Why the British army strapped a rattle to a Lewis Gun, with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson

The early 20s saw a dramatic reduction in spending from from the European powers who believed the Treaty of Versailles had put pay to any future conflict on the scale of the First World War. This slashing of military expenditure explains this weeks hand-cranked rattle attachment for the British Lewis light machine gun. Jonathan explains how and why such a device would be used.
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[@JiphoTheJuppis]

During my conscript service in Finland I served in the unit's museum as a guide/caretaker. We had on one display a wooden mock-up of a LS-26 light machine gun with a rattle inside the magazine well, didn't get to test how loud it was sadly. These were used during the interwar years as well since the Finnish military too had funding issues. For our own training we had no rattles but I did my fair share of shouting LAUKAUS (shot) and SARJA (burst).

[@RoyalArmouries]

Thanks so much for sharing. Glad to hear our rattle isn't alone in this world.

[@nickpeloquin5594]

What years were you in the service for

[@grandimehu]

I have also seen rattle magazines for Suomi Kp-31

[@stevemc6010]

That's an interesting military billett....conscripted museum curator.

[@jordanhicks5131]

I find it amusing to imagine people using these rattle guns, or even funnier shouting "BANG" at each other, for training Seems like it would end up as a big game of soldiers in the woods like we played as kids "I shot you jimmy, lay down dead!" "Nu-uh, you missed!" *argument ensues*

[@HunterGargoyle]

Thought my uncle was joking about "strapping football rattlers to the Lewis" he was a drill instructer during this time

[@barronTV1]

My first thought about the rattle was you would use it to suppress the enemy while reloading haha

[@RoyalArmouries]

You can test to see if that works Tobi...

[@JackTalyorD]

My first thoughts as well, it can’t possibly be loud enough can it no maybe 🤔

[@myparceltape1169]

I think the handle would be better on the other side for that purpose. But could it be used to distract Infantry and so make them expose themselves to firing from their side?

[@robertsloan2877]

So anyways I started blasting

[@kinketsu9103]

That was exactly what I thought too. The other member of the gun team turning the rattle to make the covering noise while the gun is reloading. I am sure it doesnt sound at all like the gun firing but it seemed like a neat idea that might work in the heat of battle! But I am guessing from Royal Armouries response that this is laughable!

[@ScoutSniper3124]

Reminds me of the old joke of Soldiers pretending to fire their rifle.. "BANG! click clack, BANG! click clack" and as they did the enemy would fall. But one guy just kept walking across the field at them, eventually stepping on them as he continued on, muttering "Tankity Tank, rum, rum, rum, Tankity Tank rum, rum, rum".

[@karood-dog3584]

I don't think there is a soldier before or to this day who hasn't found himself having to shout "BANG!" during training.

[@Biden_is_demented]

I never did! But during bootcamp i once carried a tree as a makeshift anti-tank gun! My instructor was a commando with a wicked sense of humor. He asked for my G3 to fire a few rounds, and then decided i shouldn´t be without a gun, so he ordered me to pick up a "branch" that was sticking out of some tall weeds. Turns out the "branch" was still attached to a tree, and i had to carry the damn thing for a couple of miles. Weighted about 50kg. He thought it was hilarious, i didn´t. Fast forward 3 decades, and now i think it was hilarious too! But never had to shout "Bang!".

[@alangordon3283]

Banana banana

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

even use blanks training in the british cadets these days

[@michaelguerin56]

Never had to shout ‘bullets, bullets, bullets’ but I have heard other people whinging about doing so.

[@myparceltape1169]

@@Biden_is_demented Yes. It is hilarious. Well done.

[@gabrielgodinho3187]

During a civil war in 1932 in Brazil, the rebel forces were so short on money and equipment that some units were given rattles to be used in the field. It was a hopeless attemp to halt the loyalist troops with fake machinegun nests. While the sound would startle the opposing soldiers at first, it didn't take long for them to realize there was nothing being fired.

[@nymalous3428]

You could use that as a double bluff though. After they get used to those nests having no ammo, they charge a nest that sounds like it's just using a rattle... then the actual gun opens up as they get close. Soldiers using the M-1 would carry empty clips to "ping" on rocks so the enemy thought they had fired all of their shots for the same reason.

