6 years later and the show is almost identical. A better camera and a nicer table for disassembly, those are about the only changes to the show. I'm quite pleased, usually as a show grows it tends to focus on the lowest common denominator and moves itself towards appealing to idiots - this show has stayed intelligent, unique and interesting and I hope that remains.

@ForgottenWeapons

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

@SuperAWaC

5 жыл бұрын

ian has gotten much better at presenting, as well. not that he was ever bad at it.

@Max-fs5gc

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Olivia Iam John from school

@riansmomragingscreaming1079

5 жыл бұрын

Your number please

@Rigg15

5 жыл бұрын

I concur. Olivia, what is your firearm of choice?

The US rejection of the Lewis was in large part due to political issues and friction between Col. Lewis and the Ordnance Dept. Unfortunately, the government doesn't do weapons procurement any better than it does anything else.

@chrisnelmes7180

4 жыл бұрын

And they adopted the 30.06 chautchaut. And soon after that,more "colorfull" words were used to describe the chautchaut.

@GeorgeHeil-ch3ro

4 жыл бұрын

Indeed. Proud men make poor decisions.

@webbtrekker534

4 жыл бұрын

Actually the US Navy used the gun in a limited fashion. It was mounted on numbers of the early submarines and even used in the early years of WW II by the Navy on landing craft. The only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor, Douglas Munro, was using the Lewis Gun to cover the evacuation of Marines from a Japanese held Island. He was killed saving them. The Lewis gun worked very well.

@roflchiefmcjoflchief1791

4 жыл бұрын

Boom. Roasted.

@barrysmith1202

4 жыл бұрын

quite right,, amazing, l9l4, missing the lewis,, also note l9l4, successful 2 locking lug gas rod,, will the 7 locking lug nonsense ever die out,, billions of successful 2 lug, gas rod small arms

Actually, loading the pans is pretty easy. The gun mechanically rotates the mag as it fires instead of using a spring, so you don't have to hold tension on anything when loading. Just drop the rounds in and rotate the center piece of the pan. With practice, you could probably do a full 47 rounds in about 30 seconds.

@cwnapier67

4 жыл бұрын

Forgotten Weapons yes certainly the Tommy in the trenches would get very efficient at loading these. These guns were a great offensive weapon were the Vickers was a defensive gun, almost used like artillery to pin down the advancing Germans.

@Psiberzerker

3 жыл бұрын

@@cwnapier67 Look who you're talking to. Do you really think that you need to explain this to Ian McCollum? No, you don't.

@austinweeks7498

2 жыл бұрын

@@Psiberzerker don't make ian sound arrogant. He's said in multiple videos that he doesn't know everything and that he's always in a position to learn. Also you have no idea what Ian knows and doesn't know.

@Psiberzerker

2 жыл бұрын

@@austinweeks7498 About the Lewis gun, and the Vickers? He doesn't have to know "Everything." Okay? Nobody knows everything. He knows exactly how effective the Lewis gun is from Project Lightening. He knows how the Vickers gun was used, because that's just fairly common WWI knowledge.

So a while back I was doing some research into my great, great grandfather who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WW1. I remembered being told he'd earned a medal at some point, but the details were vague at best. It took a while, but I managed to uncover the details surrounding his earning of said medal. According to the citation, it was earned during the Battle of Passchendaele. Reportedly, he was an NCO of a Lewis Gun section. At some point during the battle, the majority of his section became casualties and he was 'buried up with his gun' (a Lewis), which I'm assuming was the result of enemy artillery. Somehow, the man managed to get himself and his weapon out of the mud, clean his gun (which after seeing this gun being stripped, seems a monumental achievement in the heat of battle), and got his gun back in action 'in time to operate against hostile troops massing for a counter attack' which, according to the report, 'undoubtedly helped materially in the complete repulse of the counter-attack'. He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions there. Thanks a lot for making this video, Forgotten Weapons. Seeing the disassembly and reassembly of this weapon adds a much greater appreciation for what he and many others endured. Keep up the great work!

@jeffturnbull9661

3 жыл бұрын

Amazing story

My grandfather was a Lewis gunner, AIF 10th Battalion on the western front for 3 years. He often commented about the gun an said the Aussies would fashion tools from spent cartridges and the like as they often would lose their kit. Being of slight build the constant firing ruined his shoulder and suffered somewhat in his old age from the firing of the weapon. I was glad to see the weapon firing and can appreciate his story even more..cheers

@Raygun222

7 жыл бұрын

He was lucky that he didn't get shelled.

