American Isaac Lewis developed his light machine gun around 1910, based on an earlier machine gun design by Dr. Samuel McLean. The machine gun was proposed by the designer for arming the American army, but a harsh refusal followed (caused by a long-standing personal conflict between the inventor and General Crozier, then head of the US Army's Department of Armaments). As a result, Lewis turned his footsteps to Europe, to Belgium, where in 1912 he founded the company Armes Automatiques Lewis SA to sell his brainchild. Since the company did not have its own production facilities, the order for the production of the first experimental batch of Lewis machine guns was placed with the British company Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) in 1913. Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, Lewis machine guns were adopted by the Belgian army, and after the outbreak of the war, they began to enter service with the British army and the Royal Air Force. In addition, these machine guns were widely exported, including to tsarist Russia. In the United States, the production of Lewis machine guns in caliber .30-06 in the interests of mainly the nascent air force and marines was deployed by the Savage arms company. In the twenties and thirties, Lewis machine guns were widely used in the aviation of various countries, while the barrel cover and radiator were usually removed from them. During World War II, a significant number of British Lewis were recovered from reserves and used to arm territorial defense units and air defense units of small commercial transport vessels.
The Lewis light machine gun uses a gas-operated automatic system with a long-stroke gas piston located under the barrel. The barrel is locked by turning the bolt on four lugs located radially at the rear of the bolt. Shooting is carried out from an open bolt, only with automatic fire. The features of the machine gun include a spiral return spring acting on the gas piston rod through a gear and a gear train, as well as an aluminum radiator on the barrel, enclosed in a thin-walled metal casing. The radiator casing protrudes forward in front of the muzzle, so that when firing, air is drawn through the casing along the radiator, from the breech to the muzzle. The cartridges were fed from disk magazines connected from above with a multilayer (in 2 or 4 rows, capacity of 47 and 97 cartridges, respectively) radial arrangement of cartridges, with bullets to the axis of the disk. At the same time, the store did not have a feed spring - its rotation to feed the next cartridge to the ramming line was carried out using a special lever located on the machine gun and driven by the bolt. In the infantry version, the machine gun was equipped with a wooden butt and a removable bipod, sometimes a handle was placed on the barrel cover to carry the weapon. Japanese machine guns of the Lewis Type 92 system (produced under license) could additionally be used from special tripod machines.
The Lewis light machine gun, created in 1913, became a real symbol of the First World War. During the war years, it was not only the main machine gun of the countries of the British Commonwealth, but was also widely used around the world, including taking part in the Civil War in Russia. The machine gun was removed from service in the 1930s, but with the outbreak of World War II, after a partial modernization, the "old man" had to be returned to service. In our country, this machine gun is familiar even to those who have never been particularly fond of firearms and it. He became a real hero not only of world cinema, but also of national cinema. In particular, in the beloved by many movie "The White Sun of the Desert" with a Lewis machine gun, you can see the Red Army soldier Sukhov.
For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that not only the real Lewis machine gun was filmed in the famous Soviet history. In the shooting scenes, it was replaced with the Soviet DP light machine gun (infantry Degtyarev). For filming, the machine gun was specially "made up" for "Lewis" with the help of a characteristic barrel casing and a ribbed plate on the disc. Most likely, during filming, the real "Lewis" was simply defective or there were no blank cartridges available for it. At the same time, the Lewis machine gun starred in many Soviet / Russian films about the Civil War.
Lewis machine gun, or simply "Lewis" - British light machine gun, which was created in 1913. It is worth noting that the idea for the design of the machine gun belonged to Samuel McLean, but it was brought to life by the American Colonel Isaac Lewis. Initially, he wanted to use this machine gun as a water-cooled easel, but during development he abandoned this idea in favor of creating a light machine gun with forced air cooling of the barrel.