[@phredphlintstone6455]

I've done this with my paintball gun. Turn off my supply, fire until it "goes full auto" recock and turn my supply back on. Tag the stunned people charging my position

[@dchil15]

@@nymalous3428 There's no evidence of that actually happening with M1 clips. It's a set of myths fed inside the military and immortalised by Roy Dunlap repeating what other soldiers had told him.

[@nymalous3428]

@@dchil15 A number of WWII vets chimed in on a video that purports to dispel this "myth," and said that it actually happened, particularly in small scale urban engagements.

[@dchil15]

@@nymalous3428 id like to see this video.

[@rossstenner4402]

I remember, as a cadet, using a wooden gas rattle in the late 1960s on the school field to represent Bren fire. We weren't allowed bulleted blank & the standard RG blank was too short to feed properly.

[@sampointau]

We had "DP" brens in the early 70's in cadets as well, butts and barrels with bands of yellow paint and used the full length blank which had a longer brass case with the tip crimped in in the bullet shape. The barrels had a restrictor plug screwed into the flash hider.

[@reverance_pavane]

I do like the idea of tankers doing small arms qualification training going "pop" because they felt that these weapons didn't deserve a "bang."

[@heneagedundas]

I recall OTC training in the mid 70s where we had to shout "bang". I had the LMG so was shouting "rat-a-tat", but was laughing so much I had a stoppage.

[@thomasborgsmidt9801]

After You had Your little laugh about the Danish weapons designer Bang - and his (in the context) hilarious name, You could notice that rattle in Danish is a "skralde" and that is due to the practical application of the rattle. Historically the rattle was used by garbage men on their route to collect garbage so the households could bring out their garbage to be collected. The garbage collector is thus in Danish a "skraldemand" (last d being mute).

[@samholdsworth420]

All I know about the Danish is that everyone calls them swamp Germans

[@lordsimonicus3479]

@@samholdsworth420 That's the Dutch.

[@samholdsworth420]

@@lordsimonicus3479 my apologies to the Danish. I'm very sorry

[@WildBillCox13]

Most interesting. Thanks.

[@RoyalArmouries]

Thanks for the knowledge Thomas 🙏

[@neilmorrison7356]

The rattles at football games were often surplus gas rattles. These rattles were to be used as warnings of a gas attack. They were part of the standard kit for ARP Wardens.

[@yetanother9127]

That's exactly where my mind went when I saw this contraption--perhaps having machine gunners in static positions pull double duty as gas wardens. But the idea of using them to simulate gunfire is almost as interesting.

[@Man_fay_the_Bru]

I had one

[@toast1012]

@@yetanother9127 gunfire snaps. this is retarded

[@ColdestDay]

"They are twanging" I love the proper British academic terms. Greetings from Australia

[@darrenleiberman6250]

On of my favourite humourists was Spike Milligan. He once wrote a piece about the battle of Catford bypass being temporarily halted when the British army requested the return of their bullet.

[@jamesmiddleton1278]

RMAS 1991 our first exercise we were issued rattles for LMG fire. An editorial in the Daily Telegraph followed later in the week and we were issued an increased amount of blank ammunition from then on. I seem to remember we had some cadets whose parents were “well placed.”

[@malcolmcraven4906]

In my cadet unit in the 1980s we had something that looked similar! Always had us in the gun group with the Bren, the no2 on the gun swinging the rattle like crazy 🤪

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

People might think using a noisemaker is cheap and chintzy, but during my training with the FN C2A1, we had to yell *_SHORT BURST! SHORT BURST!_*

[@ThePsiclone]

did you ever get hit by a "Fake bullet, Fake bullet"? 🤣

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

@@ThePsiclone In the context of this conversation? Yes.

[@blacksmith67]

I had the C2 for an exercise and was told to yell _SONOFAB***CH!_ when I ran out of my 30 blanks. This was the mid 80s.

[@TeddyBear-ii4yc]

Did you carry this on into married life? 😳 🙂

[@davidchilds9590]

I used a trench rattle as a simulator for the LMG (Bren) during RAF training at Cranwell in the 1970s.