@mattcullen6109

6 жыл бұрын

mirimar69 what a privilege it would be to chat to chat to these old guys. i remember chatting to a few old ww1 diggers in primary school

@tatetumbles

6 жыл бұрын

Just to ask, what sidearm did he carry? I have a hard time grasping who in WWI carried sidearms. So far, i think it’s: Gunners (machine gun operators that used LMG’s and rifles), NCO’s, and Pilots. Am i right?

@edwardpaty7420

6 жыл бұрын

+Tate Sayers Officers, MP's, artilleryman, sappers, trench raiding parties, rear echelon personnel, paymaster, later in the more tank Crews carried sidearms

@pshehan1

6 жыл бұрын

My great grandfather was with the 11th battalion. Going to France in a few weeks to visit the old battlefields. The 10th and 11th battalions were at Lagnicourt in April 1917 where my great grandfather and another small group were sent too far forward in the dark and their posts were surrounded when the Gemans attacked from the Hindenburg line. Harry and the three survivors of the five man post surrendered when their ammunition ran out. I can pinpoint the spot in Google earth using the old trench maps. Also where the 10th were.

Thanks for the very thorough tour of the Lewis Light Machine Gun. My grandfather was a Lewis machine gunner in WWI and fought in the Passendale area in Belgium. He was wounded and evacuated in August 1918. He survived the war but was heavily scarred, both physically and mentally. He died aged 92, taking some shrapnel and war stories (that he never told) to his grave. I have, and have transcribed, his war diaries. Unfortunately he does not tell much of his activities, but they make fascinating reading.

This development led to my grandfather losing two fingers on his right hand. As a temporary lieutenant he was ordered to fire a flare from no mans land by a full time commisioned Lieutenant armed with a Lewis gun. The Germans that responded to the flare sustained casualties..this lieutenant was so happy with the outcome he ordered my grandfather to fire a second flare. By now the Germans awaiting something and fired a burst of machine gun ammo and one struck my grandfather removing his fingers and his flare pistol... the next night my grandfather's batman went into no mans land and found the flare pistol which we still have- it doesn't work as a machine gun bullet went through the grip and action...

I love how knowledgeable Ian is about firearms and how much he genuinely cares about the craft of gunsmithing and engineering and history of all of these amazing firearms. Even to this day, Ian has kept the formatting of his content true and accurate. No BS.

@kekwnerd9464

3 жыл бұрын

He never changes

Oh, the Lewis could definitely be overheated - the cooling system just extended how long you could fire before it happened. It was replaced by the Bren because the Bren was better in pretty much every way - lighter, more reliable, cheaper, and more durable. Lewis mags cannot be used on the Bren.

@alexstephens3765

4 жыл бұрын

Without a quick change barrel the volume of fire is limited if the barrel wear is to be reduced. Hence the BREN and M60 etc with changeable barrels.

i absolutely love the Lewis gun in all its awesome steampunk glory. from its distinctive profile to the characteristic sound, everything about it screams industrial era steam and steel.

My Great Grandfather was a Lewis Gunner in WW1, I have his brass LG qualification badge and Leeds Pals cap badge. They were a three man crew until his Officer pinched the third man for his Batman! The two of them had to cart the gun and two chests around until he was wounded by indirect fire. He was one of around 80 out of the whole Battalion that survived, being shot twice and gassed in separate incidents.

My grandfather was a Lewis gunner in the Canadian army. He said when water, even muddy water, wasn't available they'd piss on the shroud if need be.

@achtungcircus

8 жыл бұрын

+Please ask me anything !!!! Urine at 37deg still has lots of heat to absorb before it boils away at 100deg. What's illogical about that? It's about the cooling isn't it?

@montuzuma1

8 жыл бұрын

+Please ask me anything !!!! yeah, pretty stupid comment.

@adammackie6779

7 жыл бұрын

achtungcircus k

@SoFloTransplant

7 жыл бұрын

achtungcircus true, but urine would erode the metals in the weapon, not to mention it would smell awful when hot

@G4r0s

6 жыл бұрын

that is only a problem if you live to see the next day. Which you might not if you don't piss on your machine gun

Used by Stormtroopers in Star Wars (on tatooine). Which makes sense since it was filmed in England.

@gpgpgpgp1000

8 жыл бұрын

Yes, the T-21 Light Repeating Blaster.

