That wind vane sight steals the video for me, what an ingenious little contraption! Suprised I've never seen one before.
@foamer4433 жыл бұрын
A ton of math and engineering probably went into the design. But simple and appears to have been good enough design for most allied air forces to take it up and keep in use after the war. Today it's 100,000 lines of code and probably not able to do a field repair.
@GreenBlueWalkthrough3 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I've seen the gun portried in games and movies but never the sight.
@000Mazno0003 жыл бұрын
One of the coolest things I've EVER seen on a gun
@sleepy_Dragon3 жыл бұрын
It's amazing how inventive people are to improve killing people.
@michaelmoorrees35853 жыл бұрын
@@foamer443 - 50 lines of code to do the math. 99,950 lines to make it look pretty. zero lines for error exceptions.
@pandastical92053 жыл бұрын
“It’s a downside if you shoot your own propellor off.” Ah, the things I learn from this channel.
@DH-xw6jp3 жыл бұрын
That why we dont advocate appendix carrying.
@Conn30Mtenor3 жыл бұрын
which is why it was mounted not behind the propeller, it was mounted on the upper wing on the Nieuport 12, 17 and the Se5a.
@bradymenting51202 жыл бұрын
I hear it's also bad to shoot off your own rudder "I'm shorry junior, they gawt ush."
@dallesamllhals91618 ай бұрын
@@bradymenting5120 At 11 o'clock?
@ekscalybur3 жыл бұрын
Is it possible one of these was mounted to a dog house that bore an unconvincing resemblance to a Sopwith Camel?
@666toysoldier3 жыл бұрын
I don't know about the aircraft variant, but I saved the strip that showed Snoopy as a guard dog---sitting on his doghouse with a belt-fed water-cooled heavy machine gun.
@Otokichi7863 жыл бұрын
"Curse you, Red Baron!";)
@Molo90003 жыл бұрын
There was a Camel variant armed with Lewis guns for night fighting against Zeppelins. Strangely enough it was nicknamed Sopwith Comic.
@profpep3 жыл бұрын
The SE5 had one on the top wing., but I certainly hope Snoopy had at least one.
@ScottKenny19783 жыл бұрын
The Sopwith Camel would have had (synchronized) Vickers guns.
@toxicmatrix13373 жыл бұрын
I'll just pretend it was in the Last Crusade, "Son, I'm sorry... They got us"
@Martinlegend3 жыл бұрын
it was actually a Beretta Model 38/42 (mocked up as a Villar Perosa M1915) but i know waht you mean :D
@FirstLast_Nba3 жыл бұрын
Funny it was the first thing that comes to mind.
@ragnarragnarsson31283 жыл бұрын
Not synchronized to avoid the tail fin either lol
@zendell373 жыл бұрын
@@Martinlegend I'd always wondered what it was supposed to be. Then I saw Ian's video. Then I wondered why they tried making it look like that.
@pappajudas92673 жыл бұрын
I was thinking of High Road to China. Tom Selleck had the biplane mounted Lewis gun. I'm pretty sure it's the first film I ever saw a Lewis gun outside of Star Wars. It's at least the first one I ever heard them referred to by name.
@brandonobaza86103 жыл бұрын
Savage Air Lewis sounds like a professional skateboarder
@matthayward78893 жыл бұрын
I recall reading about a pilot whose aircraft managed to flip upside down while he was Changing the Lewis magazine. He managed to hold on to the drum, pull himself back up into the cockpit, and recover the a/c. His life literally hanging by the strength of the magazine locking mechanism. Never heard of the ‘wind vane’ sight before, always learning from FW! (Edited for spelling)
@davidbrennan6603 жыл бұрын
The one time being “sticky” is better than “slick”.
@heneagedundas3 жыл бұрын
That's Louis Strange.
@jimmyrustler89833 жыл бұрын
Lieutenant Louis Strange. Always cracks me up how they chastised him for damaging the flight controls with his feet. 🤣
@matthayward78893 жыл бұрын
@@heneagedundas thanks!
@matthayward78893 жыл бұрын
@@jimmyrustler8983 thanks! I was just reading about the reprimand 😂😂
@bulukacarlos35713 жыл бұрын
In Argentina they used to be mounted on the glass nose of the Beechcraft AT-11 in 7.65x53 Mauser caliber. My father (Air Force Mechanic) used it and said that if it was set correctly, the sight was very accurate.
