Lewis gun facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 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 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) |
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| 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 |
The Lewis gun (or Lewis automatic machine gun or Lewis automatic rifle) is a First World War–era light machine gun.
Contents
History
The Lewis gun was invented by U.S. Army colonel Isaac Newton Lewis in 1911, based on initial work by Samuel Maclean.
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." No Lewis guns were produced in Belgium during the war; all manufacture was carried out by BSA in England and the Savage Arms Company in the US.
Production
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.
Design details
The Lewis gun was gas operated.
The Lewis gun used a pan magazine holding 47 or 97 rounds.
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.
Service
First World War
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.
Aircraft use
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.
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at Modern Firearms
Images for kids
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Lewis gun reloading mechanism action
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A British Home Guard platoon in 1941. The soldier on the right is carrying either a Lewis Mk III* or Mk III** with the improvised skeleton stock and fore-stock to make it usable as a ground weapon. The man next to him is carrying the drum magazine.
See also
In Spanish: Ametralladora Lewis para niños
