Lewis light machine gun. Lewis light machine gun: history of creation and characteristics
Lewis - English machine gun from the First World War. It was created in 1913. The idea belonged to Samuel McLean, but it was embodied by an American, Captain Isaac Lewis. Initially, Lewis intended to use his machine gun as an easel machine gun, with water cooling, but later moved on to the idea of developing a light machine gun with forced air cooling of the barrel.
Production of the machine gun began at the BSA factories (England), and the Belgian army was the first to adopt the Lewis RP in 1913, and the Lewis received its baptism of fire in 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War. By the end of the 1930s it was withdrawn from service, but with the outbreak of World War II it was returned to service after a partial modernization, during which the water radiators were removed and the two bipods were replaced by one telescopic one.
Lewis in Russia
Lewis machine guns appeared in Russia in 1917 (9,600 American-made and 1,800 English-made machine guns). Lewis machine guns were also used during Civil War. In the film " White sun desert" it is implied that the fighter Sukhov uses it. However, in fact, another famous machine gun was filmed in the film - the DP-27 with a false barrel casing, making it look similar to a Lewis machine gun.
Lewis machine guns remained in military depots until the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War.
Such machine guns were installed on British-made Estonian Kalev-class submarines that joined the Soviet Baltic Fleet in 1940.
Father Makhno's personal guards - the "Lewisists" - were armed with Lewis machine guns.
The automatic machine gun operates on the principle of removing powder gases. The machine gun consists of the following main parts and mechanisms: a barrel with a radiator and casing, a receiver with a cover and a feed mechanism, a butt plate with a butt, a fire control handle with a trigger mechanism, a bolt, a bolt frame, a recoil spring with a box, a magazine and a bipod.
The barrel bore is locked by turning the bolt, the lugs of which fit into the transverse grooves receiver. The rotation of the bolt when locking is carried out by a curved groove on the bolt and the base of the bolt frame post. The striker-type impact mechanism is mounted on the bolt frame rack. The trigger mechanism allows only automatic fire. When firing, the machine gun is fed with cartridges from a disk magazine, which is driven into rotation by a feed mechanism. The feed mechanism is a lever type, driven by the protrusion of the bolt tail, which fits into the curved groove of the feed lever.
In the film "White Sun of the Desert" a DT (tank) machine gun is used, the double-row magazine of which is structurally and externally similar to Lewis.
Country: UK
Type: machine gun
Date of issue: 1913
In service: Great Britain, Belgium, Russia/USSR
Cartridge: .303 British
Operating principle: Removal of powder gases
Rate of fire: 500 rounds per minute
Initial bullet speed: 747 m/s
Sighting range: 1830 m
Weight (without magazine): 14.5 kg
Length: 1280 mm
Loading system: 47-round disc magazine
Types: Aviation machine gun "Lewis" Mk.4
Lewis machine gun(English) Lewis gun) or simply "Lewis"- a light machine gun developed before the First World War in 1913 and used by armies different countries world until the middle of the 20th century.
TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS LEWIS MACHINE GUN | |
---|---|
Manufacturer: | Birmingham Small Arms |
Cartridge: | |
Caliber: | 7.7 mm |
Weight without cartridges: | 13 kg |
Weight with cartridges: | n/a |
Length: | 1280 mm |
Barrel length: | 670 mm |
Number of grooves in the barrel: | n/a |
Trigger mechanism (trigger): | n/a |
Operating principle: | Powder gas removal, rotary bolt |
Rate of fire: | 500–600 rounds/min |
Fuse: | n/a |
Aim: | Front sight and rack sight, installation of an anti-aircraft sight is possible |
Effective range: | 800 m |
Sighting range: | 3200 m |
Initial bullet speed: | 740 m/s |
Type of ammunition: | Detachable magazine |
Number of cartridges: | 47, 97 |
Years of production: | 1913–1942 |
History of creation and production
The idea for the design belonged to Samuel Maclean. Samuel MacLean), but it was embodied by an American - US Army Colonel Isaac Newton Lewis (eng. Isaac Newton Lewis).