The creator of the renowned machine gun, Colonel of the American Army, Isaak N. Lewis, was a leading weapons specialist in the United States Army. He received his education at the famous West Point military academy, from which he successfully graduated in 1884. In 1911, Lewis became the head of the artillery school located at Fort Monroe. Here he achieved fame as a very good specialist in electrical engineering and mechanics. As his retirement from the military approached, the Colonel began working as a consultant for the Automatic Arms Company (AAC) in Ohio.
For a number of years, Isaac has been developing his own light machine gun, the automation of which would work at the expense of the energy of powder gases. At this time, the AAS company acquired the rights to the machine gun, created by Dr. Samuel McLean. Lewis used McLean's technical solutions to create his own machine gun. For the right to produce this weapon, the AAS company transferred to him a controlling stake and control over the production and distribution of the machine gun. Two years later, in 1913, the Lewis machine gun with a disc magazine and an air-cooled barrel was finally ready.
Initially, Lewis wanted to offer his product to the American army, but received a tough refusal, which was caused by a long-standing personal conflict between the designer and General Crozier, who at that time was the head of the US Army's armaments department. As a result, Belgium became the first country to adopt the Lewis light machine gun, this happened already in 1913. At the same time, just before the war, the machine gun also attracted the British, production was deployed in England at BSA factories. By the end of 1915, the new production workshops located in Birmingham were operating at full capacity, the production of Lewis machine guns reached 300 pieces per week there.
The combat debut of the machine gun fell on the First World War and was very successful. Because of the maneuverability and general secrecy of this weapon, the soldiers of Kaiser Germany called the Lewis machine gun a "rattlesnake". This nickname was also promoted by the characteristic sound of the fired machine-gun burst. At the same time, the Germans themselves actively used the captured Lewis machine guns, remaking them under the Mauser 7.92 cartridge and actively using them in assault squads along with other trophies obtained in battles.
Automatic machine gun worked on the principle of removal of powder gases. When firing, gases passed through a hole in the barrel and pressed on the piston. The piston, moving back, turned the gear of the spiral (the same as in the clock) return spring with a toothed rack, winding it in this way. Structurally, the light machine gun consisted of the following main parts and mechanisms: a barrel with a casing and a radiator, a receiver with a feed mechanism and a cover, a butt plate with a butt, a bolt, a bolt carrier, a fire control handle, a reciprocating mainspring with a box, a magazine and a bipod.
The "visiting card" of the Lewis light machine gun was the casing, which with its edges extended far beyond the muzzle and created a kind of ejector there with its profile - when firing, a wave of powder gases passing through it, with its inertia, contributed to the creation of a vacuum in the rear of the casing. As a result, it was ensured that a portion of cold air was pulled under the casing along the longitudinally ribbed barrel of the machine gun. At that time, active air cooling in small arms was no longer used anywhere.
In the front part of the casing there was a gas chamber regulator, which had two holes for exhausting gases with letter designations: "S" - a smaller hole and "L" - a larger hole. In order to move the regulator from one hole to another, it had to be turned 180 degrees using the regulator lever. Locking the bore of the machine gun was carried out by turning the bolt, the lugs of which enter the transverse grooves of the receiver. Turning the bolt of the light machine gun when locking is carried out by a curved groove on the bolt and the base of the bolt carrier.
The machine gun used a striker-type percussion mechanism, which was attached to the bolt carrier. The trigger mechanism of the weapon allows only automatic fire from it. The extraction of the sleeve (cartridge) was carried out by two ejectors fixed in the bolt, and the reflection was carried out by a lever-type reflector, which was located in the receiver. The light machine gun had a fuse, which consisted of two strips with cutouts at both ends. Slats were placed on the left and right sides of the receiver. The cutouts were designed for setting the bolt carrier to the safety catch in the front and rear positions. In order to put the bolt carrier on the fuse, the bar (left or right, depending on which side the loading handle was located) had to be moved up.
The barrel of the machine gun and the receiver had a threaded connection. The barrel is cooled by air. The cooling of the barrel of the light machine gun was enhanced by the presence of a radiator and a casing with a pipe on it. For ease of shooting, the light machine gun was equipped with a bipod. Sights were represented by a frame diopter sight and a triangular front sight. In the case of using a machine gun as a light easel, it was attached to the swinging part of the machine, while in the machine gun the butt plate with a butt was replaced with a butt plate with a handle.
