History of weapons: Lewis light machine gun. Lewis light machine gun - "rattlesnake" of the First World War Cartridges for the Lewis machine gun

The Lewis machine gun is a legendary English light machine gun that saw action in both World Wars. This is one of the most recognizable weapons of the last century. The Lewis machine gun managed to take part in both the Russian Revolution and the Civil War. "Lewis" can be safely 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, which can be unmistakably recognized this weapon.

History of creation

light machine gun Lewis was developed by Samuel McClen in the USA in 1911. The completion of this weapon was carried out by the colonel of the American army 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 to arm 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 across the ocean, first to Belgium and then to the UK. It was the Belgians who were the first to become interested in the new machine gun and in 1913 took it into service. The release of the Lewis light machine gun was launched at the factories of the BSA company (England).

In 1914, the machine gun took baptism of fire started in Europe World War. After it began, the demand for the Lewis machine gun grew at an unprecedented pace, BSA expanded production, but, despite this, could not fulfill all orders. Therefore, part of the orders were placed in the United States.

The German infantrymen called the Lewis machine gun "rattlesnake" for the characteristic sound of his work and took it with pleasure as a trophy. Then the "Lewis" was converted under the Mauser cartridge and successfully used in battle. The German assault squads 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 Officers' Rifle School. However, the Russian military did not like the Lewis, especially there were many complaints about the short service life of the machine gun barrel.

However, this machine gun was not forgotten in Russia, they were especially needed during the war. In 1915, the British government ceded to Russia the rights to all Lewis made to English orders in the United States. Deliveries began the following year. Also, Lewis machine guns, made in England under the English patron.303, were delivered to Russia. American machine guns were made under the Mosin cartridge 7.62 mm.

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 oncoming air flow cooled the barrel sufficiently.

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 guards of the legendary father Makhno were armed with "Lewis".

"Lewis" in fairly large quantities were stored in Soviet military warehouses. After the outbreak of the war, they were remembered and sent to the front. There is famous photo Red Army soldiers armed with these machine guns marching at the famous parade on November 7, 1941.

The British were in a similar situation. At the end of the 30s English army began to change "Lewis" to a more modern "Bren". During the flight from France was lost great amount small arms, so the "Lewis" had to get back into operation. The Germans also used these machine guns captured as trophies. Basically, they were armed with parts of the Volkssturm.

The last big conflict for this machine gun was the Korean War.

The device of the machine gun and the principle of its operation

The Lewis machine gun consisted of the following constituent parts: a barrel with a casing and a radiator, a receiver, a bolt and a bolt carrier, a magazine of a special design, a trigger mechanism with a handle, a reciprocating mainspring.

The coil spring is also a unique feature of this machine gun: it has never been used in a weapon since. To tighten the spring, a small special key was included with the machine gun.

The spring unwound and fed the cartridge into the chamber, after which a shot was fired.

The main feature of the Lewis system machine gun was its casing, which strongly protruded beyond the dimensions of the weapon's barrel. When fired, the powder gases created an area of ​​low pressure in the rear of the casing, which pulled cold air through it, which cooled the ribbed barrel. Folding bipods were attached to the casing.

No less interesting is the design of the magazine of this machine gun. He had disk form, the cartridges in it were arranged in several rows: in two or four. Unlike most existing stores, it did not contain a feed spring. The cartridges were fed with special mechanism, which was actuated by a protrusion on the shutter. Such a store can be seen as one of the first attempts to abandon the tape feed.

The fuse was installed on the receiver.

Forty-seven rounds fired in just six seconds, so machine gunners were taught to release their finger from the 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 (approximately 500 meters) and the second, designed for firing at longer distances. Anti-aircraft "Lewis" were equipped with special sights made of wire.

The Lewis light machine gun was developed in the United States by Samuel McClen with the assistance of Lieutenant Colonel Lissack. The patent rights to the developers were sold to the resulting Automatic Arms Company in Buffalo. Automatic Arms Company, in turn, asked Colonel Isaac N. Lewis to bring the system to a state in which it would suit potential buyers. In 1911, Lewis presented the machine gun to the Secretariat of War and the Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Four copies were purchased for testing (which is typical, the first test was carried out in Maryland at the military aviation school), but the Arms Department this weapon not considered interesting for the army. Lewis went to Belgium, where he was able to establish the production of a machine gun.