@wezmarauder2754

8 жыл бұрын

Severian Wintermute Tatooine was actually filmed in Tunisia, but fair enough the interior scenes were filmed at Pinewood Studios, England. The Lewis has its drum magazines removed, otherwise it's unmistakeable a Lewis the Stormtrooper carries on their way to stop the Millennium Falcon from taking off. In WW2 the Lewis was issued to British home guard units, lighthouse keepers/guards, crews of merchant ships and secondary units serving in areas unlikely to see heavy fighting. By WW2 the Bren had since long replaced the Lewis as the light machine gun equipping British (and Commonwealth) troops. Apparently Lewis guns saw use in the Bosnian Civil War of the 90's but that was probably because there was an arms trade embargo (arguably to prevent the war from getting even worse than it already was) and all kinds of guns were illegally sold by black market arms dealers of the worst kind. Better a Lewis than no gun at all. Old guns from who knows where are probably a lot easier to smuggle into a country too. A lot of the fighting in that war was by local paramilitary groups and they fielded WWI and WWII weapons. Bolt action Mausers, Thompson smg's , MG42's etc.

@gaozhi2007

8 жыл бұрын

Right, yes.

@stuff9680

8 жыл бұрын

+Wez Marauder and a few made it into the hands of the Volksturm since in one of the propaganda film where they are marching in a parade you see one of them carrying one

@gpgpgpgp1000

7 жыл бұрын

There was another one used in the movie which was based on the MG42, most famously the scene where the Milllennium Falcon was on the Death Star and the stormtroopers just finished searching it.

They were still being used by the Afghan mujaheddin against the Soviets in the early 1980s.

@BigBoss-sm9xj

7 жыл бұрын

Haha cool

@asherhockersmith8271

3 жыл бұрын

Afghani folks have always been a force to be reckoned with. Ian had some anecdote about a large british force with modern (for the time) armaments getting beaten back by an Afghan force with muzzle loading Jezails and knowledgf of the area in his vid on a Jezail.

@brianj.841

3 жыл бұрын

GOOD LORD! Just goes to show: it's not the weapon, it's the man.

Thanks for this. My maternal grandfather, Bertram Frederickson, was a Lewis gunner in the Great War, serving in the 14th (Swansea) Battalion of the Welsh Regiment. He was at Mametz Wood (Somme) & at Pilckem Ridge (Third Ypres).

This is really interesting to watch, my great grandfather used one of these to win a Victoria cross in WW1

@user-hd1qx2bd1r

4 жыл бұрын

There was a lot of bravery going on in that War, but you had to do something unusually courageous to win a Victoria Cross, most recipients received them Posthumously.

@MrTurnipThief

4 жыл бұрын

@@user-hd1qx2bd1r He survived and went on to do a variety of courageous acts, by all accounts he was a bit crazy, a good solider but an arse of a father. His medals are currently in the Imperial War Museum London, If you are interested a brief outline of how he got the VC here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Edward_Ryder

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrTurnipThief Unfortunately, in today's world, it's virtually unfathomable for the younger generation to comprehend, even remotely, the actual act required to attain a VC - such as your grandfather's. That's also both unfortunate and fortunate...we don't ever want to be in war situations again.

10 years and still as good as ever!

Yep, the US used them in .30-06, the Dutch used them in 6.5x53R, and at least a couple were made for Russia in 7.62x54R.

The Lewis Gun in 6.5mm was also the Dutch Army's standard LMG in May 1940. They were also in use with KNIL (Dutch East Indies Army) in 6.5mm from the 1920s to the early 1940s. However, I believe the latter were supplemented -- if not being phased out altogether -- by the Danish made Madsen LGM in 6.5mm.

My grandfather trained with these in 1933 when he enlisted with the Royal Welch Fusiliers I have photos of him & his mates sitting relaxing with these in the foreground. its great to see one in action but I hope to shoot one someday.

Just the sheer amount of material and machining needed to make those cooling fins... An engineer's wet dream, a soldiers nightmare.

I'm currently doing the closed captions for a WWI doc about the Royal Flying Corps. They hoisted these things onto those ancient planes, and had to reload it during dogfights with the flight-stick held between your knees. Our grand granddads were crazy, glorious bastards.

@EzraMerr

7 жыл бұрын

Friendly Metroid yeah but that many of the pan magazines not just one , it's very easy to just plane a fully loaded one

@789456456123

6 жыл бұрын

It's so easy you're right ezra, I bet you've done it so many times.

@leerogers6423

6 жыл бұрын

Single seat biplanes had them mounted on the top wing center section allowing a clear field of fire over the propeller. Captain L.A Strange fell out of the cockpit while trying to release a jammed drum. He hung on to the drum which did not release and eventually managed to get his feet back into the cockpit and kick the control column over to right the aircraft and get back in. He was reprimanded by his CO for damaging the seat and instrument panel.

@No1sonuk

5 жыл бұрын

The aircraft ones had no cooling shrouds on the barrel, and they also had 97-round magazines, which are double the height of the infantry 47-round ones.

