
- Skennerton, Ian (2001). .303 Lewis Machine Gun. Small Arms Identification Series. Gold Coast QLD (Australia): Arms & Militaria Press. ISBN 978-0-949749-42-0.
- Smith, Joseph E. (1973). Small Arms of the World (10th Rev. ed.). Harrisburg PA (USA): Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-88365-155-1.
- Smith, W. H. B. (1979) [1943]. 1943 Basic Manual of Military Small Arms (facs. ed.). Harrisburg PA (USA): Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-1699-4.
- Textbook of Small Arms 1929 (repr. ed.). London (UK), Dural (NSW): Rick Landers: HMSO for War Office. 1999 [1929]. OCLC 4976525.
- The World's Work..: A History of Our Time. Doubleday, Page. 1917. p. 195.
More reading
change- Easterly, William McCleave; Stevens, R. Blake (1998). The Belgian Rattlesnake: The Lewis Automatic Machine Gun: A Social and Technical Biography of the Gun and Its Inventors. Collector Grade. ISBN 978-0-88935-236-0.
Other websites
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- Scans of Lewis gun manual of 1917
- "Lewis light machine gun (USA – Great Britain)". Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. at Modern Firearms
- Animation of Lewis machine gun 1916
- Lewis gun with cooling shroud in demonstration firing