In 1913, the Lewis machine gun was adopted by the Belgian army (it also became the first country to use it in battle, in 1914 during its retreat). At the same time, Russian specialists became interested in the machine gun. At the beginning of July, the Belgian Society automatic weapons»A sample machine gun was sent to Petersburg. During the tests conducted at the Officers' Rifle School, the lack of knowledge of the system was revealed. The main complaints concerned the cooling of the barrel, which did not allow more than 600 shots to be fired. Despite this, the GAU made a proposal to purchase for testing in 1914 10 Mac Maple-Lewis machine guns, 3 Hotchkiss machine guns (for airplanes) and 2 Berthier (Berthier-Pasha) machine guns. On July 25, 1913, the Military Council approved this purchase. With the outbreak of the First World War, the funds allocated for Berthier and Hotchkiss were used "to strengthen the funds of the war fund", and interest in the Lewis, apparently, was preserved. After 10 "Lewis" were tested at the Officer's Rifle School, the Head of the GAU ordered that they be sent to the Officer's Cavalry School. In turn, the officer cavalry school abandoned machine guns, and they were transferred "to the Corps Airfield". Positive feedback, given by the Head of the GAU, inspired the company to offer on August 8 - after the start of the war - the supply of 5 thousand lightweight machine guns with magazines for 56 rounds. However, they did not issue new orders then. And when the need for similar weapons became obvious, deliveries had to wait until the end of 1915. In 1914, with the outbreak of war, the machine gun was adopted by the British army. Initially, the contract was signed with BSA (Birmingham Small Arms), and although the production of Lewis took 6 times less time than the easel Vickers and was 5 times cheaper, the company could not start production weapons on the required scale. As a result, the contract was awarded American company Savage Arms Company. And only after stable production was established, part of the contract was “ceded” to Russia.

The machine gun had a gas-operated automatic engine. Powder gases were vented through a transverse hole located at the bottom of the barrel. The piston rod had a long stroke. The barrel bore was locked when the bolt was turned. characteristic features the machine gun had a spiral (snail-shaped) reciprocating mainspring, a disk magazine of a relatively large capacity (there was no feeder spring), air cooling of the barrel.

The original siphon scheme is implemented in the cooling system. An aluminum radiator was put on the barrel, having high longitudinal ribs, covered with a cylindrical casing. The front casing narrowed, going beyond the muzzle of the barrel. During the firing of powder gases, a rarefaction formed in the muzzle, as a result, air from the breech was blown through the radiator.

Gas chamber - closed type. From below, a regulator was screwed into the gas chamber, having holes of different diameters, which alternately stood opposite the transversely located outlet of the chamber. The regulator was turned with the lower key. There were obturating belts on the piston rod, and a bowl-shaped recess on the piston. The rear and front parts of the bolt frame (rod) were rigidly connected with pins. In the back there was a gear rack, a rack and a combat platoon. The reloading handle was inserted into the stock on the left or right. The reciprocating mainspring was located at the bottom in a special box and caused the gear to rotate, which was engaged with the piston gear rack. This solution left free space in the receiver, protected the spring from heating, but was unnecessarily complicated.

Four lugs were located at the rear of the bolt body, and two spring ejectors were mounted in the front. The shutter was rotated by a gas piston rack that slid in the screw groove of the frame. The drummer was mounted on the same rack. A non-rotating tail of the bolt, inserted into the back of the frame, carried guides. The upper ledge drove the feeder. The trigger mechanism allowed for exceptionally continuous fire. It was assembled in a trigger box, which was attached to the receiver with a latch and a ledge. A shot from the rear sear made it possible to conduct intense fire without the danger of igniting cartridges in a heated chamber. While pressing the trigger, he turned the trigger lever, while the sear of the lever came out from under the cocking of the piston rod. The fuse function was performed by a bar that blocked the slot of the receiver, locking the reloading handle. The mobile system had a stroke equal to 163 millimeters.

The shutter, while moving backward, removed the spent cartridge case from the chamber and turned the lever reflector located in the receiver on its left wall. The reflector head protruded from the wall, entered the groove of the bolt core and pushed the sleeve out with a blow to the right.