Initially, Lewis intended to use his machine gun as an easel machine gun, with water cooling, but later moved on to the idea of developing a light machine gun with forced air cooling of the barrel.
Lewis was unable to convince management of the need to adopt his design, retired and moved to Europe in 1913.
Lewis's offer to demonstrate his machine gun was accepted by a group of Belgian businessmen. The machine gun showed its good side, as a result, an agreement was signed according to which an new company Automatique Lewis for the production of a Lewis machine gun. However, the only manufacturer capable of offering the necessary production capacity was a British company Birmingham Small Arms(BSA), with which we entered into an agreement.
Firm B.S.A. received orders for test batches of the machine gun from the military departments of England, Belgium, Russia, as well as a number of other countries. After thorough testing, despite the problem with barrel overheating, the machine gun was generally rated positively and recommended for adoption. In 1913, the machine gun was officially adopted by the Belgian army.
Trial tests were important in the fate of "Lewis" aerial shooting carried out British Air Force. After them, it became obvious that the Lewis machine gun was one of best candidates for the role aviation weapons. However, the British War Ministry showed caution, and BSA had to begin shipping batches of machine guns already produced to Russia and Belgium.
Literally on the eve of the war, in June 1914, the War Ministry and the British Admiralty urgently ordered 10 Lewis machine guns, and two weeks later another 45. Immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, the BSA received an order for 200 machine guns, the production of which was then carried out at a rate of 25 pieces per week . And after the Lewis machine guns, which were in service with the Belgian army, showed themselves brilliantly in battle, applications for new machine guns poured in like a cornucopia.
British soldiers with a Lewis machine gun during the Battle of Hazebrouck, France 1918.
It soon became clear that BSA alone could not cope with the growing wave of orders, so the British, together with the Canadians, ordered 12,000 machine guns from a large American arms company Savage Arms Co. By the end of 1915, the new production workshops in Burningham were operating at full capacity and the production of machine guns there reached 300 units per week. After which the British government agreed to cede to Russia its orders for Lewis machine guns placed in the United States. Deliveries of machine guns (chambered 303 British) began in 1916.
In total, before June 1, 1917, 9,600 American-made Lewis machine guns and 1,860 English-made machine guns were delivered to Russia.
Japan and Holland bought a license to produce Lewis machine guns, equipping their armies with these weapons.
By the end of the 1930s it was withdrawn from service, but with the outbreak of World War II it was returned to service after a partial modernization.
Options and modifications
- Mark I- the first .303 caliber model adopted by the British Empire in 1915.
- Mark II- a specially designed model for aviation based on Mk. I, with a lightweight casing without cooling fins. The buttstock is replaced with a handle similar to the handle of a garden shovel. The magazine receiver has been modified to accommodate a 97-round drum.
- Mark II*- a modification with an increased rate of fire, adopted for service in 1918.
- Mark III- further modernization Mk. II* with an even faster rate of fire, made in the same year with a barrel without a cooling casing.
- Mark III*- British designation for the American M1918 purchased under the Lend-Lease program in 1940 for use in second-line units. The “spade handle” has been converted into a skeletal stock, allowing you to fire a machine gun from a rest or from the “hip.”
Review of soldiers of the British Volunteer Territorial Defense Forces (eng. Home Guard).
The first soldier in the second rank is armed with a Lewis Mk. III* - Mark III**- model designation Mk. III modified according to the M1918 model.
- Mark III DEMS- model Mk. III* with a forward holding handle, designed for arming guards on merchant ships.
A Mark III DEMS machine gun in the hands of a soldier from the security of an armed merchant ship - Mark IV- restored and assembled from spare parts stocks of Mark III models** in which the old “fragile” recoil springs were replaced with more reliable ones.