@criffermaclennan3 жыл бұрын
That vane front sight is truly fascinating and ingenious
@Otokichi7863 жыл бұрын
I wonder of the Japanese used it on early World War II aircraft, such as the Nakajima B5N or Aichi D1A?
@Ignonym3 жыл бұрын
It's such an elegantly simple little gadget. Just a parallelogram linkage with a wind vane on one side and a front sight post on the other. Magnificent piece of engineering.
@criggie3 жыл бұрын
I can't see how it would work - the sight's tip would be pointing into the windstream by the three vanes on the rear, so the barrel would be aimed the wrong way when the sights are aligned? To allow for windage it should point the barrel more into the wind, no? What am I missing ?
@bend14833 жыл бұрын
@@criggie yeah it seems backwards to me as well?
@Ignonym3 жыл бұрын
@@criggie As far as I can tell, it's not compensating for windage, it's compensating for the bullets inheriting the velocity of the aircraft. It just uses wind direction to judge how the aircraft is moving.
@joshuaradick56793 жыл бұрын
I just rewatched the 1999 version of The Mummy, and saw this in it.
@BleedingUranium3 жыл бұрын
I love that movie! I thought of that too, I always loved how they "rescued" it from the crashed plane haha. Oh cool, I just looked up the scene, and the one in the movie actually has the fancy front sight on it! :O
@omartorres56883 жыл бұрын
I was thinking of that too too bad the character using that did not have an extra mag would have been useful against all attacking mummies
@omartorres56883 жыл бұрын
@@BleedingUranium I was thinking that as well
@serhio42753 жыл бұрын
@@omartorres5688 It has no cooler, on earth it's not so well to overheating it.
@andrewfoglesong3 жыл бұрын
"There's a down side if you shoot your own propeller off though..." :D
@51WCDodge3 жыл бұрын
Yeah , down ,down, dow.....OOOH SHI>>>>>
@c0gnus3 жыл бұрын
quite an inconvenience
@petesheppard17093 жыл бұрын
Should that count as a kill??
@51WCDodge3 жыл бұрын
@@petesheppard1709 Depends wether you have a parachute or not :-)
@51WCDodge3 жыл бұрын
@@c0gnus Or in the Irish Airforce, Paddy ! I've shot the proppelor off! Ah, that means we'll be up here eel day! As told to me by an Irish AirForce Officer :-)
@thetimelapsesketchbook.90883 жыл бұрын
"Dad 6' oclock!" "Son What's happening at six o'clock.."
@RustedCroaker3 жыл бұрын
... 6 o'clock tea
@bigernmccracken57363 жыл бұрын
That was also the first thing that came to my mind... we must be from the same generation of pop culture. “You can fly a plane?!” “Fly, yes... Land, no.”
@brettjohnson7913 жыл бұрын
I'm sorry son... they got us.
@thetimelapsesketchbook.90883 жыл бұрын
@@bigernmccracken5736 Indeed, good ole Indy films.
@georgesakellaropoulos81623 жыл бұрын
Sorry. Not a Lewis gun in that scene. Ian has a video of the Villar Perosa which is the gun in the scene you are referring to. Just found out that it was a Beretta made to look like the Villar Perosa.
@Mrgunsngear3 жыл бұрын
That's a very cool design
@ragnarragnarsson31283 жыл бұрын
You seem to be quite the surplus and war historian guy MrGunsngear...you should add some of that to your channel in addition to the modern stuff you already do.
@johnstacy79023 жыл бұрын
Well if they go on sale I'm sure you'll let us know....
@peterernoob3 жыл бұрын
Freedom ain't not free!
@BacchusZA3 жыл бұрын
You have to love that deadpan "there's a downside if you shoot your own propeller off, though".
@BleedingUranium3 жыл бұрын
Ian's very good at that British-style deadpan understatement, and I love it. :D
@billygowhoop3 жыл бұрын
Someone should really make a VR game where you play as an aerial observer and get to use one of these in a simulation. I just really wonder what it was like using that sight post.