The original power system was an attempt to abandon the tape while maintaining the feeder drive from the movable automation system, as well as to synchronize the operation of the mechanisms. The disc store included a cup, which was divided into 25 sectors by rods and wall protrusions. In sectors, cartridges were placed in two rows along the radius. In the center of the disk there was a bushing with a central hole and a screw groove. The feed mechanism, mounted in the receiver, had a feeder, a pawl with a spring, two stops and a tongue with a guide plate with a spring. The equipped magazine was put on with a central hole on the glass of the receiver (arrow forward). The first cartridge was opposite the stop and the tongue plate. When moving backward, the bolt with the protrusion of its tail moved along the curved groove of the feeder, rotating it to the left. The feeder dog displaced the magazine cup, while the left limiter limited its rotation, not allowing it to take more than one step. The cartridge was pressed with a plate of the tongue and moved to the receiving window of the box. The shutter, when moving forward, picked up the cartridge, and the feeder, turning to the right, jumped with its dog over the next ledge of the cup. The left limiter was pressed with the store's spike. The right limiter blocked the rotation of the cup to the right. Since the magazine sleeve was stationary, the cartridges sliding with their bullet points along the screw groove of the sleeve fell down. Thus, with each turn, a new cartridge was placed under the tongue plate.

A folding frame sight with a diopter rear sight and a set screw was mounted on the receiver cover. The triangular front sight was mounted on the connecting ring of the casing, but this arrangement did not contribute to accuracy. The length of the sighting line was 818 millimeters. The design of the machine gun consisted of 88 parts.

The bipod for the Lewis machine gun was rigid triangular with a connecting rod with a clamp and a fork. The bipod could be attached with a fork back or forward. When mounted back, the firing sector increased (in addition, less space was required at the edge of the trench), when mounted back, stability increased. Lightweight bipods were attached to the connecting ring of the casing on hinges.

The tripod machine for the Lewis light machine gun - the machine was supplied to Russia in small quantities - had two front and one rear legs with coulters and shoes. The legs were attached to the frame on hinges, which made it possible to change the height of the line of fire. The machine gun on the swivel bar was attached with a clamp. For vertical rough pickup there was a mechanism with an arc. Fine aiming was carried out by a screw mechanism that changed the relative position of the bar and arc. Of course, the tripod provided better accuracy, but did not make the Lewis "universal".

The Lewis machine gun was developed in the United States, and the bulk of the Lewis for Russia was also produced there, but in our country this machine gun - thanks to the cartridge and the order issuing the order - was always considered "English". In addition to him, the Russian army was armed with a 37-mm automatic gun McKlena, the main task of which was to fight machine guns.

In the UK, the Lewis machine gun of the 1915 model of the year was equipped with a 47-round magazine in October 1916 and was given the designation Mkl. At the end of the war, it was replaced by the 1923 model. The old Lewis remained in the countries British Commonwealth, modifications with other calibers were supplied to Japan and Estonia. In December 1916, Savage received an order from the US Army for Lewis machine guns chambered for .30-06 Springfield. This order was associated with preparations for the entry of the United States into the war on the side of the Entente. True, in the American army, the Lewis was mainly used as an aircraft machine gun. By 1917, the Savage firm brought the production of Lewis to 400 units per week.

Although the Lewis was very heavy - almost half the weight of the Vickers easel - of all the variety of light machine guns used in the First World War, it turned out to be the most "long-serving". In the mid-20s, he was the only one in Russia that continued to be listed as a service weapon of rifle units. We have these machine guns in our country last time showed themselves in the first months of the Great Patriotic War when they were issued to the militia and new formations. However, at that time, "Lewis" were used by other armies. The last "big war" "Lewis" was the Korean War, but later they surfaced in various parts of the world.

Being the most successful model light machine gun of its time, the Lewis machine gun also became widely known as an aircraft machine gun. On October 11, 1915, General Belyaev, assistant to the Minister of War, wrote: "I think it is necessary ... to order a thousand machine guns for the Lewis company to equip airplanes." That is, the Lewis machine gun was originally purchased by Russia for aviation. General Hermonius on July 14, 1916 reported: “50 Lewis machine guns marked “Aviation” were sent on July 10-23 to the Naval General Staff. In the UK, the aviation modification of the Lewis Mk 2 machine gun was adopted in November 1915 of the year - a month after the land Mkl was adopted (although the Lewis had been used in air battles since 1914). The Mk 2 was distinguished by the presence of a second control handle located in place of the butt, a sleeve-collector bag, a 97-round magazine, a casing and a radiator were shortened on the part of the machine guns, and a flame arrester was installed. In 1918, the radiator was removed - the oncoming air flow in flight cooled the barrel sufficiently. In May 1918, the Lewises began to be converted into the Mk 2 with changes in automation details and an enlarged gas outlet. Automation has been changed to increase the rate of fire. This machine gun, which was produced anew, received the designation Mk 3. When the Lewis aircraft began to be used on the ground in World War II, it turned out that a massive radiator was not really needed for a light machine gun.

