The Lewis Gun - In The Movies
2022 ж. 25 Қаң.
3 533 600 Рет қаралды
A commentary on The Lewis Gun as featured in many popular war movies.
More War Movie Content: / johnnyjohnsonesq
Request a review: johnnyjohnsonreviews@gmail.com
Movies featured:
Journey’s End 2018
Peaky Blinder 2013
Sucker Punch 2011
Passchendaele - 2009
Red Baron 2008
The Wind That Shakes the Barley 2006
Flyboys 2006
Kokoda 2006
King Kong 2005
Pearl Harbor 2001
Jin-Roh 1999
The Mummy 1999
The Trench 1999
Legionnaire 1998
Michael Collins 1996
Sahara 1995
Richard III 1995
Porco Rosso 1992
The Light Horsemen 1987
Anzacs 1985
Starwars IV 1977
The Eagle Has Landed 1976
Dillinger 1973
The Sand Pebbles 1966
633 Squadron 1964
#guns #ww1
The M1 "Garand" kzhead.info/sun/iZeChpuvqmeweYU/bejne.html
Most of the extra weight for the Vickers came from the water Stroud & tank with extra water as well as much heavier more accurate tripod of 18IB Why the Vickers was a more permanent emplaced machine gun but had far better evaporative cooling system though not as Iconic looking as the Lewis, it was reliable though built like a brick. Vickers canvas belt feed took a lot more ammunition then the Lewis magazine. 98 compared to the minimum standard 250 fabric belt in the standard munition box. Mind the Vickers machine gun was made in 1896 as opposed to the Lewis in 1913 making it far more impressive personally when you consider the age.
The British didn't adopt the Lewis gun in the manner you describe. They used the Lewis as Light role for frog hoping & the Vickers remained though later replaced by the 1919 browning for the medium emplacement role. Too compare the 2 is a bit of ill oversight as they may both be machine guns but outside of that where for completely different roles.
@@arnijulian6241 Yes that's right. I do appreciate you adding this for some clarification.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Your welcome, good video overall though I can tell you are likely a yank. They Tend to know little of British doctrine & presume it to be the same. We do adopt a fair few customs from the states if they prove beneficial along with the globe concerning doctrine. Look at how much Nepal has influenced our doctrine for such a obscure land locked relatively isolated nation for perspective. Britain tend to take the new but keep the old as a rule of thumb, we don't like to be caught out if we can help it!
@@arnijulian6241 I was born in Somerset but raised mostly in Canada. Moved back to England as a teenager and did three years in the Territorials while laying brick in Bristol. My Canadian accent is thick though. I hope to make future videos a bit more detailed so I can expand on the things you mentioned. Sometimes it's just a time and resources issue for me.
The best Lewis gun story ever is what happened to Louis Strange, a pilot in WW1. While standing up to change the pan on his wing mounted Lewis he accidentally kicked the controls causing the plane to loop, he fell out of the now upside down plane but was dangling holding on to the Lewis pan with both hands. He managed to get his feet back into the cockpit and kick the controls to right the plane and tumble back in only now about 500ft above the ground. Upon landing he was charged with causing unneccessary damage to his aircraft, but the inquiry concluded that the Squadron had 'been fortunate in its personnel'
Was he Chaplin or Stan & Oliver? Ha-ha!
@@anderstopansson neither, got to be Buster Keaton!
@@bobdiluted6243 k. Ha-ha!
Failed successfully
@@JnnyUtah35 and made many people feel better....
The Lewis Gun (specifically the Aircraft variant w/out the barrel shroud) was also used in the 1983 Tom Selleck film *High Road to China* -- both mounted on top of biplanes, and detached from said mount.
The barrel shroud was useless, all that extra weight never did shit to aid cooling.
And it looks good in star wars.
So funny - when I saw the title for this clip, my first thought was "I wonder if they'll mention High Road to China?".
First movie i thought about too. Really liked that movie….
@@andershansen9517 I forgot about HIgh Road to China as the Lewis gun was mentioned by the main character, one of the few things I remember about the movie.
Fun Fact: The reason the U.S Army never officially adopted the Lewis gun may had to do with the fact that General William Crozier of the Ordnance department detested U.S Army colonel Isaac Newton Lewis and his gun. So when the U.S officially joined in WW1, many units had their Lewis guns taken away and replaced with the "brilliant" Chauchat.
... may have* to do ...