@Nebeorx3 жыл бұрын
Interesting Idea!
@durhamdavesbg3 жыл бұрын
I wonder if they put them in Flying Circus (Il-2 Great Battle people). That's VR compatible, will have to load it and check at some point.
@MandolinMagi3 жыл бұрын
Somebody needs to mount one of these on a really fast car, find a place big open range, and trying shooting targets with the vane sight at 120mph
@durhamdavesbg3 жыл бұрын
I have now checked, the only allied 2 seater in the new Flying Circus is the Bristol, and it just has a simple post. Will have to see what happens in Circus II.
@andrewparkin82223 жыл бұрын
The comment on the difficulty of changing the magazines reminded me of Louis Strange's experience trying to change a magazine of the Lewis mounted to his top wing - the plane flipped over and he was left dangling from the magazine which moments before he had been cursing as too stiff to come off.
@lordhefman3 жыл бұрын
Whoever buys that gun should take it to one of those Texas helicopter hog hunts and bring Ian so we can see that gunsight in action.
@shawnr7713 жыл бұрын
@@K3end0 Maybe Ted Nugent will buy it.
@lordhefman3 жыл бұрын
@@K3end0 they are hog hunts but from the sides of moving helicopters, with machineguns. It's the closest thing to the original intention of the gun that we can legally get to.
@aumann04523 жыл бұрын
@@lordhefman what in the hell is up with texans
@hailexiao27703 жыл бұрын
@@aumann0452 Having too many feral hogs for one
@CAMSLAYER133 жыл бұрын
@@aumann0452 the hogs are actually a pest
@johnplaid6483 жыл бұрын
Ian. @ 2:39. It's called "lock time". From the moment you squeeze the trigger to the moment the bullet exits the barrel is known as the lock time.
@tudlaur76053 жыл бұрын
I like to think it's not named Savage and Ian just called it that to be more hip
@matthayward78893 жыл бұрын
Also manufactured in .303 by the ‘mad lad’ arms co.
@johnm39073 жыл бұрын
25 years ago here in ireland we used to say something was savage if it was cool.
@guysview3 жыл бұрын
No, it is really made by Savage Arms.
@Pavel_TND3 жыл бұрын
yooo holy shit kag its really you i thought u were dead
@startedtech3 жыл бұрын
@@johnm3907 that was a thing up until fairly recent here in the US
@marianosanchez32263 жыл бұрын
This is one of the guns they used to kill King kong in the 2006 empire state scene
@jacobfarley23323 жыл бұрын
I was waiting for Ian to do his best Ardeth Bay impression
@mr6johnclark3 жыл бұрын
HA! I understood that reference!
@nickthompson96973 жыл бұрын
Same.
@IR4TE3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for reminding me that I have to rewatch these movies.
@zendell373 жыл бұрын
I thought he preferred the Thompson...
@ShadeSlayer19113 жыл бұрын
That's exactly what I was thinking.
@Perfusionist013 жыл бұрын
One of the guns that got King Kong! Your mention of the ground tripod adapter reminds me that in the 1943 "Guadalcanal Diary" there are scenes of these as "Japanese" machine guns being fired from a ground tripod. The movies liked the aircraft Lewis; see "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "The Mummy" (Brendon Fraser version) and "High Road To China", among others.
@johnfrench52793 жыл бұрын
The Lewis gun was the premier Japanese naval aircraft pintle gun of WW2. They adopted it in 1932 in 7.7mm calibre (a direct copy of .303 British). I have seen a picture of it mounted on a tripod for ground use so the scene from 'Guadalcanal Diary' is accurate. EDIT: I just checked, it was used in the ground role by the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces.
@chikitabowow3 жыл бұрын
I remember that gun from "The Mummy" from 1999, towards the end of the movie when the main characters crashes a biplane, and the character 'Ardeth Bay' removes a Lewis gun just like this one from that biplane. Just a minor and barely interesting detail, but nonetheless!
@tacticalgunsmith3 жыл бұрын
I was going to comment the same thing, beat me too it.