The procedure for unloading the Lewis machine gun: Lowering it down, turn on the fuse located on the left above the trigger guard. By pressing the latch located inside the opening of the store to separate it. Remove the cartridge from the receiving window (from under the feed lever) of the receiver. Pull up the fuse to turn it off. By pressing the trigger, smoothly release the bolt carrier from the cocking.

The order of partial disassembly of the machine gun "Lewis":
1. Unload the machine gun.
2. Separate the recoil pad and stock. To do this, press the latch located below the pistol grip and turn the stock 1/8 turn to the left.
3. The trigger box is separated. To do this, press the trigger to push the box back.
4. A box with a reciprocating mainspring and a gear is separated.
5. Separate the receiver cover by sliding it back.
6. Remove the feed lever from the cover. To do this, push the latch of the feed lever forward; turn the lever to the right so that the notch is in position against the protrusion on the glass.
7. Remove the bolt carrier and bolt from the receiver. To do this, pull back the charging handle. Remove the handle from the frame by moving it to the side. Remove bolt and bolt carrier.
8. The shutter is separated from the bolt carrier.

Assembly is carried out in reverse order. When assembling, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that during the attachment of the feed lever, the protrusion of the tail of the bolt enters the curved groove on the feed lever; before attaching the box, the reciprocating mainspring must be preloaded (partially twisted).

Technical characteristics of the Lewis machine gun:
Cartridge - .303 "British" (7.71 * 56);
Weight of weapon without bipod and cartridge - 10.63 kg;
The mass of the equipped magazine is 1.8 kg;
Weapon length - 1280 mm;
Barrel length - 660 mm;
Rifling - 4 right-hand;
The initial speed of the bullet - 747 m / s;
Sighting range - 1850 m;
Rate of fire - 500-600 rounds per minute;
Combat rate of fire - 150 rounds per minute;
Magazine capacity - 47 rounds;
The height of the line of fire on the bipod - 408 mm;
Machine type - tripod;
Machine weight - 11.5 kg;
The vertical guidance angles of the machine gun on the machine - from -62 to +42 degrees;
The horizontal guidance angle of the machine gun on the machine is 360 degrees.

Based on materials: S. Fedoseev - Machine guns in the First World War

Aviation machine gun "Lewis".

Developer: A.Lewis
Country: USA
Year of establishment: 1912

Light machine gun, whose thick black "pipe" on the bipod is familiar to many from films about civil war, was a wonderful weapon for its time. The combination of low weight, simplicity and reliability of the design with the rate of fire ensured its rapid spread in many countries of the world. The machine gun was widely used as an infantry machine gun, but its aviation variants were no less famous.

The creator of the machine gun, Colonel Isaac Newton Lewis (Isaac Newton Lewis) was a leading weapon specialist in the US Army. He was educated at West Point Military Academy, graduating in 1884. In 1911, Lewis became head of the artillery school at Fort Monroe, where he gained worldwide recognition as a specialist in mechanical and electrical engineering. With the approach of the moment of dismissal from the army, the colonel began working as a consultant for the AAC (Automatic Arms Company) in Ohio (pictured is Colonel I. Lewis).

For a number of years, Lewis worked on the creation of a light machine gun, the automation of which was powered by the energy of powder gases. At that time, AAS bought the rights to a machine gun designed by Dr. Samuel McClean. The technical solutions of McClean Lewis used in the development of his machine gun. For the right to produce a machine gun designed by Lewis, AAC gave him a controlling stake and control over production and distribution. Two years later, Lewis created a machine gun with a disc magazine and an air-cooled barrel. Machine gun automation worked on the principle of gas removal. When fired, the gases passed through the hole in the barrel and pressed on the piston. The piston, moving back, turned the gear of the spiral (as in a clock) return spring with a gear rack and thus started it.

