The Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun PDF Author: Neil Grant
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782007938
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
During World War I, the British adopted the US-designed Lewis gun as an infantry weapon, realizing that its light weight and the fact that it could be fired both prone and on the move made it ideal for supporting advances and defending captured trenches. Later adopted by an array of countries from the Netherlands to Japan, the Lewis successfully served as the primary or secondary armament in armoured fighting vehicles and in both ground-based anti-aircraft and aircraft-mounted roles. Although it was superseded by the Bren in British service in 1937, the outbreak of World War II meant that thousands returned to active service, and it played a key role as far afield as Libya, with the Long-Range Desert Group, and the Philippines, with the US Marine Corps. Written by an authority on this iconic light machine gun, this is the fascinating story of the innovative and influential Lewis gun, from the trenches of World War I to the Libyan desert and Pacific islands of World War II and beyond.

The Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun PDF Author: Neil Grant
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782007938
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153

Get Book

Book Description
During World War I, the British adopted the US-designed Lewis gun as an infantry weapon, realizing that its light weight and the fact that it could be fired both prone and on the move made it ideal for supporting advances and defending captured trenches. Later adopted by an array of countries from the Netherlands to Japan, the Lewis successfully served as the primary or secondary armament in armoured fighting vehicles and in both ground-based anti-aircraft and aircraft-mounted roles. Although it was superseded by the Bren in British service in 1937, the outbreak of World War II meant that thousands returned to active service, and it played a key role as far afield as Libya, with the Long-Range Desert Group, and the Philippines, with the US Marine Corps. Written by an authority on this iconic light machine gun, this is the fascinating story of the innovative and influential Lewis gun, from the trenches of World War I to the Libyan desert and Pacific islands of World War II and beyond.

The Belgian Rattlesnake

The Belgian Rattlesnake PDF Author: William McCleave Easterly
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780889352360
Category : Lewis machine gun
Languages : en
Pages : 542

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Book Description


Operation and Tactical Use of the Lewis Automatic Machine Rifle

Operation and Tactical Use of the Lewis Automatic Machine Rifle PDF Author: Isaac Newton Lewis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Lewis machine-gun
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description


The Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun PDF Author: Neil Grant
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781782007913
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
As a lightweight machine gun, the American designed Lewis Gun made a place for itself in World War I & World War II. Although machine guns were widely issued and used during the bloody opening months of World War I, these deadly weapons proved to be too heavy to be tactically mobile. Casting around for existing designs to supplement inadequate stocks of the excellent Vickers gun, the British adopted the US-designed Lewis gun, which had not found favour with the US Army. The British quickly came to realise that while the new weapon was unable to match its heavier cousin in terms of robustness and sustained firepower, its light weight and the fact that it could be fired both prone and on the move made it an ideal weapon both to support advances and defend captured trenches. Serving on the Western Front and across the world, the Lewis gun soon became the core of the British and Dominion infantry section, and was widely adopted by the Germans too; even so, the US Marine Corps found on landing in France that their Lewis guns were replaced by an inferior French weapon, the CSRG 'Chauchat'. Although offering significant advantages over its rivals, such as the Danish Madsen, American BAR and German MG 08/15, the Lewis was not without its faults. Although the distinctive cooling tube proved to be a very effective flash hider and the weapon's 'forced cooling' system and open-bolt design helped to limit overheating, like all fixed-barrel guns it couldn't offer true sustained fire. Its magazine feed system made it easier to carry than rival models employing non-disintegrating fabric belts, which trailed everywhere, picked up water and froze, but the Lewis's open-bottom pan magazine let dirt into the mechanism, and the pans were relatively flimsy. Even so, it won a lasting reputation and became an iconic weapon of World War I. Adopted by an array of countries from the Netherlands to Japan during and after World War I, the Lewis successfully served as the primary or secondary armament in armoured fighting vehicles and in both ground-based anti-aircraft and aircraft-mounted roles, being the first weapon to be used to shoot down an enemy aircraft from an aeroplane - indeed, it was the most important aircraft-mounted machine gun in virtually every air force well into the 1930s. Although it was superseded by the Bren in British service in 1937, the outbreak of World War II meant that thousands returned to active service to counter weapons shortages, and it played a key role as far afield as Libya, with the Long-Range Desert Group, and the Philippines, with the US Marine Corps. Fully illustrated and written by an authority on this iconic weapon, this is the fascinating story of the innovative and influential Lewis gun, from the trenches of World War I to the Libyan desert and Pacific islands of World War II and beyond.

From Babel to Dragomans

From Babel to Dragomans PDF Author: Bernard Lewis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195182537
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
The best-selling author of What Went Wrong brings together four decades of his essays, articles, and other writings on the Middle East, presenting more than fifty pieces that cover such topics as "The Enemies of God," "Can Islam be Secularized?," "What Saddam Wrought," and "Deconstructing Osama and His Evil Appeal." 100,000 first printing.

The Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun PDF Author: J. David Truby
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Lewis machine-gun
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description


Weapons of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Weapons of the Lewis and Clark Expedition PDF Author: James B. Garry
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806188006
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
When Meriwether Lewis began shopping for supplies and firearms to take on the Corps of Discovery’s journey west, his first stop was a federal arsenal. For the following twenty-nine months, from the time the Lewis and Clark expedition left Camp Dubois with a cannon salute in 1804 until it announced its return from the West Coast to St. Louis with a volley in 1806, weapons were a crucial component of the participants’ tool kit. In Weapons of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, historian Jim Garry describes the arms and ammunition the expedition carried and the use and care those weapons received. The Corps of Discovery’s purposes were to explore the Missouri and Columbia river basins, to make scientific observations, and to contact the tribes along the way for both science and diplomacy. Throughout the trek, the travelers used their guns to procure food—they could consume around 350 pounds of meat a day—and to protect themselves from dangerous animals. Firearms were also invaluable in encounters with Indian groups, as guns were one of the most sought-after trade items in the West. As Garry notes, the explorers’ willingness to demonstrate their weapons’ firepower probably kept meetings with some tribes from becoming violent. The mix of arms carried by the expedition extended beyond rifles and muskets to include pistols, knives, espontoons, a cannon, and blunderbusses. Each chapter focuses on one of the major types of weapons and weaves accounts from the expedition journals with the author’s knowledge gained from field-testing the muskets and rifles he describes. Appendices tally the weapons carried and explain how the expedition’s flintlocks worked. Weapons of the Lewis and Clark Expedition integrates original research with a lively narrative. This encyclopedic reference will be invaluable to historians and weaponry aficionados.

With a Machine Gun to Cambrai

With a Machine Gun to Cambrai PDF Author: George Coppard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
The story of trench warfare as experienced by a young volunteer during World War I.

Lewis Gun Mechanism Made Easy

Lewis Gun Mechanism Made Easy PDF Author: C. H. B. Pridham
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781847348159
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
The US-made Lewis gun, with its distinctive circular ammunition drums, replaced the VIckers as the standard British Army machine gun in the First World War. This 1941 reprint of a manual first published in January 1919 shows that the versatile Lewis was still a popular and effective weapon twenty years later. Written by a former Officer-Instructor at the Army s School of Musketry at Hythe in Kent, the booklet describes the correct loading and unloading of the gun; the action of the firing mechanism; the magazine; the action of gases and the cooling system and notes on how to deal with jams and stoppages.

Machine Gun

Machine Gun PDF Author: Anthony Smith
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312934774
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
The machine gun is a uniquely American invention that revolutionized the way in which war was waged. This first look in more than 30 years at its social and historical impact also profiles the inventors responsible for the creation of the weapon. Martin's Press.