There were 250,000 Chauchats manufactured during WWI making it *by far* the most mass produced automatic weapon of the war. It wasn't a question of "replaced" as much as *equipped* because light machine guns were virtually non-existent in the US Army at that point. Among other things. Since the US industry was unprepared for the war there was no time to manufacture arms for the troops being shipped over. The solution? The U.S troops used French artillery pieces (the famous 75mm), tanks (Patton commanded a battalion of Renault FT-17's), planes (Nieuports and Spads) and light machine guns. Again we're not talking Lewis vs Chauchat here we're talking Springfield bolt-action vs Chauchat here, and in some cases even the Springfield was in short supply. Some doughboys arriving in France had to use British Lee-Enfields. Btw, the lack of war equipment was the reason Roosevelt geared up the industry for war in 1940 already knowing a war was coming... Wilson did *not* have the same foresight in 1917. But Roosevelt was certain not to repeat Wilson's mistake. It bears noting that even with Roosevelt's efforts M1 Garands and other things were in short supply when the US entered WWII in 1941. No replacing here, only *equipping* . The Chauchat may not have been the best light machine gun (though it was 10 pounds lighter than the Lewis and *could* be fired from the hip) in the war BUT what the American troops received was the M1918 version *hastily rechambered to take the .30-06 Springfield round used by the Americans rather than the 8x50mm Lebel the weapon had been designed to fire. The M1918 version was indeed prone to getting jammed and it was *this version* which earned the weapon a false reputation *which wasn't the case neither with French machine gunners nor American equivalents carrying the CSRG-1915 version.* Most American doughboys got rid of the M1918 and replaced it with the French CSRG-1915 version which fired lebel rounds. Since plenty of them were around and the French gladly traded them this wasn't an issue. Here's an article from Americanrifleman which dispels many of the myths surrounding this weapon - above all putting it in a *contemporary light* from a time when automatic weapons were still a novelty mostly used for stationary positions and defensive warfare. www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-chauchat-light-machine-gun-not-really-one-of-the-worst-guns-ever/ Here are two interesting stories in which American soldiers made really good use of it in combat: Pvt. Frank J. Bart C Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division Pvt. Bart, being on duty as a company runner, when the advance was held up by machine-gun fire, voluntarily picked up an automatic rifle, ran out ahead of the line, and silenced a hostile machine-gun nest, killing the German gunners. The advance then continued, and when it was again hindered shortly afterward by another machine-gun nest, this courageous soldier repeated his bold exploit by putting the second machine gun out of action. Pvt. Thomas C. Neibaur M Company, 167th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division On the afternoon of 16 October 1918, when the Cote-de-Chatillion had just been gained after bitter fighting and the summit of that strong bulwark in the Kriemhilde Stellung was being organized, Pvt. Neibaur was sent out on patrol with his automatic rifle squad to enfilade enemy machine-gun nests. As he gained the ridge, he set up his automatic rifle and was directly thereafter wounded in both legs by fire from a hostile machine gun on his flank. The advance wave of the enemy troops, counterattacking, had about gained the ridge, and although practically cut off and surrounded, the remainder of his detachment being killed or wounded, this gallant soldier kept his automatic rifle in operation to such effect that by his own efforts and by fire from the skirmish line of his company, at least 100 yards in his rear, the attack was checked. The enemy wave being halted and lying prone, four of the enemy attacked Pvt. Neibaur at close quarters. These he killed. He then moved alone among the enemy lying on the ground about him, in the midst of the fire from his own lines, and by coolness and gallantry captured 11 prisoners at the point of his pistol and, although painfully wounded, brought them back to our lines. The counterattack in full force was arrested to a large extent by the single efforts of this soldier, whose heroic exploits took place against the skyline in full view of his entire battalion. In fact, three U.S. Army soldiers earned the Medal of Honor during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive using the Chauchat-Pvt. Frank J. Bart from C Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Pvt. Thomas C. Neibaur from M Company, 167th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division, and Pvt. Nels T. Wold from I Company, 138th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division. Last of all. What killed a large number of American troops in France in the early months of their entry was General Pershing's insistence of beating the Germans the same way he had "hunted Pancho Villa" in Mexico. Apparently the manual he used was barely changed from the Civil War. Pershing also wanted a "quick victory" and was certain he could break the German lines when the allies had failed to do so for almost four years by this point. As for the Browning Automatic Rifle. Pershing held back that one as well with the fear any captured example might be copied by the Germans. He planned on equipping them for the planned 1919 offensive. ...
turns out a gun doesn't work properly when you load it with 30.06 when it's built for 8mm lebel
@@Sweatykeyboard one of the main reasons why the Chauchat has a bad reputation and a classic example of improper recalibration
Of fucking course the dickhead in the DoD commit treason lol
A really interesting story about the Lewis gun is even though the gun was built and sold to multiple nations during world war one the American army never used them in large numbers and the Lewis was never adopted as a standard infantry weapon for American troops. The story goes that US Army colonel Isaac Newton Lewis had sent his new invention to the US Army for trials multiple times but was rejected by the chief of ordnance general William Crozier. Because of its rejection the US Army didn't have a light machine gun during the first world war and had to rely on the French Chauchat which was a terrible weapon. It wasn't until the Browning BAR was adopted that American soldiers finally had a light machine gun for service.
Why they even rejected it in the first place
USMC used Lewis guns
Bit of an anecdote about the Chauchat, though, was that while certainly flawed its problems were drastically overstated by rumors and inexperience among expedition soldiers. The U.S. forces trained with a poorly-converted Chauchat rechambered for 30-06, the M1918 CSRG, which had improperly reamed chambers, among other issues. The guns did not work at all. These men trained with them before they went into combat, but were given M1915 CSRG Chauchat's chambered for 8mm Lebel (the weapon's native caliber) which performed much better. A lot of the "knowledge" deriding the Chauchat stem from the 30-06 model made for U.S. troops.
@@HomicideJack187 The magazines on the 8mm model had a tendency to clog up and were incredibly flimsy. Some of the worst mags I've seen.