At the same time, the stand on the rod turned the bolt and removed its lugs from the annular groove of the bolt box. With further movement of the piston with the shutter, the sleeve was removed from the breech, which was then thrown out by the reflector. The protrusion of the shutter, acting on the feeder, turned the magazine and fed the next cartridge to the receiving window. After the parts moved back, the return spring untwisted and sent the stem with the shutter forward. The shutter captured the next cartridge and sent it to the chamber. The feeder turned to the right and jumped over the next ledge of the store. The rod rack, moving along the slot of the shutter, turned it, the lugs entered the grooves of the box, the firing pin broke the primer and fired the next shot.

One of the problems of any automatic weapon is the intense release of heat during firing. To solve this problem, Lewis came up with an original air cooling system. The barrel of the machine gun was enclosed in an aluminum radiator, covered by a large cylindrical casing.

During firing, the powder gases emitted from the barrel to high speed, pulled air into the casing, which, passing through the channels of the radiator, took away heat from it. But despite the fact that this design cooled the barrel, bursts of more than 20 shots led to its overheating, and it was necessary to take a break. The disc magazine with a capacity of 47 rounds was shot in just six seconds, but it was considered that this was enough, since an empty magazine was easily replaced.

During his service in the US armed forces, Lewis repeatedly went out with his inventions to the command, but did not find understanding. He was aware that the biased attitude of the army authorities towards inventors - "upstarts" was working against him. So Lewis decided to take a different approach.

In College Park, Maryland, there was a "reconnaissance air corps" manned by several Wright biplanes. It was commanded by an old acquaintance of Lewis, Captain De Forrest Chandler. Lewis explained to him his idea for a new weapon and offered to take part in the first aerial tests of a machine gun. Chandler set to work with great enthusiasm. Pilot Lieutenant De Witt Milling was involved in the tests.

Lewis informed interested officers about his project and on June 2, 1912, a wooden biplane took off. Chandler fired a burst at the canvas stretched across the grass in front of the hangar. He shot the rest of the ammunition at a nearby pond. This historic flight was widely reported in the press, but the army command was extremely outraged that Lewis did not even notify him in advance of this event. However, the flight was widely publicized and Lewis was offered to conduct official tests of his machine gun. The tests were successful, but the machine gun was again rejected, since Artillery Directorate has already made a choice in favor of the French Bene-Mercier machine gun, which was in many ways inferior to the Lewis system, in addition to using uncomfortable rigid clip belts. By that time, Lewis had retired from the US Army and moved to Europe.

Lewis' proposal for a demonstration of his machine gun was accepted by a group of Belgian businessmen. The machine gun showed itself on the good side, as a result, an agreement was signed, according to which new company"Armes Automatic Lewis" for the production of Lewis machine guns in Europe. However, the only manufacturer able to offer the necessary production capacity, was the English company Bermingham Small Arms (BSA), with which they signed an agreement. The Burningham plant began preparing production tooling.

With the help of the BSA's public relations department, Lewis arranged for a public display of aerial firing from his machine gun. The show took place at the shooting range in Beasley on November 27, 1913. The plane of the famous pilot Graham White was equipped with an additional seat for the gunner, which was occupied by the Belgian Lieutenant Stellingwerf. Piloted by Marcus Menthon. At the appointed time, the biplane entered the range area at a height of 120 meters, and Stellingwerf opened fire on a 7.5-meter square target. The results of this and subsequent firing confirmed Lewis's claims - an average of 28 hits on the target from each cartridge disc.

BSA received orders for test batches of machine guns from the military departments of England, Belgium, Russia, and a number of other countries. Weapons specialists from Woolwich carried out extensive tests. Despite the problem with overheating of the barrel, the machine gun was generally rated positively and recommended for adoption. In the same year, the machine gun was officially adopted by the Belgian army.

Of great importance in the fate of the machine gun "Lewis" were test aerial firing conducted by the British Royal Air Corps (RFC - Royal Flight Corps) and the Royal Naval Aviation Service (RNAS - Royal Navy Air Service). After them, it became obvious that the Lewis machine gun was one of the best candidates for the role of aviation weapons. However, the British War Office was cautious, and BSA had to start shipping already produced batches of machine guns to Russia and Belgium. Focusing on the prospect of a big war in Europe, the BSA management decided to expand production and ordered new machines in the USA.

