I really enjoy the Lewis Gun, and it’s been a long time since I had a chance to put some rounds through one. This particular example is a Savage-made gun marked USN, and I think (but can’t prove) that it is one of a small number purchased in .303 British caliber for the US Marine Corps. It also has the heavy-duty bipod system used by the Marines, which I have never tried before. So, let’s give it a try!
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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9e3UCcU00TQD2hVzKwnLjqCaZ1SFfjhX
I would think that this bipod was ment to go over a sandbag. and the sandbag would be the proper rear “elbow” rest.
This gun could not be fired in any other mode than “in anger” 🙂
Ian attempts this cobra-like position to have job done, but I’d call it highly un-ergonomical. Resulting crew fatigue must have been enormous.
Overall, great gun for its time. Maybe only Hotchkiss 1914 would compare, but that one cannot be fired form hip.
“(…)highly un-ergonomical(…)”
If you need more ergonomic way to fire Lewis machine gun without using bipod then use Fordyce machine gun https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Fordyce_machine_gun
Yeah, great idea, put the COOLING SHROUD on your shoulder. I wonder what happens when the barrel gets hot…
It must be humbling (and surreal) to fire weapons like this, knowing their connections to the past. What a great way to experience history…
Better too tall than too short. Easier to dig in the bipod legs than dig a trench for the shooter.
Thanks for making me double-check my audio settings in the opening slo-mo. 😉
As for ergonomics… as Ian said, this was a dubya-dubya-one weapon. As a support weapon, it wouldn’t have been fired prone. More likely, stepping up to the edge of a trench to fire while standing.
If you can shoot an M-60 standing (which I have done) and hit something, you can shoot a Lewis.
Striking how steady the Lewis is in automatic fire. This must have been very accurate.
I found a document published in 1916 that reported the US made an emergency purchase of 353 Lewis machine rifles in .303 British.
The 353 Lewis guns in .303 British were taken by the USA from a Canadian shipment from the Savage Arms Company. They were tested against the Benet-Mercie. The Lewis guns had fit and finish issues.
And additional document listed 1050 Lewis machine guns,.303 British, produced in 1918.