@@huntclanhunt9697 Absolutely, I did say it was flawed. However, many of its problems were drastically overhyped. Especially with improper use, like when many WW1 US soldiers tended to use the weapon as a stand-in for a heavier machine gun once they captured a trench and suffered a subsequent counterattack. When you dump about 200 rounds out of it within a few minutes its aluminum barrel sleeve seizes up, so soldiers would often experience stoppages due to misuse.
Great video as always. One of the greatest heroes of World War One was the Portuguese soldier Aníbal Milhais, nicknamed "Soldado Milhões" as being worth millions by holding the advance of two German regiments with his Lewis Gun during the Offensive Georgette on April 9, 1918. His continuous firing for allowed for the Portuguese and Scots to retreat safely. The Germans were forced to maneuver around his position and Milhais was isolated behind enemy lines for three days, where he found and saved a Scottish major and brought him back to Allied lines safely. A few months later, Milhais once again held back a German assault single-handed with his Lewis gun, allowing a Belgian unit to retreat safely to a secondary trench without casualties. Aníbal Milhais was awarded the highest Portuguese distinction - the Order of the Tower and Sword - and the French Légion d'Honneur, delivered on the battlefield before 15,000 Allied soldiers. On July 15, 1918, the Order of Service of the Battalion published a commendation, given by Major Ferreira do Amaral, which described his action as having been worth a million men, hence the nickname by which he became known: "Soldier Millions".
I am deeply grateful for this glimpse into Portugal's contributions during the Great War. Milhais' bravery should not be overlooked, nor should that of the Portuguese. They undertook extremely hazardous duty in conducting night infiltration raids and acquitted themselves despite a difficult situation.
The B.A.R did reach the front in ww1 it was part of the Argonne offensive Lt Val Browning took it into combat.
You are right it did catch some very limited use my mistake there.
5 German soldiers walk into a BAR It was a Browning experience. 😅😅
It was used by marines in late 1917
Meh, BAR is just a big rifle with smol magazine
Though true. Doctrinal use of the BAR at the time treated it as a Rifle+ rather than as an MG. WW2 yes absolutely it was used as an MG (though not a particularly good one).
Isaac Newton Lewis also worked with Browning on the 1911 and John Thompson on the Thompson Submachine gun Truly a underrated Weapons designer
Pretty great weapon for the first light machine gun
Minus is jamming problems,
That would be the Madsen my friend.
@@phillipschouw2462 ik I forgot about it lol
Check your history facts bubba.
@@badassgregory boring
There's a picture of a Doughboy manning a Lewis gun during the US intervention in the Russian Civil War in 1919 and is one of the more famous photos from one of the expeditions launched. So, while it may not have been adopted, a handful found their way into Army hands. Also, the BAR did see frontline service with the AEF. "With Their Bare Hands" about the Battle of Montfaucon details at least one use of a BAR (unsuccessfully for the Doughboy using it, unfortunately) and even has a picture of one being carried by a Doughboy as the title cover. So, it was used by at least one division in at least one Battle of WWI.
You're right the BAR did see some limited use at the end of WW1 so I do apologize. Also appreciate all the added info! 🙏
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq to be honest, I didn't know it did either until I read (part) of "With Their Bare Hands". It was good for that but the rest of the book isn't very good in my opinion.
It's weird that so many of our weapons have ended up in a galaxy far, far away. There must be some really impressive smuggling operations going on!
Not just smuggling but also time traveling. They had to travel back to a long, long time ago and that's when the shipping starts.
@@TheRealFocalors Or perhaps the weapons were smuggled to Earth, but because we don't have the specific resource needed for converting gas into blaster bolts on our planet, we ended up incorporating the standard firearm mechanism so we can use bullets.
@@akotarakzWe just need to get in contact with the people of Coruscant or some other planet and trade with them for resources. The problem is finding something on Earth that they don't have that they need. Or at least something that they have but are running out of that can be found on Earth. It'll be great for all our militaries and the economy.
In the first Han Solo novel from 1979 "Han Solo at Star End" by Brian Daley, in the first chapter he is smugling slug throwers (Guns using bullits) So yeah, maybe some of them might have been the odd Lewis gun 😄
They usually go for German arms in galaxies far far away. I can think off just a couple of allied designs. One of the post war.
2:45 The point of the shroud was not visual, but to use the muzzle blast to suck air into the shroud (almost like a venturi, but not the same mechanism). As the blast radiated outwards from the muzzle, it would fill the shroud (this is why the shroud is smaller near the muzzle). With its forward momentum, the blast would keep going away from the shooter and create low pressure like a syringe. This would pull cool air past the fins running down the length of the barrel. Machine guns in ww1 were either water cooled with big water jackets, water seals that could leak, and large (read: heavy) amounts of water that can run out, or they were air cooled with fins that were prone to overheating compared to water cooled designs (think Type 3 or the Hotchkiss). Lewis' invention was quite smart. He realized that the blast energy coming from a gun's muzzle was quite significant and normally wasted, so he sought to use it. Unlike other air cooled designs, which passively radiated the heat away through convection and radiation, the Lewis gun actively pulled cool air through its long radiator fins every time it was fired, all without any mechanical complexity that could jam or be easily clogged by mud (I recall a Forgotten Weapons video on an infantry rifle that used a recoiling bolt to rotate a fan or impeller with a rack and pinion system to cool the rifle. I think it goes without saying why this is not an ideal mechanism for war). This is why the aircraft variants had no shroud, the moving air was provided by the movement of the plane (I also imagine that they had no fins because the air was moving much faster and was constantly moving). It was great for a "walking-fire" or light machine gun, as it could be more mobile than guns like the Maxim gun, but water cooling (which is better than even Lewis' system), combined with the addition of a belt system, made the Maxim and its derivatives much better for defensive, sentry positions, which is what doctrine preferred at the time, if I'm not mistaken, which is why the Lewis was not as popular.