The machine gun was fed with cartridges using disc magazines attached to it from above for 47 and 97 rounds, which were multilayer (in two or three rows, respectively). The cartridges in the store were located radially to the axis of the disk. At the same time, the magazines in the Lewis light machine gun did not have a feed spring - their rotation to feed the next cartridge to the chambering line took place using a specially provided lever, which was located on the machine gun and was set in motion by the bolt. Keeping the disk magazine from turning to the left or to the right was carried out using two levers, which were located on the receiver cover. In the infantry version, the Lewis was equipped with a removable bipod and a wooden stock. Sometimes a special handle could be installed on the barrel casing, designed to carry a light machine gun.
The design of the infantry version of the Lewis machine gun did not change for almost the entire First World War. However, the military conflict demanded the use of a machine gun in aviation. The aviation version of the machine gun already had its own differences. So it turned out that the massive "pipe" of the radiator casing prevents the air gunner from aiming, since due to the large windage, the machine gun was subjected to very strong air pressure. It also turned out that due to the blowing of air during the flight, the barrel of the machine gun is less susceptible to overheating than on the ground, so the unnecessary casing on the aircraft machine gun was abandoned, although the radiator itself remained in place.
It was also found that the spent cartridges, which flew overboard, could lead to damage to the linen skin of the aircraft, and in cars with a rear engine, also the propeller. Therefore, in combat units, they independently began to equip machine guns with special boxes or bags for collecting cartridge cases. After receiving official complaints from pilots, BSA began producing sleeve bags for turret versions of their machine guns with a capacity of 94 sleeves. However, for intense air combat, the capacity was not enough, and the capacity of the bags was increased to 330 cartridges.
The reliability of the Lewis design light machine gun in any even the most adverse conditions provided the weapon with a reputation as one of the best light machine guns during the First World War, although the weight of the weapon presented certain difficulties for the shooters. The machine gun was withdrawn from service in Great Britain only in the late 1930s. However, defeats in the first battles of World War II, when a large number of weapons of the British Expeditionary Force were left in France, as well as the need to quickly deploy a massive army and equip the territorial defense troops with something, returned the machine gun to service. The army, which was experiencing a shortage of automatic small arms, was returned from warehouses about 59 thousand Lewis light machine guns. At the same time, all the machine guns underwent minor modernization, in particular, aluminum radiators were removed from them, and a flame arrester appeared on the muzzle, and the heavy bipod was also replaced by a one-legged telescopic.
Military parade on Red Square. Moscow, November 7, 1941. The photo is especially interesting in that the soldiers of the Red Army are wearing winter helmets, canceled in July 1940, and are also armed with old English machine guns of the Lewis system
The Lewis machine gun was widely used in our country. Back in 1913, the Russian army showed interest in this development, having acquired an experimental batch. But these machine guns appeared in large quantities in the Russian Empire only in 1917, in 1916 an agreement was signed to purchase 9,600 American machine guns and 1,800 British-made machine guns. Already after the withdrawal of Russia from the First World War, these machine guns were massively used during the Civil War. For example, the personal security of Nestor Makhno was armed with Lewis light machine guns.
In the Red Army, Lewis machine guns remained in service until the mid-1920s, remaining in military warehouses until the beginning of World War II. It is also curious that the British-made Estonian submarines of the Kalev class were armed with Lewis machine guns. These boats, along with machine guns, were transferred to the Baltic Fleet in 1940. By the autumn-winter of 1941, the Red Army faced the same problem as the British - there was a shortage of automatic small arms for the newly formed units. The existing Lewis light machine guns were returned from the warehouses, including they went into service with the militia units that defended the approaches to Moscow and Leningrad.