- Model 1915- machine gun Lewis Mk. I produced American company Savage Arms Co. for the Entente troops during the First World War.
- M1917 Lewis - Model 1915 with a modified gas automatic system chambered for a more powerful American cartridge .30-06 Springfield. Some of the machine guns released were adapted for use on aircraft.
- M1918 Lewis- a specially designed model for aviation chambered for .30-06 Springfield.
- Mitrailleur M. 20- a licensed version chambered for 6.5x53 mm R, produced in the Netherlands at the Staatsbedrijf der Artillerie Inrichtingen A / D arsenal in Hemburg, 10,500 copies were produced under license. By May 1940, 8,410 units were still in service.
- Type 92- Japanese aircraft machine gun. Licensed copy of the British Lewis machine gun. Widely used on aircraft naval aviation Japan in the 1930s, but by the beginning of World War II it became outdated and was replaced by more powerful models.
Also, according to some sources, machine guns of the Lewis system were produced in France and Czechoslovakia.
Design and operating principle
The automatic machine gun operates on the principle of removing powder gases. The machine gun consists of the following main parts and mechanisms: a barrel with a radiator and casing, a receiver with a lid and a feed mechanism, The back of the butt is the back part of the arrow-stock of the weapon or a separate part attached to the back side of the butt at-cla-du.">butt plate with a butt, a fire control handle with a trigger mechanism, a bolt, a bolt frame, a recoil spring in its own box, a magazine and a bipod.
« Business card» system is a casing, the edges extending far beyond the muzzle and forming a kind of ejector there with its profile - when fired, a wave of powder gases passing through it, with its inertia, created a vacuum in the rear part of the casing and, as a result, stretching portions of cold air under the casing along the longitudinally finned trunk Active air cooling in history small arms was not used anywhere else (except for modern Russian Pecheneg machine gun). The connection between the barrel and the receiver is threaded.
Design infantry version Lewis remained virtually unchanged until the end of the First World War. But for use in aviation, the machine gun began to be intensively modernized. The first change was the replacement of the rifle stock with a handle similar to the Hotchkiss Mle machine gun. 1914, more convenient when handling a machine gun mounted on a rifle turret. Moreover, in this case it was not necessary to rest it on the shoulder to parry the recoil.
Frame sight, Diopter - a special variety of aper-tur-no-go pr-tse-la, in this va-ri-an-te whole-face completely re-cover-va- there is a view of the eye from a spe-re-di, and the aper-tu-ra itself is very small in diameter (with a human pupil) ra- It looks like a camera, projecting an image onto the shooter’s pupil with greater contrast. This type of aiming gives the highest accuracy of all possible mechanical aiming methods. le-niy, paying for this serves a long time for the purpose and difficulty with na-ve-de-ni-em in the conditions yah su-me-rek and no-chi, it is for these reasons that this species is given to us for the purpose of being practically only on vin-tov-kah for target shooting at large distances, and also requires a special-but-right-way-of-pri-ce- li-va-niya.">dioptric; triangular shaped front sight.
Operation and combat use
By the end of the 1930s, Lewis machine guns began to be removed from service, but with the outbreak of World War II they were returned to service.
- Belgium- adopted by the army in 1913. Remained in service until the outbreak of World War II.
- United Kingdom- adopted into service in the British Empire, including the dominions and colonies in 1914.
Soldiers of the long-distance desert patrol ( Long Ran-ge De-se-rt Gro-up (short version LRDG, lit. “Group-pa-dis-na-ve-ki let-you-not”) - once-ve-dy- va-tel-no-di-version-noe under-re-de-le-nie of the British-Tan-army, the existence-in-va-neck during the Second World -howl of war. The co-manager of the German Afrikan corps, Field Marshal Er-win Rommel, believed that the LRDG “would do us more harm than any other British unit of the same power.">LRDG)By the beginning of the Second World War in british army Lewis machine guns were mainly replaced by more advanced BREN machine guns, however, after the evacuation from France (in conditions of a shortage of small arms), there were 58,963 machine guns in warehouses. were hastily transferred to second echelon units.