@chocolatemilk20763 жыл бұрын
A the good days when nobody was
@gyrene_asea41333 жыл бұрын
@@spamwaffles1419 Wow. Good catch! I remembered the Lewis gun with the muzzle device, but completely missed the wind-vane sight. I do hope that it survived the film. I think that they used John Milius (directed "The Wind and the Lion") as a technical consultant on "The Mummy", so a lot of the firearms were both interesting and historically plausible.
@BleedingUranium3 жыл бұрын
@@gyrene_asea4133 Well per IMFDB, the M1911 that appears is actually the original M1911 and not an A1, which is period correct detail most movies miss. :)
@gyrene_asea41333 жыл бұрын
@@BleedingUranium For the "you just got promoted" part (1923?), yes. The movie as it starts in Cairo is 1926 or 27. 1911A1 began production in 1924 I think. So it would have been correct if depicted in the later part of the movie. Milius did pay attention. Loved the Marlin/Colt machine gun on the trolley in TheWindandtheLion.
@tenchraven3 жыл бұрын
That wind vane sight is ingenious, and I'm jealous of who ever worked out the math to make it work.
@viandengalacticspaceyards51353 жыл бұрын
In Thomas Lawrence (of Arabia)'s memoirs,he describes being invited to man the rear gun of a plane. He takes a look at the aiming system and declines.Now I understand.
@joshklein78423 жыл бұрын
Ian is always so professional but in a warm, friendly way.
@kencoffman71453 жыл бұрын
Oh how I'd love to see this gun mounted to something that would allow us to see that sight in action! Love the Lewis gun.
@chakflying13 жыл бұрын
Cue gun Jesus mounting this thing on the back of a Toyota truck, going 80mph in the desert, shooting aliens left and right.
@gingergorilla6953 жыл бұрын
Wish they would make a semi auto replica
@nikola12nis3 жыл бұрын
These aircraft mounted guns used by ground units did some scary stuff. Read some memoirs from the Long range desert group. They had Vickers Ks in dual mounts, with some 1800 rpm. There was an instance, where they had followed an Italian convoy, and started firing at a truck with those machineguns. Literal ground meat was what was left of most corpses found.
@roadsweeper13 жыл бұрын
Bit like the Stinger in WW2, an aircraft Browning M2 from the rear turret of a TBF/SBD that was used by a few troops on Iwo Jima. Had nearly twice the rate of fire of the infantry version of the M2 hackaday.com/2020/02/03/stinger-the-hacked-machine-gun-of-iwo-jima/
@343.433 жыл бұрын
I remember learning it was my great grandfather's job to make sure the timing was right on these so pilots didnt shoot their own propeller off. No pressure though lol
@alun70063 жыл бұрын
That'd be on Vickers machine guns, not these. Cool job though!
@w.callens16293 жыл бұрын
Pilots never came back to complain....
@ningen19803 жыл бұрын
That front sight is a really clever design.
@newevolution3 жыл бұрын
That sight is just ABSURDLY clever.
@KnifeChatswithTobias3 жыл бұрын
Those sights are pretty cool! The whole gun is actually totally awesome.
@WAFFENAMT13 жыл бұрын
Just about every model biplane I ever had or put together had one of these guns sticking out on the top wing, always thought what a ridiculous place to put a gun, now it makes sense.
@kurumachikuroe4423 жыл бұрын
"Does the sight know where it is" sounds like the 1916 version of "Does the missile know where it is"
@ScottKenny19783 жыл бұрын
Pretty much!
@steveholmes116 ай бұрын
Fantastic video. Never underestimate the value of the little "obvious" design notes at the beginning. Lighter gun, bigger magazine - seems obvious. But then your open / closed bolt synchronisation explainer was one of the simplest, and the first one I've truly understood. Every learning day is a good day. I also think the wndvane foresight is the absolute star of the show. I reckon myself a bit of a military kit buff, and I've never seen one before. A tiny work of crafted genius amid the inhuman slaughter of 1914-18.
@EdNashsMilitaryMatters3 жыл бұрын
Even by Forgotten Weapons excellent standards, this was a cracking video!
@maxfaxdude3 жыл бұрын
The aircraft Lewis Gun was also prominently featured in the Tom Selleck 1980s movie High Road to China.
@Blazer02LS3 жыл бұрын
FYI What little was left of the Utica Savage plant that these were made in burnt last year. It had been built for Savage in 1920 and was used until after WW2 when they moved to Massachusetts.