Used during the Second World War, this light machine gun and the Axis countries. Since the end of 1944, the Germans have armed them with the Volkssturm battalions, having transferred to their armament a 2891 Lewis M1920 machine gun from the arsenals of occupied Holland. In Japan, machine guns of the Lewis Type 92 system (they were produced in this country under license) were used until the end of World War II, while in the Japanese army they could be additionally used from special tripods.
The performance characteristics of the Lewis machine gun:
Weight - 13 kg.
Length - 1280 mm.
Barrel length - 670 mm.
Cartridges - 7.7x56 mm (.303 British), 7.62x63 mm (.30-06 Springfield), 7.62x54 mm R.
Rate of fire - 550 rds / min.
Bullet muzzle velocity - 740 m / s.
Effective distance of fire - 800 m.
Stores - disc for 47 or 97 rounds.
Sources of information:
http://www.airwar.ru/weapon/guns/lewis.html
http://www.megasword.ru/index.php?pg=550
http://world.guns.ru/machine/usa/lewis-r.html
http://gunmagazine.com.ua/index.php?id=313
Materials from open sources
The First World War radically changed the views of the military on the methods of warfare. And if at the beginning the "blind" defense did not need highly mobile means of supporting the infantry, then by the end of the war they became vital. Some of them were light machine guns, among which the Lewis machine gun is considered by many experts to be the best.
History of creation
The technical concept of the new machine gun was developed by Samuel McLean, but only US Army officer Isaac Lewis succeeded in bringing it to a real prototype. He also patented the idea, and the machine gun got his name - the Lewis light machine gun. However, it did not immediately become "manual", initially it was a water-cooled machine gun, but then Lewis applied the original design of forced air cooling of the barrel, which significantly reduced the weight of the machine gun and made it possible to make it manual (by the way, this system is nowhere else but Russian machine gun "Pecheneg" was not used). The production of weapons was established at the BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) factories in the United Kingdom. The first army to adopt the Lewis machine gun was the Belgian army (1913). She was the first to test him in battle.
The machine gun turned out to be very successful, especially in comparison with the same type of weapon of that time, and was soon adopted by many armies of the world. Moreover, not only its infantry version, but also its aviation modification, became widespread. The latter was distinguished by the absence of a cooling system and a larger cartridge disk. In the linear units of the armies, the Lewis machine gun served until the beginning of the next big war, in which it was also used, but in insignificant quantities. Production stopped completely in 1942.
Machine gun design
The Lewis machine gun works by removing powder gases. The barrel is locked by turning the bolt, which, with its lugs, enters the grooves carved on the steel box. The turn itself is carried out due to the curved groove on the bolt and the base of the bolt carrier. Only automatic fire is allowed from a machine gun. Shooting begins with an open bolt, which negatively affects the accuracy of the weapon. The ammunition supply comes from the original disk, the cartridges in which are arranged in several layers.
Depending on the magazine capacity, these layers can be two (47 rounds) or four (97 rounds). The store lacks a supply spring, which radically distinguishes it from other systems. The supply of cartridges occurs due to the rotation of the disk, into which the machine gun automatics drives it. The rate of fire can be adjusted with a tap on the gas chamber. Recoil spring - drum type, which allows you to adjust it using a special key.
Machine gun characteristics
The Lewis machine gun fires 7.62 mm bullets with an initial speed of 747 meters per second and a rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute. Effective firing range 1800 meters. Weight with disc filled with cartridges, 17.8 kg.
Role model
The qualities of the new machine gun were appreciated not only by the Entente countries, but also by their opponents. German soldiers nicknamed Lewis' machine gun "rattlesnake". He received this nickname for his high mobility, stealth and characteristic "voice". The Germans converted the captured machine guns under the Mauser cartridge and actively used it. It must be assumed that the experience of acquaintance with this weapon pushed the German designers to create their own version, which we know as the best German MG-42 machine gun.
One of the most recognizable weapons of the 20th century is the Lewis machine gun, a photo of which clearly demonstrates its differences from other types. This fame is due to the fact that he is often shown in films dedicated to both world wars. However, it was really used for a long time, since its combat characteristics were high. So - a machine gun of the Lewis system.