- Netherlands- adopted for service and produced under license.
- Poland- in service with the Polish army since independence (from the arsenals of the tsarist army).
- USSR- in Russia, the first 10 Lewis machine guns were purchased in July 1913 and, after testing, were transferred to the Officer Rifle School. In 1916, on the initiative of the tsarist government, an agreement was signed to supply 9,600 American-made and 1,800 English-made machine guns to Russia. Lewis machine guns were also used during the Civil War. In particular, Father Makhno’s personal guard was armed with Lewis machine guns - "Leucists". Machine guns American origin were manufactured for the 7.62 mm Mosin cartridge (stamp on the butt plate - 0.3). The British fired the .303 British cartridge. The latter were more popular due to their increased crippling ability Mk VII bullets. English Lewis machine guns chambered for the 7.71 mm cartridge were used in Russia mainly in aviation
Lewis machine guns remained in military depots until the Great Patriotic War and were used in its initial stage. A widely known photograph is of machine gunners with hand-held Lewis guns marching in the parade on November 7, 1941 on Red Square before leaving for the front.
Military parade on Red Square. Moscow, November 7, 1941. The photo is interesting because the Red Army soldiers are dressed in winter helmets, which were canceled in July 1940, and are armed with old English machine guns Lewis systems, brought to Russia in 1917Also, such machine guns were installed on Estonian submarines "Kalev" type British production, which became part of the Soviet Baltic Fleet in 1940.
- USA- after the outbreak of World War II, Lewis machine guns were used by second-line units.
- Third Reich- due to their maneuverability and general stealth, Lewis machine guns were nicknamed by the soldiers of the Kaiser's Germany "rattlesnake", which was facilitated by the characteristic sound of a machine gun burst. Captured machine guns were actively converted by the Germans to use the 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge and were used in assault detachments along with other trophies.
In the Third Reich, captured machine guns were used under the name MG 137(e). In the fall of 1944, during the formation of the Volkssturm battalions, 2,891 units were transferred for their armament. 6.5 mm machine guns Lewis M. 20 from the arsenals of occupied Holland.
- Finland- in service with the Finnish army since independence (from the arsenals of the tsarist army).
- Japan- adopted by the Japanese Air Force, produced under license.
Video
Shooting from a Lewis Machine Gun, handling weapons, etc.:
Lewis Gun at the RangeSettings
Light machine gun "Lewis"
Light machine gun "Lewis" Mk.1
This light machine gun was created in 1913 by Americans S. McLean and I. Lewis. In 1914, the English arms company BSA bought a license for its production in Belgium, which mastered its mass production. Widespread"Lewis" during the First World War, along with the significant need of troops for such weapons, was also facilitated by the fact that the cost of one easel "Vickers" was equal to the costs spent on the manufacture of six "Lewis". In 1923, the Lewis machine gun was simplified: instead of a disc magazine, a box magazine with 20 rounds was introduced, which eliminated the complex feeding mechanism. The Lewis machine gun is also used as a light easel machine gun, for which it is mounted on a tripod machine with lifting and rotating mechanisms, which turned this weapon into a “single” machine gun.
The automatic machine gun operates on the principle of removing powder gases. The machine gun consists of the following main parts and mechanisms: a barrel with a radiator and casing, a receiver with a cover and a feed mechanism, a buttplate with a butt, a fire control handle with a trigger mechanism, a bolt, a bolt frame, a recoil spring with a box, a magazine and a bipod.