The only time I encountered a Lewis on the firing line was at a machine gun shoot in New Hampshire. It functioned more like a single shot, jamming on nearly every round. Given its age and the unknown abilities of its owner, I did not judge the gun too harshly.
Sadly I have to limit my Star Wars use. I love Star Wars but Star Wars copyright strikes are a powerful force. Also very excellent additional information as always.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq No doubt the work of Darth Vader and his damned Sith Lord George Lucas.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Love this channel! I have a request, could you do the Spencer rifle, in the movies?
Probably running old surplus .303 ammo from WW2. Depending on manufacturer, date, and how it had been stored the ammo could have gone bad, leading to bad powder and corroded primers kzhead.info/sun/ZtF9eNdsn35rgIE/bejne.html Watch the first couple minutes of this video from Forgotten Weapons, he shows exactly what I'm talking about with the Lewis gun
@@buckberthod5007 Would be cool to get an original Lewis from the 1910s, though I'll likely never even see one in person.
Lewis gun has a certain romance to it. Great opening with the scene from 'The Lighthorsemen'
By 1917 the Canadian Army reorganized their platoons, creating 10 man sections, each equipped with 1-2 Lewis Guns for firepower at the point of capturing enemy trenches. At the beginning of the war, 2 Canadian industrialists bought a lot of Vickers heavy machine guns to donate to the Army. They had so many they took to using them as barrage weapons for the first time to keep the enemy pinned down and not returning fire.
The pan magazine: “I’ll try spinning, that’s a good trick!”
My grandfather was a Lewis gunner in WW1. Won his Military Medal firing it (after two of his team were wounded) in 1916, north of Ypres, aged 19.
The US Lewis Gun remained in production until late in WWII. There are photos from 1944 showing them on landing craft such as LCVPs and LCPs.
Have watched "The Eagle has Landed" many times but never spotted the FG-42 in it before. Good detail as they were a Fallschirmjaegeren unit.
Yah only recently noticed. It's a nice little detail.
yeah when I was a kid I didnt even know fg42 existed so didnt catch it then, but a recent rewatching made me realize that during the trainyard scene as Steiners men draw their weapons you can count at least 9 fg42's, possibly more but the other men in the back are mostly blocked from view. Interestingly they all seem to be using modified mg13 magazines. Would be interested to know if these were real fgs or replicas.
@@Ponen77 Even 9 FG42 replicas at the same spot are rare... 😄
@@M0butu You know what...now that you put it that way, yeah thats also very true ..😄
In "Dad's Army" there are also several members who walk around with it. Nice that the STUGS and Michael Caine made it, pluses for Johnny's channel!
Was also the main weapon for RN Commandos during WWII (1942-45) when landing on beaches to protect their beach master.
The Lewis Gun was also used by Lt. Adnan Saidi during the Battle of Pasir Panjang, where he used it to mow down charging Imperial Japanese Army
I have seen this gun used by Gurkha troops to kill Indian freedom fighters in the movie Chittagong. Actually thinking about it, Lewis was almost always portrayed as a "bad guy gun" in many Indian movies, carried mainly by British soldiers or policemen.
I never considered that. Thanks for this perspective!
when you put it like that, i wonder what's the indian good guy gun?
@@AremStefaniaK Beretta and Lee Enfield mainly
@@dragonstormdipro1013 kinda ironic though, the Beretta and Lee-Enfield styled firearms were used primarily by Sepoys, so there really is no true good guy gun
@@AremStefaniaK INSAS, I guess.
When I saw it in "Peaky Blinders" in that faceoff scene all I could hear in my head was "it's me Bren gun." Great job, Johnny, good info well presented plus your usual array of great clips.
It's me Bren gun, probably one of my favorite lines in movie history.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Decades ago I was at an outdoor shooting range and a guy arrived with a HUGE rifle bag. Shooters can be a nosy bunch, so many of us found a reason to mill around near his lane when cease fire was called. The bag disgorged a Barrett. There were hushed whispers and then someone bellowed out "YOU MUST PUT IT ON A TRIPOD!" in his best German accent. Most everyone, including the rifle guy, busted up laughing. I also used to hear "It shoots through sch**ls" from Johnny Dangerously when people brought 8"+ revolvers, but that line isn't funny anymore. Perhaps you could do a clip show of gun quotes/lines. "Soviet Podbyrin 9.2 millimeter is world's most powerful handgun." =)
I really must get round to watching this...