@Ggb129

5 жыл бұрын

Good thing engineers managed to set up a synchronizer for propellers, along with loading belts into planes.

Water cooling simply makes a gun too heavy to be portable, and tactics from WWII forward put a big emphasis (and rightly so) on mobility.

@colinelliott5629

3 жыл бұрын

That is true, but my father used Vickers regularly; fired continuosly at long range at night to enfilade roads used by the Boche for resupply. The bullets were silent and invisible. Of course the guns were carried in Universal carriers.

I wouldn't say the designers were dumb, they just didn't have the examples of many previous designs to learn from.

@Rustebadge

5 ай бұрын

Correct sir. The "modern and more educated" gun culture is too quick to criticize regarding matter of which they have little understanding.

I always wondered why the Lewis had that massive shroud around the barrel, but never bothered to find out. Thanks for teaching me something once again.

@leneanderthalien

5 жыл бұрын

it's a cooling radiator!

No, Lewis guns were not made in Australia - production was at BSA in the UK and Savage in the US. Some spare parts were made in Australia, but not complete guns.

this was one of the first forgotten weapons i watched ,and now a happy patron supporter.Thank's Ian & Karl..

"This is a gun you would definately not feel unarmed with" Thats the best comment on a gun ive ever heard Ian say

Firing ww1 guns are so last century

@sonofagun4505

7 жыл бұрын

Yung Joc31 joke went right over your head.

@moelordkaito9891

7 жыл бұрын

hahHAHAAAA

@thetrumpetboy1354

7 жыл бұрын

lol nice

@jonneelskamp349

7 жыл бұрын

Dániel Deák shut up it are cool weapons cooler then weapons off this century

@jonneelskamp349

7 жыл бұрын

Mushroom Ketchup q

Ian, pleased to read that your site has been going for so long and continues its popularity as the years roll by. Your knowledge across the whole gamut of singular military weaponry would be above that of your critics. Of course, some critics are generous with their appreciation and point out items that are important to the weapon itself. Overall your narrative is excellent....then on to 'superior' from my perspective. I am a 71-year-old dude who has been around the traps for a damn long time. I appreciate all you do and am impressed with your overall comprehensive knowledge of such a vast range of weaponry across the whole wide world. Old Bill (ex-soldier) from Australia.

My grandfather was a Lewsi Gunner, said the first airplane he ever saw he shot at when it strayed over the British trenches!

I am surprised no commenter mentioned one of the Lewis's greatest distinctions. It was the first gun ever mounted to an aircraft. It was not only mounted to aircraft and can be thanked for the invention of fighter planes, also it was mounted to ships and anything else you can think of. Hard to get dirt up in the rotary feeder mounted to vehicles.

The Lewis is a very important weapon for WW1 as i was the first platoon light automatic support weapon. Up till its introduction in early 1916, the British and Commonwealth Forces only had the big heavy Vickers as its Machine Gun Support as part of the Battalions 'Machine Gun Section'. The Lewis Gun saw the makeup of the Infantry Battalion changed with Lewis Guns assigned to the platoon level and the formation of heavy Machine Gun Battalions.

With a bit of practice/familiarity, I don't think it would take any longer to load than a standard box magazine.

My grandfather used it in the trenches of WW1, he never spoke much about it, fascinating now that I can learn more about it.

You know in with you doing forgotten weapons these weapons are no longer forgotten. I love the work you do here I love guns and anything I can learn about him especially unique old guns!

To some extent. The Lewis pans have a couple advantages over Chauchat mags, namely they are open on the bottom so gravity is always pulling dirt out, and they don't have a spring to get fouled up, since the gun itself turns the pan. They are also not nearly as flimsy as Chauchat mags.

Actually, the Madsen doesn't have any developmental link to the Bren, they both just happen to have top-mounted magazines.

I do miss the old style videos. The new ones are great too but the old Ross rifle test firing intro takes me back to when forgotten weapons first appeared in my feed. Been hooked ever since. Good work Ian.

It's worth noting that the aircraft Lewis gun was basically the same gun without the shrouding on the barrel. The Allied air forces mounted it on the top wing of several makes of biplane scout (ie fighter), and it was also found gracing the rear seat of many two-seaters and larger bombers. A truly useful and famous gun, and thank you for a very informative little film, as ever.

I'm sure there are people out there who can shoot a Lewis from the shoulder effectively, but not very many, and not at a very long range. It was definitely not designed with that method of use in mind.

@nomadmarauder-dw9re

5 ай бұрын

Lee Marvin would give you an argument.

the magazine on this thing is the one thing that always confused me while I was playing BF1. now that I see how the mag works I can now sleep at night

@mcbrodz1663

6 жыл бұрын

Joe S the big ass barrel too

I enjoy watching these older videos, because it makes you realize just how much better Ian has gotten at making them.

