World War I radically changed viewsmilitary on the methods of warfare. And if, at its beginning, “deaf” defense did not need highly mobile means of infantry support, by the end of the war they had become vital. One of them were light machine guns, among which many experts consider the Lewis machine gun to be the best.
History of creation
The technical concept of the new machine gun developedSamuel McLean, but only the US Army officer, Isaac Lewis, was able to bring it to a real prototype. He also patented the idea, and the machine gun got his name - Lewis's machine gun. However, it didn’t 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 allowed it to be made manual (by the way, this system is nowhere else than the Russian machine gun "Pecheneg" was not used). Weapons production was carried out at the BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) factories in the United Kingdom. The first army, which entered the machine gun Lewis, was the army of Belgium (1913). She first experienced it in battle.
Пулемет оказался весьма удачным, особенно в comparison with weapons of the same type at that time, and was soon adopted by many armies in the world. Moreover, not only his infantry version, but also an aircraft modification, became widespread. The latter was distinguished by the absence of a cooling system and a larger capacity cartridge disk. In the linear parts of the army Lewis machine gun served until the beginning of the next major war, which also used, but in small quantities. Production completely stopped in 1942.
Machine gun design
Lewis's machine gun works by withdrawingpowder gases. The barrel is locked by turning the bolt, which enters into its grooves, machined on a steel box, with its lugs. The rotation itself is carried out due to the curvilinear groove on the gate and the base of the gate frame rack. Only automatic fire from a machine gun is allowed. Shooting begins with an open shutter, which negatively affects the accuracy of the weapon. The power supply comes from the original disc, the cartridges in which are arranged in several layers.
Depending on the capacity of the store these layersthere may be two (47 rounds) or four (97 rounds). There is no supply spring in the store, which cardinally distinguishes it from other systems. Submission of ammunition occurs due to the rotation of the disk, in which it is brought automatic machine guns. The rate of fire can be adjusted by a valve on the gas chamber. Return-combat spring - drum type, which allows you to adjust it with a special key.
Characteristics of the machine gun
Lewis machine gun firing 7.62 mm bullets with an initial speed of 747 meters per second and a rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute. The effective range of 1,800 meters. Weight with a disc filled with cartridges, 17.8 kg.
A role model
Качества нового пулемета оценили не только страны Entente, but also their opponents. German soldiers called the machine gun Lewis a “rattlesnake”. This nickname he received for high mobility, secrecy and characteristic "voice". The captured machine guns were reworked by the Germans under the Mauser cartridge and actively used. 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 machine gun MG-42.