In the front part of the casing there is a gas chamber regulator, which has two holes for exhausting gases with letter designations: “L” - a larger hole and “S” - a smaller hole. To move the regulator from one hole to another, it is rotated 180 degrees using the regulator lever. The barrel bore is locked by turning the bolt, the lugs of which fit into the transverse grooves of the receiver. The rotation of the bolt when locking is carried out by a curved groove on the bolt and the base of the bolt frame strut. The striker-type impact mechanism is mounted on the bolt frame rack. The trigger mechanism allows only automatic fire. When firing, the machine gun is fed with cartridges from a disk magazine, which is driven into rotation by a feed mechanism. The feed mechanism is a lever type, driven by the protrusion of the bolt tail, which fits into the curved groove of the feed lever. There is a pawl on the feed lever, which, interacting with the transverse ribs of the magazine, rotates the magazine. The magazine is kept from turning to the right and left by two levers located on the receiver cover. Extraction of the cartridge case (cartridge) is carried out by two ejectors fixed in the bolt, and reflection is carried out by a lever-type reflector located in the receiver. The machine gun has a safety guard consisting of two slats with cutouts at both ends. The straps are placed on the right and left sides of the receiver. The cutouts are designed to secure the bolt carrier in the forward and rear positions. To put the bolt carrier on safety, the bar (left or right, depending on which side the charging handle is located) must be moved up. The connection between the barrel and the receiver is threaded. The barrel is air cooled. Cooling of the barrel is enhanced by the presence of a radiator and a casing with a pipe on the barrel. Frame sight, diopter; triangular shaped front sight. For ease of shooting, the machine gun has a bipod. When using a machine gun as a light machine gun, it is attached to the swinging part of the machine and the butt plate with the butt is replaced in the machine gun with a butt plate with a handle.
Aviation machine gun "Lewis" Mk.4, converted for territorial defense needs
Reliability of weapon operation in any conditions, incl. and unfavorable conditions deservedly earned it a reputation as one of the best light machine guns of the time, although its significant weight caused certain difficulties for the machine gunners. Deployed to UK in 1940 mass army and territorial defense troops required a significant amount of automatic weapons to arm them. All Lewis guns removed by that time were removed from warehouses and subjected to modernization (in particular, aluminum radiators were removed (the low rate of fire made it possible to do without cooling); a flash suppressor was installed on the muzzle of the barrel; a two-legged heavy bipod was replaced by a single-legged telescopic one).
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a triumphal march of automatic weapons began across the battlefields, one of the most successful examples of which is the Lewis light machine gun.
The fusion of revolutionary solutions and dead-end moves took its place on the pedestal of the most long-lived weapons, along with the masterpiece of Hiram Maxim. Few people know that for the first time in a hundred years I repeated schematic diagram barrel cooling, tested on Lewis mod. 1913.
But there were also plenty of dead-end solutions - the use of a springless magazine, leaf spiral springs in the mechanism and an overcomplicated bolt. But first things first.
History of creation
A scheme using a long stroke gas piston appeared from Samuel McLean. At that time it was difficult heavy machine gun with the usual water cooling at this time. But the idea was implemented, in a slightly modified version, by Colonel American army Isaac Lewis.
The changes he made turned a mediocre heavy machine gun into a revolutionary light machine gun. Was introduced new system cooling, the locking system has been slightly modified. But as often happened in the USA at that time, due to the lobby of General William Crosier, Lewis’s application for the competition was rejected.
Colonel Lewis resigned and moved to Europe to promote his weapons in pre-war Britain.
It was 1913, tension future war was already hanging in the air.
The weapon was adopted into service in Belgium and the royal armed forces UK.
In Belgium, Lewis organized his own enterprise. But due to the lack production capacity, all weapons were manufactured to order in the Birmingham Small Arms workshops in Britain, and later in the USA, at the Savage Arms Company factories.
In 1913, Lewis machine guns were produced chambered for .303 British, or 7.7x56R. In the USA, weapons were produced chambered for the American rifle cartridge 30-06 Springfield.
After the start Great War Lewis machine gun truly acquired world fame. It was used by all warring states. Including Germany, captured machine guns were converted to use the 8 (7.92 mm) mm Mauser cartridge and they fought again, only on the other side of the front.