[@luismimolina2011]

This is the kind of attachments we should get in videogames.

[@CanalTremocos]

Finally ammo I can afford!

[@russelltaylor7779]

I had an old rattle that was marked "gas", made of wood as per your example with markings for issue in the war. Obviously you could warn people by making a very loud noise without causing sparks. I used to drive my workmates mad with it.

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

yeah air raid wardens had them, it was the official warning sound for public gas attacks

[@RoyalArmouries]

Bet you were popular in the office

[@associatedblacksheepandmisfits]

@@RoyalArmouries 🤣🤣

[@johnfrench5279]

The question bugging me throughout the video is why is there a 97 round aerial pan mag on a ground Lewis?

[@mahashma449]

If I was a Lewis gunner, I'd have to admit I'd be using bigger pans as well if I could get away with it.

[@johnfrench5279]

@@mahashma449 Not much use since the extra high pan completely blocks your sights. Also, dumping two of those bad boys in quick succession means you no longer have a functioning barrel.

[@samholdsworth420]

Thanks very much for creating

[@ptonpc]

Considering how loud those rattles can be, it make sense for exercises where there is no need to fire blanks or live ammunition.

[@wilso845]

Shouting bang or banana ensure the weapon stays carbon free during excise 😂

[@charlesphillips4575]

The Camberley ACF adapted Bren mags to work much like this. It had a length of spring steel attached, at one end, to the inside of the magazine and the handle operated a cam to move the other end away from the side of the magazine then release it to slap against the magazine. As far as I am aware it was a local modification.

[@akanji8285]

You and Ian from forgotten weapons need to start a podcast

[@tarjei99]

Troops would have preferred the rattle over blanks since they would not have to clean the gun.

[@colbeausabre8842]

But they had to clean the rattle. You need to understand Sergeants-Major

[@geordiewishart1683]

The British plural of sergeant major is sergeant majors

[@NM-wd7kx]

I thought for sure it was going to be a gas rattle, for a forward sentry or when someone manning a post.

[@JorisKoolen]

Is there a matching vuvuzela conversion Lewis Gun?

[@brendasg155]

You have got the coolest job ever.

[@samwise7538]

"Yes, this is a one-up from shouting bang" made me genuinely lol

[@matthewgosling421]

I still want Jonathan to look at the AK50 by Brandon Herrera. Just to hear his thoughts.

[@calvingreene90]

The tanker known as "The Chieftain" said his tankers took to shouting "pop" when training in dismounted fighting.

[@HypocriticYT]

A cap gun was an evolutionary step forward from this rattle 😊

[@GCCRACER]

Here in Austria, and I guess possibly in other countries, in the week before easter, we have the tradition of sending kids rattling trough the streets instead of church bells tolling for noon ("the bells flew to Rome"). I want this for next easter...

[@keithmoore5306]

i figured that was from the war for use as a gas alarm!! i wasn't aware you could use the 97 round aircraft pan on a ground gun i've always been told you couldn't due to the sights being blocked by the pan!

[@chrisabraham8793]

I can remember years ago cycling around the Longmoor ranges and the Army cadets were out in force doing a exercise at the side of the range perimeter track and noticed that some cadets had hardboard cutouts of SA80s, poor kids been better off with a cap gun from a toy shop.

[@ibalrog]

Next time I read a Bolo story and it references "infinite repeaters", I'm going to think of this device.

[@johngreen-sk4yk]

Some years ago I saw a bren gun magazine for sale with a similar device built into it, I've always wondered if it was a one off or more widely used 🤔?

[@SeLeevi]

Suomi SMG has similar device too which inserts like a magazine to magazine well. A Finnish military antiquary shop is selling one for 40€, description says that it was designed after WW2 (and it is a reproduction using original measurements). Would be nice maybe, if I had a Suomi SMG to put it in.

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

Great stuff, an artefact that could have only survived in the Pattern Room or Shrivenham wouldn't you say? I like that the bipod has the weapon suspended beneath it rather than balancing on top. It is a much better arrangement for handling within the limitations for sighting. Notably, the TRG Bipod is arranged so that although mounted below, it behaves as though the barrel is suspended between the legs. Makes a lot of difference in my experience. Must design a new GPMG bipod.........