The history of the appearance of the machine gun and a little from the life of its designer
Colonel of the American Army Isaac Lewis is considered the creator of this weapon. He was a talented and educated officer. He studied at West Point Academy, and after that, in 1911, he became the head of the artillery school located at Fort Monroe. He remained in this post almost until the end of his service and retirement. During this time, Colonel Lewis's activities included scientific work and the development of weapons, he also became famous as a first-class electrical engineer and mechanic. Before retiring, Lewis chose a calling for himself - he got a job as a consultant at the Automatic Arms Company. While working there, he became interested in one of the prototypes of an infantry machine gun, the designer of which was a certain Samuel McLean. Lewis then used many solutions and design features of this weapon in the development of his own weapon.
Lewis applied for his inventions many times, but never received a response. Since the command of the US Army was not then interested in the development of the designers of their country, he went a slightly different path. In 1912, a friend of Lewis, an officer at the time of such a young service as the air force, Captain Chandler, agreed to test a sample machine gun on the Wright biplane. One of the pilots, Lieutenant Milling, was also involved in this.
Despite the fact that the machine gun proved to be quite good, the army command still did not pay enough attention to it. Yes, official tests were carried out, but preference was given to a foreign-made machine gun - "Bene-Merci". This French weapon was in many ways inferior to the Lewis machine gun. In addition, he had a specific power supply from special rigid belts, which made it difficult to work with him. This position of the government forced Lewis to move to Europe, leaving the US Army.
New features and growing popularity of the machine gun
There the Belgians became interested in promising weapons. The designer conducted a series of tests and shows, after which a contract was signed with the Belgian army and the company Armes Automatic Lewis was created, which was supposed to produce a machine gun. But some problems forced Lewis to close the company and give the right to manufacture the machine gun to the British company BSA. She also tested it on model airplanes, where fairly good results were achieved. In 1913, a Lewis machine gun hit a target from the air at a distance of 120 meters. At the same time, most of the cartridges from the disk got into it.
These impressive results led the company to receive a batch of trial orders from Russia, England and Belgium that same year. Despite the problem of barrel overheating, most experts gave the machine gun high marks. The Belgian army adopted it. Russia also received a small batch. The British Air Force was cautious and decided to watch from the sidelines.
Application in World War I
As the mood in Europe suggested an armed conflict, BSA decided to increase production capacity by ordering a batch of machine tools from the United States. With the outbreak of World War I, the British army first ordered 10, a little later - 50, and after testing on the battlefield - a full batch of 200 machine guns.
The demand for Lewis light machine gun increased in geometric progression after Belgian forces successfully repelled several massive attacks by German forces. The Belgians were armed with the Lewis. But since BSA could not cope with such an influx of orders, they ordered a batch of 12 thousand units of machine guns from the American firm Savage Arms Company. By 1915, a new plant was opened in Birmingham, which produced approximately 300 machine guns per week.
It is curious that the German army called the machine gun "rattlesnake" because of the characteristic sound of the burst. Those machine guns, which were captured as trophies, were converted under the 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge. They were mainly used by assault squads.
Features and design of weapons
According to his idea, it was a machine gun with a disc magazine and barrel cooling with air. Its automation functioned as intended, thanks to the removal of powder gases from the barrel. At the time of the shot, the gases affected the piston, which, under their pressure, cocked the mainspring. At the same time, with the help of a rod rack, the lugs were removed and the bolt began to move. A spent cartridge case was ejected through the extraction window using a reflector. Then the bolt protrusion affected the feeder - and he fed a new cartridge to the receiving window.
After all the parts were in position, the mainspring pushed the bolt and stem forward. At the same time, the shutter picked up the cartridge and sent it to the chamber. The feeder moved to the right and was held by a latch. Then the bolt was turned, the lugs entered special grooves, the drummer hit the cartridge primer and a shot was fired.