@@eamonnclabby7067 Both "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "The Wild Bunch" are *absolute* must-see films.
Slow motion scene of magically appearing hippie chick
I love these short videos on gun and vehicles but I also love the fact my war movie watch list is enormous now, so many films I didn't know existed
Anibal Milhais held off German soldiers in ww1 to allow time for his comrades to retreat. Strong Portugese soldier. 💪💪🔥🔥 Strong work. Johnny
Thanks man. And thanks for sharing the feats of a real person behind the firearm.
Yeah read about that Portuguese bloke. Bloody tough man indeed.
Australian movie " Kokoda" has a battle scene with this gun. As basically, this was Australia's last line of defence in PNG. Against the Japanese.
Absolutely well said.
Considering that that the AIF in North Africa got all the modern equipment (Brens, etc), it was only natural that the militia battalions remained equipped with older weapons. They were even organised along the WW1 lines. Not to mention that some of the ideas on jungle warfare were unhelpful, so the 39th battalion did not take Vickers mgs or mortars to Kokoda, nor did they have artillery support, so the heaviest weapons were the Lewis gun and the hand grenade. Of course improvements were made as time went on an the Lewis was retired
@@stevekazenwadel5423 Good on you mate. More Australians should know their history. Fills ya with pride but equally breaks ya heart. The 39th militia btn. Certainly not coco's. Poor bloody Arnold Potts. Shameful what they did to him. Taking nothing away from Ralph Honner, brilliant bloke.
Such a pity the movie Kokoda was a shocker. Didn’t do an ounce of justice to the diggers of the 39th Battalion. I hope they do a remake that’s a reality based telling of their story worthy of their deeds and good cinema as well. The film was a real missed opportunity.
@@wattlebough So good to read your comment. I have to agree. 39th militia btn certainly not choco's . Clearly know your history.
The Lewis gun shows up in the ww2 home guard comedy "Dads Army" in the UK quite regularly and in one episode they loose the butterfly spring from it, making it unserviceable untill its found, right the end. This weapon would have been issued to these units in WW2 as Brens etc would go to front line troops.
An incredibly underrated early modern firearm in online discussions often held to standards that German and Russian firearms of the same era are not. It fit the British MO perfectly - readily supplied, repairable, adaptable and reliable enough to turn the tides - much like the STEN it showed the British mastered understanding of supply and logistics which likely was learnt from their days as a global empire and has contributed to their insane level of global power projection despite being a small island force in modern times. "Better 100 bastard guns in the hands of soldiers than 10 perfect guns and the rest fighting with sticks" While this approach means that in fantasy media and online discussions British historical military design and preference is mocked in favour of the almost cult-like ideal of German MP44s and the like (contrary to reality), to borrow one of their phrases, the proof really is in the pudding that their philosophy was pragmatic and held true in the monumental shitstorm that is global warfare.
It's impressive how you find all these little details in all these movies. Another great video
Internet Movie Firearms Database.
The Lewis gun holds the distinction of being the first machine gun to be fired from an airplane, a prototype was fired from a Wright Model B in 1912.
Basically a Lewis Gun is something near a General Purpose Machine gun before the mg34
Exactly. It wasn't belt fed though.
Eddie Albert was awarded the Bronze Star w/a "V" device...he and his crew rescued several wounded Marines with Albert using the Lewis Gun to provide covering fire from his Amtrak. Albert served in the USCG during WW ll.
The shroud is supposed to suck air in as the weapon fires, cooling the barrel. I don't know how effective it is, but I do know that the latest iterations of the PK machine gun have a similar cooling jacket, albeit much smaller.
@Hunter6213 yes
I also find it interesting that between the shroud and the barrel is a rather modern-looking finned aluminum heatsink reminiscent of modern electronics heatsinks.
The user also ends up sucking air from having to carry the damn thing
The Germans in WWI appreciated the Lewis, and utilised any captured ones in preference to the Watercooled MG08/15 "LMG". The Imperial Russians ordered them from BSA in 7,62x54R, and used them in 1941 Defence of Moscow ( Photo of Siberian Troops in October parade with Lewis Guns.) France adopted them for Aircraft In1916, and used them into the 30s Italy adopted them 1916, for aircraft, and used them into WWII on bombers, etc.in .303" ( " 7,7mm ") The Dutch Army had a 6,5x53R version from the 1920s through to 1940. Baltic Republics used .303 Lewis guns 1919-1940, and Finland had some on British-Built Aircraft ( 1920s-1940). Very widely spread around the World, in Several Calibres. Doc AV
Johnny, credit to you with that very interesting explanation of the venerable Lewis Gun.
Tom Shelby in the thumbnail is just perfect 👏🏿
By Order of the Peaky Blinders
Darn those dodgy criminal types...
Very recently the Lewis Gun's cooling shroud design has been resurrected for use in specially-made suppressors, designed for sustained automatic fire. They do actually offer substantial cooling performance compared to conventional suppressor designs, maybe Mr. Lewis was onto something with his designs 100 years ago.
The Lewis Gun was the first machine gun that I ever fired. I was surprised be how much it recoiled, more than I expected.
My grandfather was trained on one in 1917 in the RNVR (British naval reserve) to combat the U boat menace on the coastal trade.