My grandfather was commander of a Dutch machinegun post at the Grebbeberg line in the Netherlands in may 1940..It hold back the Germans at least a little while before they got overrun.. He survived though. They operated the lewis gun.. Great video thanks..

My grandfather was a Lewis gunner, never really learned much about in part because of his reluctance to talk about the war and partially because eI never knew just what to ask.

Because up yours, Red Baron.

Those magazines are so iconic

10 years in the future, Ian is now in love with the Lewis gun :) really nice that the quality of sound and video improved, but the content is still amazing and make us learn a lot :)

Ian, you should reupload this video with a higher quality version now that we're in the future.

@craigbrewer433

4 жыл бұрын

They did a colab with another channel on lmg's of the 1st world war. They got really great video of this as well as proving Ian has gotten really good with this weapon system over time.

My Grand father fought in the first war and he went on a Lewis gun course. Watching you reassemble that gun is as close as i have ever been to being on that course with him, a course that took place about 100 years ago......Thankyou

Watching your videos is major fun. You are incredibly erudite and simply smart. Thank you.

After watching this video and the stuff he releases now. It's so clear how much more comfortable Ian is in front of a camera.

After dealing with one of these beasts, getting issued a Bren gun must of seemed like a godsend.

@BadDriversOfAugustaGeorgia

4 жыл бұрын

Arthur Williams Yeah. It must’ve been a big improvement. They could’ve done better. In fact, they should’ve done. I might’ve gone too far with that.

Surprised to see no comments saying BF1 brought me here. Either way I just like how the gun looks.

@Journey_to_who_knows

7 жыл бұрын

Suppressive version , go prone or mount the bipod and it gets zero recoil it becomes a god gun

@hit9819

7 жыл бұрын

+Journey awaits Huh really? Thanks for the tip might have to try it out lol

@hit9819

7 жыл бұрын

+Journey awaits Holy shit balls you weren't lying... I kept getting kills for days. Thanks man!

@DankBurrito420

7 жыл бұрын

Journey awaits That's my favorite variant! I just went 35-8 on St. Quinten's Scar. Definitely the best gun if you play the role correctly

@shatti886

7 жыл бұрын

i became a big fan of lewis gun from BTF 1 :)

When I hear the phrase "gun nerd", I immediately picture Ian. Thanks for what you do guys!

It's kinda beautiful in its own way how the bullets are stored in stages inside the drum.

I've always loved these guns and all of its history. It just seems so controllable, and it would be awesome to see it used in a modern conflict, however rare and obsolete they may be. Some things I never did realize was that it needed so many specialized tools, and that the front sight has to be moved around: two things that don't really sound good for the design of a serious gun... But what can ya' do? Its an awesome gun!

Love these old uploads, still the same interesting material and presentation but with better video and sound these days.

Very cool. Thank you! The Lewis has always piqued my curiosity.

I'm getting addicted to these vids. Keep up the good work, Ian! Always fascinating.

Yes, they were (without the radiators, generally).

Do you know who was Capitao Milhoes from Portugal? he killed 3battalions of germanys in ww1 with this weapon all alone in an trench for three days and survived. There is a portuguese movie that tells the story.

@theotterguy

4 жыл бұрын

Yes,I knew about Anibal Milhais.He did this TWICE,holding down many enemy soldiers and permitting Scots and Portuguese soldiers to retreat.He as a very brave man.In Canada we have corporal Joseph-Thomas Keable of the 22nd Regiment a French-Canadian who died holding back many Germans and being posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.Cheers to Portugal.

Thanks for a great review. Gotta love the history. Would be great for a collection.

Thanks. The Lewis has long been one of my favorite guns. Interesting to see one disassembled.

One thing you forget to realize is that Lewis gunners were a squad of men supporting this firearm. Basically teamwork. Assistant gunners carried chests of drum mags including spare parts, and trained accordingly in case the lead gunner fell. etc... Also the Lewis is well known (for it's time of inception) to have the least amount of stoppages. Field stripping/dis-assembly is negligible as there is no notable source stating that it cost considerable lives lost during the great war due to malfunction. For it's time, It was a great firearm as long as you had some damn good friends nearby. lol Cheers my friends, :)

@TheLuismaBeaTle

6 жыл бұрын

scurvy8686 yeah but it would still be a bitch if you had the impossible bad luck of having to disassemble it during a bombardment

@tatetumbles

6 жыл бұрын

But could it be operated by one man? My answer: duh. But the ammo bearing is an issue for me. Couldn’t you have a haversack or bread bag to carry at least two more magazines?