About 15 thousand of these machine guns were delivered to Russian Empire. They were actively used both in rifle units, and in the nascent aeronautical parts of Russia.
It is worth noting that once again, but not last time Some of the supplied machine guns were re-barreled for Russian cartridge 7.62x53R.
After the end of the First World War, in the 20-30s, these machine guns were actively produced in Europe and were in service with a number of countries.
Moreover, in 1923 in Britain, Lewis underwent modernization during which the production process was somewhat simplified and the machine gun itself was lightened.
Lewis weapons were also used in the Second World War; moreover, single examples of these weapons fought in the 50s, in Korea.
Design, features and principle of operation
Lewis light machine gun mod. 1913 represents automatic weapon. The principle of operation of the automation is based on the energy of removal of powder gases from the barrel, with a long piston stroke, a rotary bolt, with 4 stops.
The fire mode is automatic only, shooting is carried out from an open bolt. Lewis's device is extremely original in a number of ways, and in many ways was ahead of its time.
Peculiarities
Main feature This weapon is its cooling system, a metal casing with an aluminum radiator inside.
This pipe gives it a somewhat eccentric image of a minigun; work to lighten this design was carried out constantly, but they only came to operate the machine gun without it at all.
The barrel cut ended in the casing itself; when fired, air was drawn through the radiator, thereby cooling the barrel. Now this cooling system is often criticized, citing the example post-war years and using Lewis without radiators.
But we must take into account that at the time of the start of production this decision was completely justified.
Moreover, the Pecheneg control panel now uses the same cooling scheme.
Using a spiral mainspring – characteristic feature Lewis designs. The production of such springs was quite expensive, and in addition, the metal of these springs quickly “tired.”
The magazine is disk, located on top of the receiver. The design of the magazine is quite original; it does not have a feed spring; the cartridge is fed by the lever of the weapon mechanism when the magazine rotates.
The magazine capacity was 47 or 97 rounds. The store had an extremely simple form, its equipment was organized quite simply. I turned the disk axis, inserted the cartridge into the socket, turned the axis and inserted the next one.
Despite the original and simple design The store has the following disadvantages:
- the duration of the equipment, each cartridge is inserted one by one with the axis scrolling, the use of the bar did not greatly speed up the process;
- the magazine box open at the bottom led to contamination of the cartridges, which could cause delays in shooting;
- rotation of the magazine disk during shooting could cause injuries if the weapon was handled carelessly.
Nevertheless, despite all the shortcomings, the design of the store was simple, the store itself had a significant capacity, and in addition, it required only automatic actions from the equipment operator.
Operating principle
The principle of operation of the machine gun was quite simple; when fired, part of the powder gases entered the underbarrel gas chamber.
The gas piston moved, releasing the bolt and moving it back, while simultaneously twisting the spring and turning the magazine disk.
The bolt, moving, removed the spent cartridge case from the chamber and threw it to the side, while simultaneously cocking the rear sear. Having moved to the rearmost point, the shutter stopped. Action spring Unwinding, she moved it forward. The feed lever lowered the cartridge from the magazine down to the bolt.
The cartridge was sent into the chamber, and at that moment the shot occurred. The cycle repeated itself again.
Performance characteristics and comparison
At the start of his career, Lewis had only three main competitors - the German MG-08/15, the Danish Madsen and the French. But practically the MG-08/15 was a converted Maxim, adapted as a manual one; with a weight of 18 kilograms and external bulkiness, mobility was below average.
Which, in general, affected its use.
The Madsen system is a fairly successful weapon, but it has inherent flaws, such as a protruding box magazine that blocked the shooter’s view.
The Shosh system, with a 20-round magazine and disadvantages such as constant jamming and contamination, is also not a full-fledged competitor.
Thus, it was the English machine gun that was the king of the First World War. This was due to both a successful design and performance characteristics. In addition, one must take into account the fact that it had significant reserves for modernization.