Nice to see scenes from Anzacs. Great show!
Quite agree...
WW1 era weapons allways amazed me, mostly becasue it was the first time these weapons were widely tested. Very interesting weapons were made and/or used widely aroudn this time, and Battlefield 1 covers some of the weird ones, like the Assault riffle that had a Incindiary magazine, and a regular one.
not just that, but also the sheer enormous technological leap that took place over the course of the war, the single biggest leap in military technology in a single war, not even ww2 changed so much
Thanks for all the research and work required to assemble this video. It was great.
My Great Great Grandfather was a Lewis Gunner in the Leeds Pals Btn. He was shot twice and gassed once. Upon arrival in France the mule issued to carry his gun teams two chests was commandeered by his Btn CO for his cook! He was convalescing in Leeds General Infirmary only a few miles from his home when the Armistice was signed. The British Army being what it was, made him return to Belgium, go through France and London before being released from service and allowed home! That was what pissed him off the most! I still have his cap badge, shoulder title and 2 piece Lewis Gun qualification badge.
This was so well researched, you got clips from just about every movie, but "A Bridge Too Far."
You'd probably be interested to know that Lewis Gun also appeared in Soviet movies Friend to Foes, Foe to Friends (1974) and White Sun of the Desert (1970)
The FG-42 borrowed from the Lewis, and then the US M60 borrowed from the FG-42, so in a way we did end up using the Lewis action eventually. Meanwhile, most of non-German-influenced NATO adopted the FN MAG, based on the FN-D version of the US BAR. Later, FN would base the Minimi on the FG-42/Lewis action, and the US adopted the Minimi as the M249. Eventually we replaced the M60 with the MAG, as the M240. Here in the US, the FN-made semi-auto M249S is available for sale to civilians, with minimal restrictions, like any other semi-auto rifle.
Tom Selleck uses the Lewis gun both when mounted on his plane and hand-held on the ground, in “High Road to China” (1981), a pre-Indiana Jones adventure.
The novel was written before the 1st Indy film, but the production and release came _after_ Indy. Indy was '81, HRTC was '83.
I think HRtC is 1983 not '81 although it was in development since 1979?
You definitely deserve a lot more subscribers. I loved how informative you were and looking forward to future uploads similar in nature 💪🏻
Thank you so much!
Surprised you didn't show a clip of Terrance Hill in March or Die using it in the final battle. It was shown quite a bit in that battle. Take care.
There was also a significant amount of Lewis guns (British variant) in Russian Empire and later in Soviet Russia. They were in use up until around 1942, and may be seen in lots of Russian movies.
Liked the footage from the Anzacs series .If I remember correctly the Lewis gunner never said a word
Good ol'Bluey!
@@aussiemilitant4486 strewth...I just can't handle the strewth...great series...
Some of my favourite KZhead videos lately! I just love historical films and spotting iconic weapons in them and seeing them "in action"...also thanks for showing the titles of every movie the scenes are from, I discovered more underdog war movies through your vids than anywhere else so thanks a lot, Johnny! :)
Thanks for the feedback. Half my goal is just to expose movies people might be interested in.
In a related note, not long ago Greek surplus 303 ammo came packed in 48 round boxes. Story was that it was intended to reload the Lewis gun pans.
I wish Modern Star Wars would just embrace its campy roots and feature more “futuristic laser blasters” as WW2 guns just missing the mag or stock or something. The last episode of the Book of Boba Fett did have a WW2 Liberator pistol in it tho so many they are.
You added the clips from Porco Rosso. This made my day better.
The lewis gun also appears in the movie “Britannic” when an officer fired said gun and destroyed a torpedo headed to the hospital ship.
Sheesh i remember this
@@greycatturtle7132same here
@@louismarlow53 cool
It's also worth mentioning the recoil of the gun Most of the people who fired this weapon said that the recoil is so minimal, it's extremely easy to keep looking down sights and firing acurrately
I have a book by Truby titled The Lewis Gun. I’ve had it for at least 22 years, I can see it on the shelf from where I’m sitting. You’ve motivated me to read it! Thanks for the time and effort to produce and post this video. Stay safe and healthy!
Thanks Ted. You too!
Most impressive research and video archiving. Nothing goes better in the morning than watching your videos and having a Timmy's. Well done, again!
Thanks as always my Canadian friend
I fired one down in Las Vegas (Battlefield Vegas), its worldwide adoption being shown by the fact that this was actually a Japanese WW1 gun, chambered in 303 Rimmed (despite all other Japanese ammo being rimless!) & captured by the US in WW2, complete with bullet holes in the radiator shroud.
It was also used in,”High Road to China,” staring Tom Selleck .
Loved that movie as a kid. First saw it on a road coach TV travelling from Melbourne to Sydney in the late 1980s.
Always good to see Anzacs getting some attention! Excellent video as always please keep them up
Big respect for including Michael Collins (and The Wind That Shakes The Barley) in the footage. I always look forward to your videos, you deserve way more subscribers for your content.
Thanks so much! Glad to have you on the channel
Great show, nothing like the old Lewis. I have read that magazine condition was behind any reliability issues. Thankyou, mate.