[@shisno7914]

Always appreciate your work

[@RoyalArmouries]

We appreciate you too

[@AdventureswithTrains]

When my Grandpa was a kid in wartime London, his uncle gifted him a wooden toy version of the Thompson SMG, it made him the top boy on the street when playing soldiers because it had a clacker on that made a sound like it was being fired.

[@jamesneveaux4892]

In the 80's in the Canadian military when blanks were in short supply we used to yell; 'Army Cutback' 'Army Cutback' 'Army Cutback, Back, Back, Back'

[@karmolr68]

"Budget Cut"

[@TMFShooting]

Very Interesting , Thank you Jonathan.

[@il6993]

They really put a rattle on the "Belgian Rattlesnake".

[@Twirlyhead]

Football rattles were actually banned in England some time in the 1970s as opposing fans thought they had Lewis Guns.

[@MervynPartin]

Before you even mentioned Dad's Army, I immediately thought of the Home Guard inside Corporal Jones's butcher's van poking the guns out of the side shouting 1 2 3 Bang 2 3..... Except for your video, I would never have believed that such a silly official device existed,

[@stupitdog9686]

During my training pre to joining HMS Ganges ...on the training ship "Arethusa" we were allowed to fire 5 (five) .22 rounds through a sleeved .303 rifle .. per year !! During my time on this establishment I fired 20 rounds......what joy!!

[@frostedbutts4340]

Damn .22 was probably not even a penny per shot back then, talk about cheapskates

[@charleslyster1681]

When I was at Sandhurst in 1982 we were not issued many blank cartridges; we were instructed to shout BANG, BANG! when we had run out. It felt very silly; I’d love to have had one of these!

[@Otokichi786]

The Rattle/Clacker to simulate machine gun fire reminds me of after-World-War-II interviews of German/Japanese civil/military officials/officers. Asked why they thought the U.S. military was a joke/no threat, they cited at-training newsreels of the U.S. army. The "Machine Gun" was made of wood , the "Tank" was a pickup truck, and there was prominent use of "BANG!" and "BOOM!" placards.

[@mahashma449]

Anyone else wanting to hear Jonathan spend an hour elaborating on the reasonings for keeping rimmed .303 British? Yes?

[@SCjunk]

Police and ARP used trattles duroing WW2 -but originally it was a method of altering other officers before whistles were introduced -hence a term "before he could swing his rattle" an elaboration of "it happened suddenly"

[@loddude5706]

Only trouble of training with rattles (stick or drum), the crews never learn to pick up their brass! : )

[@RoyalArmouries]

These sound like words of experience.

[@loddude5706]

Steptoe's instant gravy granules : )

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

You’re in your own time now lads… :)

[@slick_slicers]

It’s a Dad’s Army BFA! Back when I was in the Cadet Force, this would beat having just 8 blank rounds for a 48 hour exercise!

[@bennnymiddleton40]

Durring my basic training in the US Air Force, they gave us fake M4s and we yelled “FIRE TRIGGER SAFE!” Instead of shooting, the only time we actually handled real weapons was the day we shot to qualify. But for training purposes it was just yelling, and they did a good job of simulating incoming mortar fire so if you wanted to “shoot” an enemy more than 20 feet away it depended on if they were looking at you if they got hit.

[@stevenicholas5651]

Very cool gun! Thanks for the video. Hahah such a funny accessory

[@dapper189]

As a pre 911 PFC, I ran a machine gun simulator for the expert medic qualification course. it looked like a .50 but had a propane and oxygen tank hooked to it, and a car battery, and it would pop and shoot fire, like .50.

[@archygrey9093]

I thought it might have been something that the gunner kept cranking whilst the gun was being reloaded to keep the enemy "supressed"

[@joekurtz8303]

Learn something every day I say I would have half expected a bell, similar to a margin bell on typewriters -.to signal a spent magazines .

[@Ponen77]

Hello Jonathan Bakwansmor, I am Ponen, and glad to meet your acquaintance.