This was shown by numerous alterations under different cartridges, both with a welted sleeve - 7.62x53R, and without a welt - 8 mm Mauser.
The 1913 Lewis machine gun had the following characteristics:
- cal.303 British;
- weight (empty) – 11.8 kg;
- barrel length – 665 mm;
- total length – 1283 mm;
- technical rate of fire 650 rounds/min;
- magazine capacity 47 or 97 rounds, weight 1.8 kg (47 rounds);
- sighting range 3200 meters.
In terms of the totality of characteristics at the time of the start of production, this machine gun overtook all analogues. A fully equipped machine gunner carried a loaded Lewis machine gun weighing 13 kg and two magazines to it. The remaining disks were in the second number of the calculation.
Application
The peak of its career came during the First World War, where it was used on all fronts. Among the Landwehr infantrymen, Lewis earned the nickname " rattlesnake", which is to some extent deserved by the sound of fire, but its mobility and tactics of use on the battlefield also played a significant role.
The machine gun was produced after the end of the war, and moreover, it was actively used as an air defense weapon on ships and boats back in the 40-50s.
Moreover, a well-known photograph of the parade on November 7, 1941, where Red Army soldiers go to the front with Lewis machine guns, apparently taken from long-term storage warehouses.
Lewis also captured a lot of historical footage while serving in royal troops and Her Majesty's Navy.
Britain used them everywhere, but mainly on secondary sectors of the front.
The machine gun was also actively used as a turret for aviation. But they stopped using it for aircraft defense in the early 40s. Rifle-caliber bullets could no longer damage an all-metal aircraft with a single hit.
And the low rate of fire did not allow achieving a significant number of hits on a high-speed target.
In cinema
Lewis's most famous appearance is in the film "White Sun of the Desert", where his role was played by the DP machine gun.
Lewis also appeared in the film “A Friend Among Strangers, a Stranger Among Our Own.” In the TV series “Makhno” and “Chapaev”, where he occasionally appears in the frame.
In foreign films he appeared in scenes from the films “On western front All Quiet”, “Battle of the Cortes”, “The Mummy” and others.
In computer games
The machine gun model is found in a number of modifications of the game "STALKER", in addition, the Lewis gun can be seen in the simulator "World of Guns: Gun Disassembly".
In Battlefield I, the Lewis machine gun is carried by members of the fire support group.
In addition, it was Lewis who was taken as the basis for the creation appearance blaster in game Star Wars Battlefront.
Video Review
Took part in both world wars. This is one of the most recognizable weapons of the last century. The Lewis machine gun also took part in Russian revolution, and in the Civil War. "Lewis" can easily be called the most successful machine gun of its period.
The Lewis machine gun had an original design and really high combat characteristics, which allowed the machine gun to remain in service for so long. Distinctive feature Lewis machine gun is the shape of the barrel casing, by which this weapon can be unmistakably recognized.
History of creation
Light machine gun Lewis was developed by Samuel McClane in the USA in 1911. The development of this weapon was carried out by American Army Colonel Isaac Newton Lewis. Initially, he wanted to make this machine gun an easel and equip it with water cooling, but then settled on original idea forced air cooling of the barrel. It should be noted that no one after Lewis used a similar scheme in the design of weapons.
Lewis offered his machine gun for arming the American army; several weapons were even tested, but military leadership The United States considered this machine gun unpromising and not worthy of attention. After this failure, Lewis retired and moved overseas, first to Belgium and then to Great Britain. It was the Belgians who were the first to become interested in the new machine gun and adopted it for service in 1913. The production of the Lewis light machine gun was launched at the factories of the BSA company (England).
In 1914, the machine gun received its baptism of fire - the world war. After its launch, the demand for the Lewis machine gun grew at an unprecedented rate, BSA expanded production, but despite this, it could not fulfill all orders. Therefore, some orders were placed in the USA.