Obviously the magazine was the problem, as without the magazine they were still using it in a galaxy far far away hundreds of years later.
@@bl18ce99 Heard lots about the unreliability of this weapon. Nobody, however specifies why. Only one source has mentioned a reason which was the mag, pan or whatever. Just something I read . No expert, man.
There was a Lewis Gun in the arsenal of the Soviet film production studio MosFilm and you can see it in several of their movies as well. Most notably it's used by the main character during the final showdown in one of their more famous films called "White Sun of the Desert" to defend a fortress against a band of Whites.
That's right! An interesting fact is that for the scenes where the Lewis was fired, a DP-27 masked to look like a Lewis was used instead. This was either due to the real one needing repairs or the lack of ammo for it.
Я ждал этот комментарий, хоть кто-то вступился за товарища Сухова.
One of my favorites. Great video
Use one nearly every day on Battlefield 1 and 5..Love it.
For the fans of older movies - Lewis guns turn up in, amongst others, the 1936 version of "The Ghost Train", the Gary Cooper film "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and several Mexican revolutionary films whose titles I can't now remember - Robert Mitchum's in one, where the gun is referred to as 'La Cucaracha'. You'll probably see it in 'Hell's Angels'. 'Fly Boys' and 'Aces High' amongst other WW1 flying films
That's actually THE TREASURE OF PANCHO VILLA, made around the same time as Mitchum's BANDITO and features Gilbert Roland playing a similar character to the one in BANDITO. But Rory Calhoun starred as "La Cucaracha"'s owner.
Lewis guns were used by the Home Guard in 1940, I believe
Absolutely
Indeed the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard had one.
@@piney4562 that was Germanys biggest fear; the walmington on sea guard
@@louisbarraud7853 They don't like it up 'em after all.
Good stuff! Thanks for sharing, Johnny👍
For those of us of an older vintage there was "The Treasure of Pancho Villa" with Rory Calhoun - the Lewis was lugged about inside of a large musical instrument case. I think Errol Flynn used a Lewis in the film "Another Dawn".
ah now that was a missed opportunity. I'll have to start going through more classics when making these videos.
Humphrey Bogart on the deck of a merchant men firing at an attacking FW200? Old enough?
@@AtomicBabel Yes I remember the movie but not the title - it was told in a flashback of a flashback of a flashback. I do remember Bogart mowed down the crew of the downed aircraft.
The Lewis Gun was Mounted on the Gun Boats and Landing Crafts, this was Depicted on Medal Of Honor Pacific Assault in which you got onboard a Gun Boat and you must takeout a bunch of Japanese Zeros and must get to the USS California before it sunks.
ah dang that was a wasted opportunity as I was genuinely looking for such a clip.
I remember that game! You could play certain parts on a split screen with a friend. I honestly didn’t remember that they were Lewis guns.
Still have that game and play periodically.
Nice glimpse of its use in Richard III .... a hard film to come by
Gandolf with a Lewis gun. What's not to like.
You are making me wanting to watch all these movies that I never knew about. Beset promo for the old war movies.
The barrel shroud on the aircraft version was primarily removed for weight savings, since it was not required for the operation of the weapon and the slipstream provided plenty of airflow for cooling.
I have heard that Canadian’s would make harnesses for hip firing in night time Trench raids but the only place I heard of that claim was C&Rseanals video on the weapon. But I do know the WW1 Canadian’s where some of The first units in the Empire that figured out it’s role as a LMG in a smaller section level use rather then it was used like a Vickers on a battalion role in the early days of the war.
you mentioned the Vickers gun so... Fun Fact. My Maternal Grandfather was a gunner with a team of Australian AIF who did reliability and durability test firing of the Vickers. Both with water cooling and without water cooling of the barrel. They put many hundreds/thousands of rounds continuously through the guns, and never had issues.
Happy to see you caught a scene of it in The Sand Pebbles
1:36 the way he mounted it was crisp
What I was surprised by was that it was originally built in Belgium, but only a handful of prototypes were pushed into service by the Belgians during wwi
Belgium and Britain have quite a history of arms agreements and cooperation, L1A1 comes to mind too.
@@nxxynx5039 do they? I always thought the UK was one of those countries that despised using anything that wasn't homegrown. Like the Americans did with the FAL or the Germans with the p90 or the French with... Anything, really
@@Elderrion That all ended by 1900, most of the stuff was from USA and Belgium. I think the Vickers was homegrown but most of the small arms and crewed weapons after that period weren't even British, the tide had changed big time.
The Lewis gun was used by US Army personnel to repel a japanese beach head on Baatan, 1942. Used as an infantry squad gun. Many historians have neglected that the Americans did, in fact, repel one amphibous japanese assault. And the Philippine Scouts destroyed 3 entire japanese divisionsvin the Battle of the Pockets. Also, in the campaign, on Baatan, was used the M1917 potatoe digger.
One of my great-uncles fought (and was captured) at Bataan. He was part of a provisional infantry battalion, made up of US Army Air Corps personnel. Their planes and pilots were diverted to Australia, following Pearl Harbor. I've often wondered what weapons they used, as they weren't specifically infantrymen.