[@NateTheScot]

As fascinating as humourous! Thanks for another interesting video on a curious weapon oddity!

[@nymalous3428]

I was randomly recommended this video by youtube. I found it interesting. Sometimes the algorithm gets it right (but not very often, most of the stuff it suggests is not interesting to me).

[@badpossum440]

In a very old cartridge book of mine i just recently came across a reference to rimless .303 no one knew about it, low and behold a Lewis in rimless .303. So not a printers mistake.

[@ericconnor8419]

The wooden block is essential it acts as a soundboard and resonator.

[@aferguson850]

Hi Jonathan, could you do a video about artillery from the collection?

[@RoyalArmouries]

They are definitely in the pipeline. Any suggestions for what you'd like to see us cover?

[@aferguson850]

@@RoyalArmouries I think something like rhe Armstrong Gun, could be good. You could have background on old artillery, then why they tried to modernize it and how, before the ultimate failure of the gun. Or maybe something relatively straightforward and famous like a french 75 or a gun recovered from the Mary Rose

[@aferguson850]

@@RoyalArmouries i believe the object no. for the Armstrong gun is XIX.506 and it is in Fort Nelson

[@tetsubo57]

That metal striker would make a great mace head.

[@cadestanfield1716]

USMC does this on dry fire ranges, except we count out loud and at 30 do a reload

[@christopherdunn8343]

My feeling is that the two front handles were to also enable a person on either side of the gun to help carry it

[@alimanski7941]

It's not just a matter of ammunition costs, but also how much you can trust conscripts. Initially, you can't. So you'd rather them have a coarse throat than shooting up their friends. I too did quite a lot of shouting "Esh" ("Fire") in service :)

[@myparceltape1169]

Excellent point.

[@johnnunn8688]

At the time of the Falklands war, I was on my course to become a Sgt (RAF) at RAF Hereford. Because all the ammunition went to the Falklands, (rightly so) we had to do a lot of rat-a-tat-a-tat. I think I would have preferred this!

[@HellaNorCal916]

"Just how dad's army this is" - Did I hear that correctly? What a endearing description for obsolete, old/last gen equipment😄

[@CorvusCorone68]

"Dad's Army" is a term for the British citizens that organized a militia to deal with a possible German invasion during WWII, there was also a TV show of the same name, featuring mostly grandpas getting into humourous shenanigans, even tho the real militias would have been doing like suicide missions and assassinations and such

[@aceofhearts573]

2:37 when I was doing basic training in the summer of 2009 the cadre ordered me to scream "budget cuts" instead of bang. Good times.

[@Ratty_Rex]

I used to have a BSA 10 speed pedal bike! .... loved boasting I owned a BSA. No one ever knew what that meant then.

[@myparceltape1169]

? Pronounced " beeza" ?

[@mickymondo7463]

Is it likely that the carry handles would be used by a three man team for rapid redeployment during combat, one on the front one on the rear and one other carrying the ammunition?

[@ulissedazante5748]

Slightly surprised nobody has marketed a picatinny-compatible hand crank rattle for the serious tacticool experts.

[@JoriDiculous]

Newer seen a rattle on a gun, but here in Norway in ye olden days they some places uses rattles (kind of like the ones used in sports event now)to scare off birds, trolls etc.

[@oldesertguy9616]

The Lewis is such an odd-looking weapon that it's beautiful. Something about them just exudes early 20th Century aesthetics.

[@txgunguy2766]

Hard to believe that the US military passed on it when Major Lewis (USMC) offered it to them.

[@TheArgieH]

​@@txgunguy2766 And as a consolation prize they got the Chauchat to club the enemy with. To pass on the Lewis, the US Board of Ordnance must have really hated Major Lewis, was it because he was US Navy? Still the Army Airforce did get the Lewis to tackle King Kong (unless the original film is actually inaccurrate).

[@txgunguy2766]

@@TheArgieH No, King Kong was absolutely historically accurate. That's the way it really happened. As for the Chauchat, the original French 8mm Lebel version was adequate but the American version of the "SoSo" converted to 30'06 Springfield is the one that REALLY had all the problems. However, in the last few months of the war, a new American light machine gun was tested in combat that would become beloved by US troops of the next war, the Browning B.A.R.