German infantrymen called the Lewis machine gun " rattlesnake"for the characteristic sound of his work and were gladly taken as a trophy. Then the "Lewis" was converted to use the Mauser cartridge and was successfully used in battle. German assault troops were especially fond of the Lewis machine gun.
This machine gun came to Russia back in 1913: several samples were purchased for testing at the Officer Rifle School. However, the Russian military did not like the Lewis; there were especially many complaints about the short service life of the machine gun barrel.
However, they did not forget about this machine gun in Russia; they became especially needed during the war. In 1915, the British government ceded to Russia the rights to all Lewis cars manufactured according to British orders in the USA. Deliveries began already in next year. Also supplied to Russia were Lewis machine guns, manufactured in England and chambered for the English cartridge 303. American machine guns were chambered for the 7.62 mm Mosin cartridge.
Lewis light machine guns were actively used in Russian aviation. An additional handle, a sleeve collector and a flame arrester were installed on it. Sometimes the casings were removed: the incoming air flow sufficiently cooled the barrel.
Before the start of the revolutionary events, more than 10 thousand units of these weapons were delivered to Russia, so they were actively used during the Civil War. For example, the personal guard of the legendary Father Makhno was armed with “Lewis”.
"Lewis" in quite large quantities were stored in Soviet military warehouses. After the start of the war they were remembered and sent to the front. Eat famous photograph Red Army soldiers armed with these machine guns marching in the famous parade on November 7, 1941.
The British had a similar situation. At the end of the 30s English army began to change “Lewis” to the more modern “Bren”. Lost during the flight from France huge amount small arms, so the Lewis had to get back into action. The Germans also used these machine guns, captured as trophies. They were mainly used by Volkssturm units.
The last major conflict for this machine gun was the Korean War.
The design of a machine gun and the principle of its operation
The automatic operation of a machine gun is based on the removal of part of the powder gases from the barrel bore. The rate of operation of the automation (rate of fire) is regulated by a tap on the gas chamber. The gas piston moved back, wound the spiral spring (as in a regular watch) and turned the magazine through a special mechanism. The barrel bore was locked by rotating the bolt, the stops of which fit into the grooves of the receiver. The trigger mechanism allowed only automatic fire.
The Lewis machine gun consisted of the following components: barrel with casing and radiator, receiver, bolt and bolt carrier, specially designed magazine, trigger mechanism with handle, recoil spring.
A coil spring is also unique feature this machine gun: never after it was used in weapons. To tighten the spring, a small special key was included with the machine gun.
The spring unwinds and feeds the cartridge into the chamber, after which a shot is fired.
The main feature of the Lewis machine gun was its casing, which greatly protruded beyond the dimensions of the weapon’s barrel. When fired, the powder gases created an area low blood pressure at the back of the casing that pulled through it cold air, which cooled the ribbed barrel. Folding bipods were attached to the casing.
The design of the magazine of this machine gun is no less interesting. It had a disk shape, the cartridges in it were arranged in several rows: two or four. Unlike most existing magazines, it did not contain a feed spring. The cartridges were fed using special mechanism, which was operated by a protrusion on the bolt. A store like this can be considered one of the first attempts to abandon belt feeding.
The fuse was installed on the receiver.
Forty-seven rounds were fired in just six seconds, so machine gunners were taught to let go of the finger trigger on the count of three. Sights consisted of a rear sight and a front sight located at the end of the casing. The rear sight had two positions: at 600 yards (about 500 meters) and a second one intended for shooting at longer distances. Anti-aircraft Lewis guns were equipped with special sights made of wire.
The Belgians, who were the first to adopt this machine gun, called the Lewis “a machine gun you can run with.” And this was indeed the case. Despite its impressive dimensions, the machine gun weighed only twelve kilograms, which was very little. Most examples of such weapons of that time had water cooling, were equipped with machines and weighed more than thirty kilograms. It is clear that such a machine gun could hardly be used in offensive operations.
Manufacturer
Video about the machine gun
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