@harrywelshful3 жыл бұрын
30-06 aircraft mounted barn roof wind vane slide projector
@sauceboss84833 жыл бұрын
Savage arms is now in Westfield, MA, I know this because my dad used to ride past there on his bike and even bought blemish rifle stocks for $.50 a piece in the 70's to make lamps out of when he was in high school.
@minuteman41993 жыл бұрын
Savage Arms also has a plant in Lakefield Ontario, near Peterborough Ontario. It used to be Lakefield Arms, but has been Savage for quite some time.
@ragnarragnarsson31283 жыл бұрын
@@minuteman4199 yep which used to be Cooey.
@nickdougan3943 жыл бұрын
Fascinating - I always assumed that rounds were double stacked in a Lewis gun magazine but that's the first time I've seen the inside.
@DarkMatter9463 жыл бұрын
That wind vane sight actually makes an appearance in The Mummy as well
@archer84923 жыл бұрын
The sheer ingenuity in the sighting that they came up with to deal with so many mechanical and mathematical problems in firing from and at moving aircraft, with such minimal technology needed for an effective solution, is amazing.
@astrotrek35343 жыл бұрын
I would love a video with you and someone like Military Aviation History doing an inside the cockpit style video looking at the defensive gun mounts in the airplane. Great video as always!
@oldesertguy96163 жыл бұрын
That's the best looking Lewis gun I've ever seen.
@philips.55633 жыл бұрын
Do you remember when Savage got military contracts and you could buy machine guns by mail to support local New York businesses? Forgotten Weapons remembers.
@profpep3 жыл бұрын
In WW2, the British Long Range Desert Group scrounged some old Lewis aircraft guns to mount on trucks and jeeps, for 'beating up' enemy airfields, often mounted in pairs, too. The high rate of fire was a factor in this.
@gwtpictgwtpict42143 жыл бұрын
LRDG generally used Vickers K guns, visually very similar. Not to say they didn't use Lewis guns, you take what you can get.
@merpius3 жыл бұрын
That front sight is freaking brilliant. Having airspeed adjustment while in flight (maybe tied to the engine or, if they had any sort of airspeed sensors, then that would be even better) would be a nice to have, but just having it take the plane's airspeed and angle relative to the gun barrel into account automatically is pretty dang nice.
@jm93713 жыл бұрын
Fricken Awesome video!... The 'wind vane' sight is something new to me.. totally genius design.
@johnhughes11403 жыл бұрын
It was very interesting to learn why so many changes are necessary in an plane mounted gun. Great explanation and history!
@keithallardice61393 жыл бұрын
That sight is just genius though!!
@williamsteele88913 жыл бұрын
I think those Lewis guns are really neat and were ahead of their time. It sort of reminds me of the fg42.
@stevefriswell54223 жыл бұрын
That front sight design is fantastic.
@chrisp41703 жыл бұрын
Interesting explanation regarding open and closed bolt mechanisms vs synchronisation
@JamesThomas-gg6il3 жыл бұрын
The movie from the 80 with Tom Seleck, high road to china, has a nice cameo in the final shootout scenes. His plane is shot down and he removes the lewis from the upper wing and uses it from the ground.
@BoomerZ.artist3 жыл бұрын
"speak"
@JamesThomas-gg6il3 жыл бұрын
@@BoomerZ.artist look at my dorothy!!!
@wikikomoto3 жыл бұрын
as a note, since the lewis was not synchronized, it was more reliable. because it was not susceptible to the synchronization gear failing. this was a huge issue when they were first introduced into british aircraft, this is the reason the S.E.5 and more famously, the S.E.5a aircraft had a lewis mounted over the wing, so the aircraft could still engage in combat even after the failure of the main vickers firing through the prop. (which happened CONSTANTLY in early aircraft)
@francoisrioux58693 жыл бұрын
That winged front sight is just awesome!
@bobthompson43193 жыл бұрын
the sight is actually AWSOME.
@AlexPeace2463 жыл бұрын
I know Ian never asks, but if you've watched/are watching this video and enjoying it, see this post and still haven't yet, then leave a Like. I personally found the wind vane sights, and the extremely simply, yet ingenious fix to reloading to be my favorite parts of this video.
