User menu
Main menu

Lewis gunner - Part 1

60 second histories

This video covers:

A description of the Lewis gunner, the first machine gunner who could pick up his gun and take it with him even though it weighed over twelve kilos.

The Lewis Gunner was the first of the machine gunners who could pick up his gun and take it with him, even though it weighed over twelve kilos. The Lewis gun team was made up of at least six men, the number one is the actual gunner, the man who fires the gun. The number two is the loader who carries a tool kit and spare parts, his job is to keep the gun firing. The other four team members are ammunition carriers, it’s their job to keep the gun supplied with ammunition. The number one and two have a pistol while the others have their full kit, rifle as well as eight magazines each for the Lewis Gun. Ammunition can be stock piled in the trenches to enable the carriers to resupply and keep the Lewis Gun firing. This team-based system means that the Lewis gunners are able to operate almost as independent units, acting both in defensive positions within a trench or in support of a raid on enemy trenches by giving covering fire from no mans land.
Eras: 
20th Century
WW1
Topics: 
Uniforms & Equipment
Weapons
Character: 
WW1 Lewis gunner
Key words: 
First world war, WW1, soldier, British, Lewis gun, gunner, machine gun, machine gunner, loader, tool kit, ammunition carrier, ammunition, pistol, rifle, magazine, KS3, key stage 3, key stage 3 history, secondary, KS3 videos, KS3 clips, KS3 history, KS3 videos, KS3 history film, KS3 history clip, WW1, World War I, World War One, World War 1, Y7, Y8, Y9, Year 7, year 8, year 9, 20thC, 20C, 20th Century, 20th C,