Literally on the eve of the war, in June 1914 war ministry and the British Admiralty, as if “waking up”, urgently ordered 10 Lewis machine guns, and two weeks later another 45. Immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, 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 Infantry, which was in service with the Belgian army, brilliantly proved itself in battle (the Germans, faced with this formidable weapon, called it the “rattlesnake”), applications for new machine guns fell like a cornucopia.

It soon became clear that the BSA alone could not cope with the growing wave of orders, so the British, together with the Canadians, ordered 12,000 machine guns from the Savage Arms Company, a large American arms company. By the end of 1915 new production shops in Burningham, they worked at full capacity and the production of Lewis machine guns reached 300 units a week there.

The design of the infantry version of the Lewis machine gun 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 of the Maxim type, which is more convenient when handling a machine gun mounted on a rifle turret. Moreover, in this case, it was not required to rest against the shoulder to parry the recoil.

The massive “pipe” of the radiator casing prevented the shooter from aiming, because the machine gun was subjected to strong pressure due to the large windage air flow. It soon became clear that due to the airflow in flight, the barrel was less prone to overheating than on the ground, and the clumsy casing was abandoned, although the radiator itself remained.

It also turned out that the spent cartridges that flew overboard damaged the fabric covering of the aircraft, and in cars with a rear engine, they also damaged the propeller. In combat units, they began to independently equip machine guns with bags or boxes for collecting cartridges. After receiving an official complaint, BSA began producing cartridge case bags for turret versions of the Lewis machine gun with a capacity of 94 shells. But for an intense battle, the capacity was insufficient and it was increased to 330 shells.

The 47-round double-row disc magazine also turned out to be too small for aerial shooting, since it was very problematic to change it often in thick mittens in a piercing wind. To make life easier for shooters in 1916, they created a new four-row magazine for 97 rounds. The store was equipped with a handle that allowed it to be replaced with one hand.

During the operation of the Lewis machine gun, damage to the gas cylinder under the barrel often occurred. To protect it, the barrel and cylinder were covered with a light metal pipe 2.5 inches (6.25 cm) in diameter. This revision, as well as a number of others, were made by BSA specialists in November 1915. A modified version of the Lewis Mk.II machine gun was put into mass production in the middle of 1916.

The principle of operation of the machine gun did not allow using it with a synchronizer. Consequently, for firing forward, the line of fire had to be directed outside the sweeping zone of the propeller. As a rule, on biplane fighters, the Lewis machine gun was fixed on rack-brackets above the upper wing. At first, replacing magazines in such installations was a dangerous "acrobatic stunt". The pilot had to, unfastening the seat belts and removing his feet from the pedals, stand in the cockpit to his full height, hold the control stick between his legs and in this position remove the empty magazine, and install a fuller one in its place. It is clear that in the conditions of air combat it was simply impossible to engage in such manipulations.

In 1916, for the convenience of replacing stores in England, a special device was created. Its inventor is considered to be Sergeant Foster from the 11th division of the RFC. This installation or "Foster carriage" was an arcuate rail on which a machine gun was attached and along which it could be moved back and down. To replace the store, the pilot unlocked the holder lock on the rail and pulled the machine gun towards him until it stops. In this position, the store was easily changed, and these could be done with one hand, without getting tired from the chair. Such installations were equipped, in particular, with the widespread British RAF SE.5a fighters.

In Russia, at about the same time, a similar installation for the Nieuport fighters, developed by engineer Jordan, appeared. But in it, the machine gun did not descend into the cockpit along the guide, but deviated back on a hinge.

In 1915, the Lewis machine gun became the standard defensive armament of the aircraft of the Royal Air Corps and the Royal Air Force of Great Britain, as well as the French Air Force. The machine gun was also very much appreciated by the German aviators, who willingly removed them from the broken and captured aircraft of the Entente and used them on their machines.

Meanwhile, the Lewis machine gun, like any technique, had its drawbacks. In flight at low temperatures grease often freezes. The gas cylinder required cleaning after every 600 shots, otherwise the piston would jam. There was still the danger of overheating the barrel when firing in long bursts, but in the course of air battles, shooters often forgot about this, which led to weapon failures.