@robertduffy58053 жыл бұрын
Thank you, I really enjoy how you dig into the modifications, engineering, and design aspects of them.
@onsesejoo26053 жыл бұрын
SE 5 and Nieuport 11 are famous WW 1 fighters that have Lewis on the top of the wing. SE had one synchronised Vickers gun as well. The British also used a twin mounting in angled position with BE 2c to attack on German Zeppelin raiders underneath, sort of precursor to German WW 2 "Schräge Music" cannon installment.
@bigblue69173 жыл бұрын
In WW2 the British Special Air Service would use the Lewis gun mounted in pairs on their jeeps. They would use them when attacking airfields.
@heneagedundas3 жыл бұрын
I believe those were Vickers K guns. They look similar to the Lewis as the ammo is in a pan.
@kevinoliver3083 Жыл бұрын
@@heneagedundasThe Vickers K was developed as a direct replacement for the Lewis as an observers gun. Hence the resemblance, it was meant to fit into the same aircraft mountings.
@jimmyrustler89833 жыл бұрын
"Air Lewis" sounds like a Nike Sneaker. Biggles' favorite flying shoe.
@w.callens16293 жыл бұрын
Biggles... my favorite books from 25 years ago... if that's what you are referring to... thanks for the throwback...
@jimmyrustler89833 жыл бұрын
@@w.callens1629 I still have a few Biggles books back at my parents house in the attic, may have to dig them out. 🤙
@jameshickman52993 жыл бұрын
The British mounted the Lewis gun in a variety of aircraft installations. Before they settled on the over wing mounting Lewis guns were sometimes mounted on the lower wing, next to the cockpit. The guns were mounted angling forward, outside the propeller arc. Late in the war, aircraft adapted to strafing trenches mounted one or two guns in the cockpit, angling down about 45 degrees. The breeches protruded into the cockpit, allowing the pilot to change drums. Some Sopwith Camels were used to intercept night intruding bombers and Zeppelins. The Camel normally was armed with two Vickers guns mounted in front of the cockpit. Firing these guns at night would blind the pilot, so night flying Camels mounted two Lewis guns firing upwards over the upper wing center section. The ammunition drums were within relatively easy reach of the pilot. Lewis guns were used by the British well into WWII. The US Used Lewis guns in aircraft into the 1920’s, shifting over to Brownings in the 30’s. Another reason for removing the barrel shroud on aircraft guns was to reduce air resistance. Imagine trying to swing a gun around in a 100+MPH slipstream. The sights weren’t fitted to guns fired by the pilot. He just pointed the aircraft wherever he wanted shoot. Were the Vickers guns fitted to Army Air Corps aircraft in WWI also chambered for 30.06? Or was the adoption of 30.06 a postwar modification? I hope I haven’t said anything ridiculously stupid, I had to get rid of my aircraft library, so I’m working from memory. Let’s be careful out there.
@trinitytest59863 жыл бұрын
Now that is sweet. It'd look good over the fireplace...
@gingergorilla6953 жыл бұрын
We need a semi auto variant of both the ground and aircraft versions, with reproduction tripod and tripod mounts. 97 rounds in semi auto wouldn't even overheat the aircraft version, let around the ground version with that cooling shroud
@bobjones56743 жыл бұрын
That wind vane sight is really cool. A fantastically elegant solution to a rather complex problem.
@ragnarragnarsson31283 жыл бұрын
An elegant weapon...for a more civilized age...
@flyingninja12343 жыл бұрын
I believe one of these was used in the 1999 film, The Mummy.
@ScottKenny19783 жыл бұрын
Complete with weathervane sight!
@Crangaso3 жыл бұрын
The windvane front sight is ingenious.
@viandengalacticspaceyards51353 жыл бұрын
Read an interview with a WWI pilot,who had this on the top wing.To change mags,he had to stand/crouch on the seat,with the stick between his knees. Guess he appreciated the improved mag release system.
@inconel71853 жыл бұрын
That front sight is a lovely peace of design.
@steffenvictorine49173 жыл бұрын
Tremendous video Ian 🙌🏻🙌🏻... That sight is classic, reminds me of playing video games growing up.