My dad on LCA'S used a Lewis on D DAY. A Spandau (mg42) opened up from a pill box his flotilla of landing craft emptied their Lewis gun pans into the slit. It didn't fire again Nuf said.

I love watching these older videos, and comparing them to Ian's newer content - the information is there, but you can clearly see that Ian was uncomfortable in front of the camera. Love the channel, Ian!

This thing is a machining nightmare. How they managed to produce so many of these so fast is impressive.

Lewis gun also used by British troops in ww2 in Malaya and Singapore along with Tommy gun and bren gun and Vickers MG.

@Ameritard

8 жыл бұрын

Used by the British until 1953

Nice T-21!

@mrmcscrub9753

6 жыл бұрын

DallinPlays Outdated, the B variant is obviously superior. Only rebel scum would use such a weapon.

@sml2k186

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that. I take good care of my T-21

Thanks, I always wondered about the barrel in the Lewis and you've provided the answer!

Thanks again for sharing your info on the Lewis Machine gun👍🇺🇸

These were used in aviation extensively as well right? Seems noteworthy.

@ForgottenWeapons

9 жыл бұрын

Peter Timowreef Yes, typically as observers' guns.

@ForgottenWeapons

9 жыл бұрын

Forgotten Weapons (or mounted atop the upper wings of biplanes. Since they fire from an open bolt, they aren't particularly conducive to being synchronized.

@petertimowreef9085

9 жыл бұрын

Forgotten Weapons Oh I didn't know that, they're really recognisable. I remember seeing them on top of bi-planes where you could flip the whole gun 90 degrees backwards to reload it. Must've been quite the excersise while flying a soapbox!

@rickansell661

9 жыл бұрын

+Peter Timowreef You are talking about the Foster Mounting, used on the Nieuport 11 and 25 in British service and the SE5a and others. It was also used to fire upward at an angle, shooting an enemy down from below, a favourite tactic of Ace Albert Ball in his SE5a. The Lewis in an Fowler Mounting was used in some WWI Night Fighters as the gun was out of the pilots sight line so he didn't get blinded by the muzzle flash as he did with conventionally mounted weapons.

@hlynnkeith9334

9 жыл бұрын

+Rick Ansell You are correct. Lewis guns were also mounted on RNAS Sopwith Pups. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Pup#/media/File:Dunning_Landing-on_Furious_In_Pup.jpg (Lewis gun clearly visible with barrel pointed through the upper wing cutout. This configuration marks this Pup as a Zeppelin fighter.) Lewis guns were mounted on Home Defence BE12s to make them Zeppelin fighters, too. blog-imgs-26.fc2.com/r/e/c/recipro/be12b02.jpg (a model) William Leefe Robinson brought down the airship SL11 the night of 2-3 September 1916 with a Lewis gun. Some reports say he flew a BE2c, but this is unlikely. A BE12 was little more than a BE2 without the observer, so his airplane may have been misidentified. As I recall, a pair of Lewis guns were often mounted to the top plane of Sopwith Dolphins. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Dolphin#/media/File:Sopdol2.jpg The British tended to mount unsynchronised Lewis guns on the top planes of Nieuport fighters. The French preferred deck-mounted Vickers machine guns. All aircraft mounts did away with the cooling jacket and flash hider.

The national war memorial in Ottawa Canada has a man carrying a Lewis gun

I shot one of those when i was a kid.... WOW!!! I really appreciate hearing the history behind it.

My life may be insignificantly differently than before this pandemic broke out in early January; however, I am still thoroughly enjoying my time rewatching really old videos from you Ian. I've said this many times before, and I'll keep on saying it. Forgotten Weapons and InRangeTV are by far my most watch and most enjoyed sources of content.

as far as i know the SAS used them on their Long Range Patrol Land Rovers and Jeeps because they were so light compared to other light machine guns at the time.

@ForgottenWeapons

8 жыл бұрын

Actually, the LRDG tended to use aircraft machine guns, because they had higher rates of fire. What looks like a Lewis in their photos is usually a Vickers K.

@michealj99gaming95

8 жыл бұрын

where is the springfield rifle

@michealj99gaming95

8 жыл бұрын

AbyssmalAngel what is?

@michealj99gaming95

7 жыл бұрын

The gun in the video is a Lewis LMG not a Vicker

@michealj99gaming95

7 жыл бұрын

A survivor they use both of them on jeeps except the bren

Much respect to the men who had to keep these guns running in the mud of the Western Front trenches.

I just read that WW1 soldiers could disassemble or assemble these Lewis guns in 1 minute with their eyes closed.That is some good training.