@@Chris_the_Dingo I wish more attention would be given to the Battle of Baatan. Also, weapon wise, the M1 Garand's battle debut took place on Baatan, from day 1 of the japanese invasion and the last mounted cavalry charge by the US Army repelled the japanese onslaught long enough to allow the retreat into Baatan, in Jan 42. This cavalry charged comprised the Phillipine Scouts led by american officer Lt Ramsey who later took some of his scouts into the mountains to start guerilla warfare. Rich history in that battle.
@@stewartsrcpo Very interesting. I stumbled across my great-uncle's story by accident, an old newspaper clipping from my dad's hometown paper. He died in 1944 when his POW ship was inadvertently sunk by an American sub. From his POW records I was able to backtrack to his service at Bataan. He was in the 17th Bombardment Squadron (Light) a unit equipped with A-24 dive bombers (Army version of the Dauntless). With no planes or pilots, they were pressed into infantry service for the defense of Bataan. He survived the death march, and subsequent captivity, but not the sinking of the Arisan Maru. You're right...this doesn't get nearly enough attention. I think the period after Pearl Harbor - Wake Island, Bataan, etc - would make a great miniseries, like Band of Brothers and the Pacific.
Sad that did happen. I read a lot about the maru sinkings that pows. I know a group of grounded airmen and groundcrews halted a jap amphib assault on Baatan. They had no heavy weapons so the went back the airfield and stripped 50 cals from damaged fighters and jerry rigged them for beach defense. Maybe he was one of them. Amazing stories came out of Baatan, many heroic stands. We would have held out longer but our guys were starving.
Thanks for showing The Sand Pebbles clip it was a great movie.
Michael Collins is my favourite move tanks for putting in a few Sean's from it 🇮🇪❤️
As someone with more knowledge of Star Wars than historical weapons, I sometimes forget that a lot of Star Wars weapons were just real guns modified to look slightly more sci-fi. I saw the thumbnail and thought "Hey, that's a T-21 blaster rifle!" Pretty wild seeing what that's based off of
Solo's pistol blaster was a Mauser 96 broom handle
You FINNALLY Mentioned "THE SAND PEBBLES" In SOMETHING!-YAY! (You Didn't Mentioned It In Your Video About The B.A.R.!)
haha I did owe this movie some clip time forsure.
Fun fact, the "Lewis Gun" at 4:05 is actually quite clearly a Soviet DP-28 machine gun. While the makers of Young Indiana Jones mocked the DP-28 up to look like a Lewis Gun, in the scene with the airplane the fake cooling jacket is removed, leaving the supposed Lewis Gun as a rather barebones DP. While the DP-28 is more convincing on the ground when it has the fake cooling jacket added, it can still be picked out due to the much thinner 7.62x54 pan magazine of the DP.
wow, i cant unsee it now
That was clever following the part about the bar not seeing front-line service in ww1 with a line about waiting! 1:17 also those kids are now deaf. A very well put together video with tons of valuable information and varied movie choice!
Quite interestingly as I research on the films shown on this video, The Trench provides an early role for the future Bond actor Daniel Craig. I think that you all seen his face.
Lewis Machine Gun is also among the first machine guns and the first LMG of the then Ceylon defense force , now Sri Lankan army. it also served for a very small time in British Indian army with Hotchkiss M1909 , before replaced by Vickers berthier LMG and later Bren LMG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . btw T-34 when?
I love the Lewis Gun… The comment of it having a steampunk look is great… way to go Johnny!!!
Nice one Johnny, some nice new info here!
28 lbs is pretty heavy for the abilities of the weapon, and for some context the FN MAG (M240 in US service) is only about 2 pounds lighter depending on the variant. Obviously the modern FN MAG has a lot more versatility and capability than the Lewis gun, but for their era I'd say the Lewis gun's weight was significantly more acceptable for the capabilities it brought to the battlefield.
It also features in "The treasure of Pancho Villa" (1955) in the hands of the star Rory Calhoun and was nicknamed "La Cucaracha".
By late 1916 it was the designated support machine gun at platoon level, a hundred round drum was made and the machine gun section was cut to three men, the new tactics which had evolved were actively used in 1917. The SE 5A fighter had a top mounted Lewis on a track mount, so the pilot could pull it down to reload. It also had a vickers geared to fire through the propeller. It would have been a better light MG than the BAR, but that’s the way the procurement people in the states like to roll.
The film clips are amazing respect for the weeks it took you to find 30 or more awesome films and tv series like band of brothers and anzacs
The Lewis Gun did have an appearance in the Disney movie _Atlantis: The Lost Empire_ briefly wielded by main antagonist Rourke in the final fight of the film.
Yep, and how I originally learned about the gun.
Always love the Lewis, really the first reliable Medium Machine gun. The scene in s4 of Peaky Blinder where Tommy Shelby has the mafia guys in a cloth topped car from a high vantage with a rifle caliber machine gun and they have pistol caliber SMG is suspended disbelief. He could easily have wiped them out.
I mean they had great armour… Plot armour
It's one of the reasons I gave a big miss to that show.
I love the fact you included Porco Rosso in the footage. It's a solid film.
Absolutely!
"More akin to what you would find on a clock vs a firearm." The G11: "heh."