@bryangrote87813 жыл бұрын
Always loved the ending shootout scene in “The High Road to China” when Tom Selleck pulled off the Louis Gun from the crashed fighter to use against the Chinese cavalry.
@metalman67083 жыл бұрын
It's so insane that 100 years later you can still see the endmill chatter marks.
@johnsegertsons21433 жыл бұрын
I am not a firearms or aviation expert, so I was glad to learn shooting through your own propeller had a down side
@martinlarsen73543 жыл бұрын
IIRC the RAF liked the Lewis in the top wing mount on the S.E.5 combined with a fixed Vickers on a synchronized mount. The pilot could pivot the Lewis back and down so he could reload it in the air.
@MANC23113 жыл бұрын
Remember a book I read as a kid about Lanoe Hawker having his Lewis offset to the left of the propeller.
@chrislorusso4333 жыл бұрын
Slight correction on the use of the aircraft sight. You line up the front post inside the center ring of the rear sight to ensure the gun is shooting straight. You place your target on the outer ring, or relative to it for judging lead.
@recoilrob3243 жыл бұрын
Massively cool gun!!! When looking at WWI equipment it always amazes me at the ingenuity and often genius employed by men trying to kill their enemies as effectively as possible. Had never seen that type of front sight and have to say I'm blown away by it....just brilliant! Thanks again for another awesome video Ian.
@geordiedog17493 жыл бұрын
A lot of these ended up on British colliers along with Marlins and various Hotchkiss patterns in 1939 (.303). They would set them up anywhere where there was a bit of space and an arch of fire, usually the bridge. They were supposed to deal with German air attacks and E-Boats. Eventually, ie 1943/4, they were replaced with oerlikons and/or Browning 30s and 50s. Some old pre great war LA cannon was stuck n the poop deck in the early war and f’csle later (this was because fitting at the front was ‘offensive’ and made the ship a war ship and changed the RoEs).
@haroldgodwinson8323 жыл бұрын
No Ian I think you've misunderstood how a ring sight of the type featured in the video works. You don't align your front bead with the outside of the rear ring sight when correcting for deflection. The bead always remains aligned in the middle of the center ring. However, the outer ring (or rings) is oriented on one or other side of the target depending on range, estimated speed and direction. In some situations the angle -off will amount to multiples of one full ring of deflection. ,
@Chironex_Fleckeri3 жыл бұрын
Were shotguns ever used in air-to-air combat? Probably a teeeerrible idea in practice
@lescook90213 жыл бұрын
Yes they were. At the start of the war, no aircraft had any mounted guns. Observers started carrying pistols, rifles and even shotguns to shoot at observers in enemy aircraft. Thus started the air war.
@cptdarling5013 жыл бұрын
In the beginning yes. Pistols, rifles and even a small boat anchor. Remember that the first aircraft didnt loop de loop, flew in straight lines and sometimes barely over 50 miles per hour.
@MillwalltheCat3 жыл бұрын
The barrel casing/shroud was certainly fitted to the RAF Lewis, as I have a copy of an original F.S. 114, 'Handbook on the Lewis Gun', showing this. I have an original air-cooled Vickers Handbook too, would like to see a vid on that one too, someday. Very informative vid on the M1918, as always! Cheers!
@Artrysa3 жыл бұрын
I still think that the way they shot through their own propellers is the coolest thing ever.
@Grobut813 жыл бұрын
Go look up early attemps at it. Before they had syncronizers figgered out there were all sorts of attempts to put armor plating and deflectors on the back of the props, so you could hit them atleast a few times before the prop fell off. There were some pretty wild and very dubious looking contraptions that came out of that. Interesting stuff.
@Artrysa3 жыл бұрын
@@Grobut81 Thanks, I look into it. :)
@pollyskirt13 жыл бұрын
Also issued to the British Home Guard in WWII, used in the ground, and anti-aircraft role. 303 and I presume 30.06 (US aid after Dunkirk) variants have been seen in photos.
@yuvalbeery24933 жыл бұрын
That front sight is cool while being simple
@charles_wipman3 жыл бұрын
Never seen that front sight up close, it's really clever.