There was also a padded canvas sleeve that was laced over the outside of the heat radiator around the barrel to protect the operator when they had to carry or sling a hot weapon. They were also widely used as anti-aircraft guns both in the trenches during WW1 but also during WW2 in both single and dual mount versions. The lrdg and SAS widely used them in dual mounts on their jeeps and Chevrolet trucks in the western desert and after D-day in Europe.

It's like reloading a nerf gun...

@andreizedlav7303

7 жыл бұрын

Loading magazines is always time consuming and there's a reason we moved to using belts for dedicated automatic weapons. Considering the alternative of being issued a rifle at the time I'd say some people would prefer to be issued these and deal with its shortcomings in exchange for a large magazine and automatic fire.

@klausdieter3056

7 жыл бұрын

agreed!

@tatetumbles

6 жыл бұрын

when will Nerf realize we want ammunition that doesn’t fly twelve feet away from the desired target? It corkscrews and randomly deviates, and all of them are the same. I prefer Airsoft.

Also this gun was used in other conflicts including this 1 called the Emu War of Australia when soldiers of Australia went against Emus with this gun and turned really not as simple as once thought.

@dijjmann

7 жыл бұрын

Kelly Chuang Yep, we kicked their ass. Long live the Emu Empire!!!!

@kellychuang8373

7 жыл бұрын

dijjmann Those emus really were a challenge for the Australians.

@imadrifter

5 жыл бұрын

The EMUS won, and took over the whole island. That's why Australians are so weird, cuz it's just an emu in disguise

this just came up in my recommended.... i'm glad your videos have gotten better

I had no idea that gun was so heavy. A nightmare to disassemble and to load.but you're right for what was available is it probably the best choice.

Lewises were also used without the shroud and cooling fins.

@douglasfulmer5483

8 жыл бұрын

+ed l Really? How interesting. Could you share some pictures?

@edl3156

8 жыл бұрын

+Douglas Fulmer Try Google Images.

@wezmarauder2754

7 жыл бұрын

Stop being lazy. You'll need like 10 seconds tops to find out pictures *on your own* - provided you actually find the energy or 10 seconds to spare to do this by yourself. When you've got limitless of information merely seconds away by your fingertips you don't have place making that excuse. Cretin.

@johnjeromson3471

6 жыл бұрын

I think the long range desert group used them mounted on vehicles, also the barrel shrouds had been removed so start your research there perhaps?

didnt they use these in starwars as "blasters"? sure looks like one with that radiator haha

@genericdave8420

10 жыл бұрын

***** The Sterlings are the "standard" blaster but the Lewis does make an appearance too in the First film at least (been a few years since I watched it) MG34 too as well I think.

@isak098

10 жыл бұрын

"T-21 light repeating blaster" is the weapon you're looking for

@mcbrodz1663

6 жыл бұрын

They used a lot of old ww1 guns for blasters

Love seeing all these vintage guns being fired. Can't wait to see your contributions to 16 Days in Berlin!

the Lewis gun was quite an important development as it was used as an LMG to support troops during an assault. I think they weren't the best when it came to reliability or weight, but they were popular because they were so useful. They were so popular you often see photos with Germans using captured guns.

Looks like something out of Star Wars.

@sadaasdafa8635

10 жыл бұрын

Because it is. The Lewis gun was used as a prop in the Star Wars films.

@MathiasWesterlund

10 жыл бұрын

Funny fact. A lot of stuff in starwars was inspired by WW1 and WW2 such as weapons and tactics.

@georgemulford2910

10 жыл бұрын

Mathias Westerlund Yeah - I always imagine the escape from Hoth was based on Dunkirk

@Verdunveteran

10 жыл бұрын

They also used a StG 44, Han Solo had apimped up Mauser C.96 and a lot of Stirling SMG's were used aswell.

@sadaasdafa8635

9 жыл бұрын

The Stormtrooper sniper rifle, I believe, is also a German MG34 Light Machine Gun. That's interesting about the STG44 - I didn't know those were in the movies.

Why is it that movies, tv shows, and video games have the shooter slap the empty magazine off and then place a new one on top and hit it into place?

@Providence83

7 жыл бұрын

It's more satisfying to the viewer than doing it proper.

@mikesoto890

7 жыл бұрын

Bryan Olson They mostly do that with AK's because they have rock-in magazines, it makes the reloading process faster

im doing a project on the lewis gun for my history class and this video helped out alot thanks

This was 9 years ago? You’ve hardly aged and the content has the same high quality, really considering subbing on Patreon

@harrisonrawlinson5650

3 жыл бұрын

When I say ‘hardly aged’ I really mean, you look exactly the same

Great for killing ghouls in Fallout 4.

feel like i should unsubscribe from you, I spend way too much time watching your videos even though i've already watched them a few times.