The Royal Naval Air Service used a slightly different version of the Lewis machine gun than the RFC. In many divisions, radiators were removed from machine guns, and a steel casing was installed to protect the gas cylinder. Machine guns modified in this way were successfully operated.

In 1917, RFC specialists concluded that the naval version of the machine gun was much lighter and had less air resistance than the Lewis Mk.II. Improvements of naval specialists, as well as a number of others, which made it possible to reduce the mass of weapons and increase the rate of fire, decided to introduce a new modification of the Lewis Mk III machine gun. This variant is widely used in air force various countries over the next 20 years. Machine guns "Lewis", which were in service in Russian Empire and the United States used the 7.62mm cartridge, while France, Italy and Japan used the standard British 0.303 (7.7mm) cartridge.

Due to the rate of fire increased to 750-850 rounds per minute, the new modification had more frequent failures and accelerated wear of the mechanisms. And the increased flight altitudes exacerbated the problem with freezing grease. As a result, by the beginning of the thirties of the XX century, "Lewis" was already considered obsolete and not sufficiently reliable weapon.

In 1936, it was replaced by the more advanced and reliable Vickers in the British Royal Air Force. But even during the Second World War, Lewis machine guns on anti-aircraft turrets were still often used in British air defense.

The Lewis turret machine guns were usually equipped with conventional ring sights, which were later replaced by ring sights with a vane movable front sight designed by Lieutenant Norman. The vane sight took into account the aircraft's own speed, which made it possible to aim more accurately.

Modification: Lewis Mk.I(II) / Lewis Mk.III
Length, mm: 1280 / 1080
Barrel length, mm: 670 / 610
Caliber, mm: 7.7 or 7.62 / 7.7 or 7.62
Rate of fire, rds / min: 550 / 550-850
Weight, kg: 11.5 / 7.7

Infantry variant of the Lewis machine gun.

A variant of the Lewis machine gun for installation on aircraft is the Lewis 1915.

Aviation machine gun "Lewis" with a magazine for 97 rounds.

Machine gun "Lewis" on the upper wing of the Nieuport N.11 fighter.

The Lewis machine gun mounted on the Morane-Saulnier L.

One of the options for installing Lewis machine guns on the Farman F.40 aircraft.

Machine guns "Lewis" on a Russian plane air fleet Caudron G.IV.

Voisin LA reconnaissance aircraft of the Russian air fleet with a Lewis machine gun.

The pilot reloads the Lewis machine gun.

Machine gun "Lewis" on the gun carriage Foster.

American Isaac Newton Lewis (1858-1931) served as an officer in the US Army. In addition, he was also an inventor, whose work is still used in military industry many countries. In 1911, Lewis improved upon Samuel McLean's original machine gun design and launched a massive marketing campaign for the resulting rifle. She was called " automatic rifle Lewis" and was equipped with a mobile air-cooling system.

Rifle production

Throughout its history, this rifle has been used for defense, for shooting from the air and as a light version of the infantry machine gun. The Lewis rifle continued to be used during the First and Second World Wars. It is curious that the US authorities at first were not interested in the development of Lewis, and this forced him to sell his invention to Europe, where it served in the arsenal of the Belgian army. Belgium began serial production of the machine, then Britain and France became interested in it.

America found itself forced into World War I, and only then did it finally invest in the production of the Lewis rifle. Production was carried out in England, in Birmingham (BSA). The German attack on Belgium was swift, and the Belgian troops were forced to retreat. It was during this fierce battle that the Lewis rifle was used for the first time. By the time the war reached its peak, the Lewis rifle had already found its wide application. It was equipped with observation towers, biplanes and bombers. The war, which, according to experts, should have ended by Christmas 1914, ended up lasting four long years and became one of the bloodiest in history.

Huge front-line territories were entangled in a network of trenches, between which there were round-the-clock skirmishes. Areas not occupied by trenches were under constant crossfire and were called "deserted lands" because it was impossible to survive on them.

firing range

The machine gun played an important role in this war. Wartime practice showed that it was the side that was armed with machine guns that always won. At the same time, aircraft and tanks began to join the machine guns. The firing range and ballistics of rifle cartridges made it possible to keep the enemy at a great distance, preventing him from going on the offensive.