@redacted50523 жыл бұрын
Interesting. I believe the soviets used a similar wind vane solution on the Pe2 rear gunner position to allow easier rotation of the turret at higher speeds. Neat stuff.
@shadowofthenight73163 жыл бұрын
The front sight is brilliant!
@Garrumx3 жыл бұрын
That front sight is genius.
@paulallen81093 жыл бұрын
For single-seat fighters this type of Lewis gun was mounted on a Foster Mount. This was a sort of curved slide which enabled the pilot to pull it down from a horizontal position down to a vertical position for easier reloading. Some aces even used this Foster Mount to fire into the underside of the enemy aircraft, although this was a difficult technique which required a sneak attack and the enemy not spotting you before it's too late. The ace Albert Ball reportedly used the Lewis in this way to down several German Albatross fighters. Another benefit with the Lewis was that pilots could slide them down the Foster Mount and clear gun jams. With the belt fed Vickers guns this obviously was impossible. Pilots forced to do an emergency landing in enemy held territory could also detach the Lewis and use it as a portable light machine gun, which obviously wan't possible with the Vickers machine guns. That being said, reloading a Lewis in the middle of a dogfight was ill-advised and difficult. While replacing the empty drum the pilot had to hold the control stick of the aircraft between his legs and use his free hands to replace the drum. On the positive side the 97 round drum meant a pilot had pretty much 10 seconds of continuous firing - and skilled pilots only needed 2 second bursts to down an enemy. On heavy bombers like the Handley Page, the observers aft and forth usually had double-Lewises which arguably was adequate when dealing with fighters which used the same caliber ammo - i.e. roughly the same range.
@gregbeeman20773 жыл бұрын
You always do a great job on these firearm reviews. Thanks and keep them coming!
@lucywucyyy3 жыл бұрын
that sight is extremely cool
@jonhedrick74403 жыл бұрын
I love these spans of videos of the auction houses they are the best thanks again ian
@Joggelschorsch3 жыл бұрын
These Sights are super interessting. I could watch an entire series devoted to sights, and how they´re used.
@johanrunfeldt71743 жыл бұрын
A word on the weight saving issue on WW1 fighters. Several famous fighters/armed scouts like the Sopwith Pup, Fokker DrI (Richthofen's mount), and Nieuport 17 all were light enough to qualify as Light Sport Aircraft according to FAA rules.
@jygo2syxl7243 жыл бұрын
Happy Friday Ian!
@davidnicholas75163 жыл бұрын
There's a sequence in the movie "High Road to China" starring Tom Selleck and Bess Armstrong. Selleck is a WW1 fighter pilot and Armstrong has hired him in the middle 1920s to take her (in a pair of airplanes) from where they start (East Africa if I remember right) to China to find her father. Anyway, when they start out Selleck tells his sidekick/mechanic to "Get out the Lewis guns" or something to that effect, and there are dogfights and many crazy adventures in between (there's a marvelous scene in Afghanistan, for instance). Anyway, they get to China, and through a set of contrivances and plot twists Selleck winds up having to rescue Armstrong on the ground, and he doesn't have a gun, not even a pistol. He grabs a rag, detaches the Lewis gun from his plane, and uses it as a light machinegun, holding the barrel (which presumably gets very hot) with the rag protecting his hand. I've always wondered if that would work...probably not feasible in the days of safety (the movie was made back in the era when John Landis had a helicopter flying over explosions, just to reference what safety meant back then) but I've always been curious.
@F1ghteR413 жыл бұрын
Those are some savage tool marks!
@kayak2hell3 жыл бұрын
The ring on the rear sight was used more to estimate range, not speed. Not sure offhand what it would be calibrated to, but likely something like 'enemy plane fills entire ring' = 100m. That swiveled front sight is a marvel of mechanical simplicity that was commonplace a century ago but has since been lost to computerization.
@jeddkeech2593 жыл бұрын
I did not realize savage arms had been around for so long. Some of the best guns I have are savages
@patrickvosloo82173 жыл бұрын
Old timer technology never ceases to amaze! Great video thanks Ian!!
@dusterowner99783 жыл бұрын
just saw this very gun in the movie "Lost Patrol" . Was removed from bi-plane after landing in the desert for ground use .