[@TheArgieH]

@@txgunguy2766 Thanks for the correction, it is important to get these things right. Hmmm...B. A. R. beloved by all, except those who had to carry it and the spare clips maybe? Now if they had adopted the Bren how many more Medals of Honour would have been awarded? The Bren did seem to be a VC magnet.....As somebody noted, lots of citations start "He picked up a Bren and....."

[@johnharder5618]

Interesting Video I live in NW Ohio My Great Great Grandmother had a rattle that looked almost like what is mounted on that Lewis Gun But the one she had was used for "Bellings" of newlyweds ( not sure if spelled correctly ) She and my Great Great Grandfather came to the USA just before WW1 from somewhere in Germany As a young man I helped her at a Belling

[@MykeWinters]

I love this firearm

[@WildBillCox13]

"A fair gun, a rattlin' gun . . ." -Traditional

[@tektrixter]

Did it happen to be found in a rattlin' bog?

[@WildBillCox13]

@@tektrixter The bog down in the valley-o, to be specific. ;-)

[@tomfromstthomas]

In the 90s in Canada we yelled " budget cut"

[@Andy85uk]

My grandad told me that the Norwich Home Guard used the snaps from Christmas crackers to simulate shooting

[@terrancedactielle5460]

I want to see just how accurate that rattle is on the range, is there a follow up video?

[@MascotWP]

I think the rattle is very practical and serves a useful function in a wide variety of scenarios. Short of Ammo? training exercise for safety? weapon jammed? weapon overheating and needs time to cool? a rattle is a damn good idea. Nice option to have.

[@sleepyrasta420]

Very interesting video

[@FordPrefect23]

I'm sure I remember Spike Milligan mentioning use of rattles in training

[@R.C.A.F.V.R.]

I've seen the rattle and the handle pod in photos three times i was told a film was made these locations 9 1st was a homeguard LDV Battle of tilehurst 3nd was at dinton LDV /Home guard training and airfiled defence range the 3rd was at lord goldsmiths home nr Bardfield all in berkshire

[@AML2000]

@@R.C.A.F.V.R. Warning -- this is a scam. Don't engage with it.

[@linkmorris8216]

"Dad's Army" 👍

[@krakenpots5693]

I remember my grandad making me a wooden "machine gun" with a rattle like this inside (to my pacifist parents utter dismay!). I wonder if he got his inspiration from this or another likewise piece of kit (he was in the French army during the Algerian war of independance).

[@lesjames5191]

As a child my dad made me a gun with a rattle in it, this video made the memories come flooding back.

[@B355Y]

Is this why I've heard Lewis guns being referred to as rattle snakes? Remember reading that somewhere

[@phantom3048]

Question about the Bipod: as far as i know hip firing the lewis gun was standard doctrine, are the handles useful for that, are they in the way or can you just ignore them?

[@wilfd]

i have always wondered what the massive rifle (last on the left, bottom row behind Jonathan) is?! it looks huge!

[@Ogsonofgroo]

My first thought on this interesting bit of tech was that it was used call your mates for more ammo or what-ever, it'd save your voice shouting over the general noise of battle field mayhem, maybe there were codes they had too, who knows? Good vid on an interesting Lewis but it is so very sad you folks don't get to go out and blast stuff at the range eh :)

[@Kez_DXX]

During WWI there were rattles made to be alarms in case of a chemical attack and at first I thought this was an interwar continuation of that idea.

[@NIGHTSTALKER0069]

The traversing bipod would have been nice.

[@stephencresswell4760]

I have a gas rattle from WW2 and it looks exactly like that.

[@sarchlalaith8836]

For identification between trenches before they realised there would be zero requirement to identify between trenches that never move? {saying this about 1 min mark}

[@tractorhead971]

It’s to disguise the pause during reloading which is when the counterattack will launch.

[@a0flj0]

Where I live, rattles are used to scare off crows, starlings and other pest birds from eating grapes in the autumn.

[@steveholmes11]

Folding the legs, could you swing the right leg up and over to park it alongside the barrel?