Like most automatic weapons of the time, the drawing of the Lewis machine gun showed some characteristic flaws. So, due to prolonged firing, the barrel very often overheated, which led to delays. But the constructor took care of that. He came up with a special radiator, which was designed to cool the barrel, and enclosed it in a special aluminum casing. This was a kind of prototype of modern cooling systems barrel using an ejection pump. But even these measures did not help to eliminate all the problems, and when firing in bursts of more than 25 shots, the machine gun still overheated, which made it necessary to cease fire for some time.
Weapon feeding
One of the characteristic external features of the Lewis machine gun is the disk magazine. Then such a power supply scheme for the weapon seemed the most satisfactory. In total, the store held 46 rounds, which could be fired in just 6 seconds. The diameter and thickness of the disc machine gun "Lewis" could vary depending on the type of cartridge used.
Ammunition used
Since the Lewis machine gun was used by many countries, it was converted to the required type of cartridge. In the USA and Russia it was a 7.62mm cartridge, while countries such as Japan, France and Italy used the "0.383" cartridge with a 7.7mm caliber.
Further life of the machine gun, its modifications and options
The first modification was made on an aircraft machine gun. The main changes affected the butt, which was replaced by a trigger similar to that of the machine gun Maxim. The bulky casing was removed, since at the height the barrel was very well blown by the wind and there was no need to cool it. They also added special devices, similar to bags, which caught spent cartridges, since during extraction they could damage the skin of the aircraft. It is noteworthy that in 1915 the Lewis machine gun became the standard for installation in military aircraft.
For more effective fire, the magazine capacity was increased to 97 rounds, in addition, it became larger in size. Also, for the convenience of replacement, it was equipped with a handle, which made it possible to perform all the necessary operations with one hand.
Russian modifications
In 1916, a new Lewis machine gun was released, the device of which was finalized and a number of design changes were made. It was named Lewis Mk. II. In the same year, they created a more advanced turret for installation in an aircraft. It was a kind of arc-shaped rail that allowed the machine gun to move down and back. A similar design was soon developed in tsarist Russia.
Russia itself also actively used Lewis machine guns. There they were remade for the most common cartridge - 7.62x54 mm. Used during Civil war(and not only by the Red Army, but also by the troops of the Whites, the anarchists Makhno, Basmachi), as well as at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War. After her, there is no information about the further use of the machine gun.
The new version was also presented in 1917, when the naval variation of the machine gun was made. The weight was significantly reduced and the rate of fire of the weapon was increased. This modification was named Lewis Mk. III. She quickly gained popularity not only in the navy, but also in ground forces and aviation, and remained mainstream until the outbreak of World War II.
The decline of the popularity of "Lewis"
By the 30s of the twentieth century, the machine gun had lost its former popularity. Some flaws were not completely eliminated, some appeared during further operation. For example, when an aircraft climbed to a high altitude, the lubricant froze, the weapon needed regular cleaning and maintenance, which was not always possible in a fast and maneuverable war. The rate of fire, which was increased to 850 rounds per minute, overheated the barrel even faster, which was often overlooked in battle. Then the weapon simply failed.
And technical progress did not stand still, more and more advanced technologies appeared, new ideas were proposed, and the outdated machine gun was forgotten. The last time the British used it was during the evacuation from Dunkirk at the beginning of World War II. Then "Lewis" armed the troops of the second echelon. In particular, not only infantry, but even aviation options were used, which were altered. After the war, all the remaining machine guns were most likely sent for recycling or handed over to museums.
But in the German troops it was also used during the Second World War, despite the fact that then there were already more advanced models. It was a Dutch batch of machine guns called the M20, which the Germans, always striving to use as many trophies as possible in business, converted and adopted the Wehrmacht under the name MG100.
Lewis machine gun: characteristics
Caliber - 7.7 and 7.62 and others.
- Cartridge type - 7.7x57 R, 7.62x63 and others.
- Weight - 11.8 kg.
- Overall length - 1283 mm.
- Barrel length - 666 mm.
- Disc capacity - 47 or 97 rounds.
- Rate of fire - 550 rds / min.
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