Machine gunners could also be combined into a detachment, where they, mutually covering each other, ensured complete control over enemy positions and shelters. Along with artillery fire, these weapons resulted in huge human casualties. In essence, the Lewis rifle was an automatic firing system equipped with a gas chamber and air cooling. She weighed about 13 kilograms. The machine gun was loaded with a 30-06 Springfield round drum, and its rate of fire was from 500 to 600 rounds per minute. The firing range varied from 800 to 3000 meters.

A distinctive feature of the Lewis machine gun was its casing. It was intended to protect the shooter from contact with the hot barrel and to better purge it with a forced cooling system. This system worked at the expense of spent powder gases and was innovative and very effective for its time. The machine gun, which has forced air cooling, compares favorably with its water-cooled competitors. It did not need to be additionally filled with water and one person could easily handle it (unlike the same Vickers).

By the time America adopted the Lewis machine gun, this weapon had already proven itself in battles around the world. America entered World War I only in 1917. By this time, Lewis already had wide popularity and was used almost everywhere. Especially often, aircraft and biplanes of the allied forces were equipped with this machine gun. There was a serious shortage in the American army firearms. This forced America to buy Lewis machine guns from Britain, and they remained in service with America until the end of World War II, despite the fact that in parallel the Americans also bought the Czech machine gun Bren Light Machine.

Lewis Mark XI SS

At the end of the war, the Lewis was praised for its lethality and ease of use, but the machine gun often jammed and was too heavy. It was also condemned for its extremely inconvenient reloading and relatively complex mechanism, which was difficult to repair in the field. Despite this, it was inexpensive and was used everywhere: on land, in the air, infantry, navy and air force.

By the beginning, the Lewis machine gun had undergone a number of modifications and improvements and was again put into service. In 1942, Britain financed the development of another modification of the Lewis - Lewis Mark XI SS.

It was assumed that this would make it possible to make a full-fledged infantry LMG from the Lewis machine gun for firing from the shoulder. Similar developments were carried out by the Americans.

As a result, a series of Mark assault rifles saw the light, many of which were not successful and never entered service. The latest versions of the Marks were widely used after the war, and structural elements used in this series served as the basis for modern automatic rifles.

The Lewis machine gun continued to be used later - during the Arab-Israeli war (1948-1949), during the Troubles (1960-1998) and during the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995).

The First World War radically changed the views of the military on the methods of warfare. And if at the beginning of its "deaf" defense did not need highly mobile means of supporting infantry, then by the end of the war they became vital. One of them was light machine guns, among which the Lewis machine gun is considered by many experts to be the best.

The technical concept of the new machine gun was developed by Samuel McLean, but only US Army officer Isaac Lewis managed to bring it to a real prototype. He also patented the idea, and the machine gun was named after him - the Lewis light machine gun. However, it did not immediately become “manual”, initially it was a water-cooled easel 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, except for the 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 it in battle.

The machine gun turned out to be very successful, especially in comparison with the weapons of the same type of that time, and was soon adopted by many armies of the world. Moreover, not only its infantry version, but also an aviation modification has become widespread. The latter was distinguished by the absence of a cooling system and a larger cartridge disc. In the linear parts of the armies, the Lewis machine gun served until the beginning of the next big war, in which it was also used, but already in small quantities. Production was completely stopped in 1942.

Machine gun design

The Lewis machine gun operates by removing powder gases. The barrel is locked by turning the bolt, which with its lugs enters the grooves machined on the steel box. The rotation 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 starts with an open bolt, which negatively affects the accuracy of the weapon. Ammunition comes from the original disk, the cartridges in which are arranged in several layers.

Depending on the capacity of the magazine, these layers can be two (47 rounds) or four (97 rounds). There is no supply spring in the store, which radically distinguishes it from other systems. The supply of cartridges occurs due to the rotation of the disk, in which it is driven by automatic machine guns. The rate of fire can be adjusted with a tap on the gas chamber. Reciprocating mainspring - drum type, which allows you to adjust it with a special key.

Machine gun characteristics

The Lewis machine gun fires 7.62 mm rounds at a muzzle velocity of 747 meters per second and a rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute. The effective firing range is 1800 meters. Weight with a disc filled with cartridges, 17.8 kg.

role model

The quality of the new machine gun was appreciated not only by the Entente countries, but also by their opponents. German soldiers nicknamed the 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 them. It must be assumed that the experience of acquaintance with this weapon prompted German designers to create their own version, which we know as the best german machine gun MG-42.