Great video - very interesting to see how the Lewis slotted together. Thanks!

This gun was used by the BEF at the start of WW2 which caused my grandfather to be a POW. He was too old to be in the BEF but he was a master Lewis gunner so he was still sent. As he was a master gunner they decided that he should be part of the rear guard at Dunkirk and after he ran out of ammunition he was captured (thankfully not by the SS who did kill prisoners) and ended up at STALAG XXA in Poland, was on the march of death and thankfully survived the war but because of his treatment and ill health he did not live to a great age.

I'll take 1 lewis gun over 1000 Chauchats

@leneanderthalien

9 жыл бұрын

The Chauchat had as only advantage: he's very low afford price and relative low weight (4 kg less as the Lewis~same weight as the 1918 BAR)

@nutnfan1

9 жыл бұрын

leneanderthalien Just the fact that is rarely finished 1 magazine without a jam makes me hate it.

@leneanderthalien

9 жыл бұрын

nutnfan1 Yes the Chauchat was absolutly not adapted to trenches combat: work only godd if perfectly clean and oiled...the hate from the Chauchat push the americans to make they excellent BAR :-))) Anothe prroblem was that the 8mm Lebel cartige specific designed for the lebel rifle, was not adapted to a automatic weapon (work only good on the Hotchkiss machine gun with rigid stripes) But the BAR come on service only a 2 last months of WW1...too late...

@sirorlandodecorsica6210

9 жыл бұрын

So your willing to pay 1000 chaucat money for a lewis?

@leneanderthalien

9 жыл бұрын

Sir Orlando De Corsica The Lewis was better but not the best because the magazine was sensible to dirt and very long to reload, so, i give 2 Chauchat for 1 Lewis but not more...The Chauchat work not so bad with the original 8mm Lebel ammunition, but the rechambered 0.303 US version jam much more. But the 8mm Lebel mod. 1886 was unadapted to automatic weapons because was very conical (designed for the tube magazine from the Lebel rifle), this explain the curious half circle magazine from the 1915Chauchat.The Lebel ammo work only good in the Hotchkiss machine guns fitted with straight rigid stipes ... In France, was the Chauchat fast replaced after 1918, first temporary from some 1918BAR, later from the excellent MAC 24/29 light machine gun in the new French standard rifle caliber 7.5 x 54mm , who work so reliable that was use up to 60'...was progressive replaced after the 60' from the AA52 machine gun, but this machine gun was not realy a SAW because was heawyer and only use on tripod...The French tactic from the 60-80 not realy include a Squad Automatic Weapon (binome with Mat 49+MAS 49-56), the AA52 for ex. was heawy (10kg empty) and only use on tripod...only after the 90' was include the FN "mini mini" , a FN Herstall M249 French style in 5.56 and 7.62 nato caliber...

I can see why the US military didn't want this weapon...

@Briselance

9 жыл бұрын

Paul Driftmier Why? Wasn't it a good one? Maybe less practical than the BAR 1918, though.

@dbergerac

9 жыл бұрын

Paul Driftmier Perhaps you'll tell us why they preferred the chauchat over this.

@Briselance

9 жыл бұрын

dbergerac Why they preferred the Chauchat? But ... who are "they"? The French or the Americans? The French? Well, the Chauchat wasn't always such a bad weapon. Or so I've heard, at least. Plus, it was French-designed, so it might have pressured - unduly, maybe - them to accept this weapon into service. Now, if you mean the Americans, well ... they made a mistake. The Chauchat was never designed to use the .30-06 ammunition. It could have, but not with so little modification to the weapon. The Chauchat would have necessitated to be really redesigned. Plus, The US arrived in 1917 in Europe. So the BAR M1918 wasn't already available. Whence their choice of the Chauchat. (Lewis gun would have been better, imho, but well.)

@dbergerac

9 жыл бұрын

Briseur De Lance I cannot understand how anyone could think that I would question the French choosing between the chauchat and a gun that they did not have.

@andrewphillips8341

9 жыл бұрын

dbergerac the original comment was why the Americans didn't want this machine gunIt was a bad decision and they ended up with the bad Chauchat

My grandfather used one of these on a m.t.b. during ww2 . His favourite stories were about stealing large amounts of jam .

My dad was a Lewis gunner in India north west frontier with the British army in the 1930s but when ww2 started and he was with the BEF they changed over to the Bren , in India they also had a mule to do all the heavy carrying, his biggest complaint was his mule was shot and killed by one of the hill tribesmen they were fighting.