History of WWI Primer 034: The Lewis Gun Documentary 

In his book "Iron Men with Wooden Wings" (1967) Lou Cameron wrote that Raoul Lufbery would spend the night before an air mission to inspect and refill the ammo of his Lewis magazines. When told he didn't need to do that by the other squadron members he would just just show a can full of dirty, damaged or imperfect ammo he rejected.

"Thank you for your patience," pssh. No Othais, thank you for dedicating so much of your time to this project, and that is to be said for Mae and your entire production team too. You all are on a shoe-string budget and are under personneled for the upload schedule you are trying to keep, and you're still nailing it. I'm really glad I stumbled across this channel.

"Savage loved pissing off Colt" best line of this whole video. RIP Original Savage Arms Co.

The Lewis Gun was an important WWI weapon and deserved the 81 minute video. Nor was I bored at any time watching this video.

Nearly an hour and a half video on the Lewis gun. Yes please.

the crozer angry face is pure happiness for me

This has always been my favourite gun, and being a total nerd, I watched the whole thing through and really enjoyed it. Thank you for saying nice things about us Canadians. We are pretty cool, thanks. I was at Vimy Ridge two weeks ago and it was very moving. Thanks for an excellent production.

There was man like William Crozier during the American Civil War. His name was General James Wolfe Ripely. This guy was beyond the times, he didn't like cartridge guns at all. He was appointed to the Chief of Ordnance of the Army which means he had 100 percent control of what weapons was going to the field and what was going to be adopted. During the Civil War a man by the name Christopher Miner Spencer came along with his repeating rifle. The Spencer rifle fired seven rounds of ammunition and when he saw that the Union Army needed weapons, he came and offered his rifle to the Army to the Department of War and guess who was in the one who shot the rifle down. General James Wolfe Ripley. As I said before he had a great hate for cartridge guns with the thought. "It would be a great waste of ammunition." he didn't let the Spencer Rifle get adopted in the Unions hands. Spencer tried two times to get his rifle in Unions hands. It was until the Battle of Gettysburg, that he Spencer managed to get a meeting with the President of the United States. Lincoln and Spencer took one of the Spencer's rifles and went on a walk to the spot in where the Washington Monument would later be build. After some firing of the rifle Lincoln was so impressed saw the potential of what the rifle can do and he orders General Ripely to start production of Spencer Repeating Rifles. But guess what happened. He disobeyed him and stuck with Single shot rifles. When Lincoln learns of that no rifle had been produce. He had General Ripley "Resign" his seat of the Chief of Ordnance. But in simple terms, he had him fired. After that the Union Army started buying any Single Shot or Cartridge rifle. There are plenty of man like like Crozier and Ripley that always step in the ways of progress. Hell I can think of few more people like them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!... I'm a fan of the small touches of humor sprinkled around all this information.

“Lewis Gunners” They dwell in a medley of pawls and springs, Of pinions, and lugs, and racks, Of cylinders, vents, and various things Which the average rifle lacks. My word! How they polish, and oil, and clean, Ad Nauseam every day, But you’ll always find them alert and keen - For that is the gunner’s way. At night-time they dream the most terrible dreams Of feed-arms and left-handed screws; Their slumber with grooved-tailed monstrosities teems Till they’re nigh in a fit of the blues. Those number two stoppages haunt them by night, And also far into the day; Their remarks would, I’m sure, set asbestos alight - That is also the gunner’s way. Up on the fire-step they’ll often be found Peering earnestly over the top, Taking mental impressions of all that’s around, Watching planes, and where Fritz’s shells drop. On the qui vive for gas, ready for the alarm At all hours of night or of day; Alert and intelligent, watchful and calm, As is always the gunner’s way. They pound Fritz in gaps which are torn in his wire, When his gangs are out working at night; They rake all his trenches with enfilade fire Till he’s thankful to keep out of sight. They draw all his fire till the bombers get near, And pepper him from the next bay, Then it’s “Kamerade, mercy!” and off to the rear - That’s the Allemand gunner’s way. There’s a deadly “Five-nine” that’s a fav’rite of Fritz, There are glistening Taubes overhead; There’s a gun and its gunners now shattered to bits, There are several more names ‘mong the dead. But their duty is done, as was e’er their proud boast, For the peace of their souls let us pray: God rest them, brave lads! For they died at their post - That is ever the gunner’s way.

don't ever sell your usual animations short. They're awesome. War were declared.

22:33 ian mccollum ancestor

You have to love the huge grin on Mae's face when she was doing mag dumps with the Lewis!

Bloody hell, this must be the best documentary about a firearm I have ever seen! History, humour, the actual firearm and context! I just love the story about Crozier & Lewis. Seriously guys, this made my entire day and I'm ashamed to say I haven't supported you on Patreon yet but I sure am now. You guys rock!

Came back to watch this a second time, nearly seven years later. STILL a great episode.

So, this got kicked back on copyright and while probing I found a huge editing problem, cue 7 hour render and re-upload. Now I can't edit the description without a 500 error. Until I get there, here is the link for the vidya games: candrsenal.com/how-to-play-vidya-games-with-us/

Oh an all hate about Pan > Drum for the terminology here. You're correct. My only excuse is I had 3 nights of 4 hours sleep and constant editing nightmares in between. Worst episode ever in terms of labor.

THAT,..... was a tome..... and loved every minute of it... Great animation, hold onto that guy, if you can. The stripping was particularly interesting... I mean, where else will you learn how to strip a Lewis? Right here,...... right here..... The political intrigue is just as interesting.... You and the team are to be commended on presenting what is obviously the product of a gargantuan effort. Size matters and you gave the gun it's due. Thank you........ "Canadians are cool",...... I like that...... Cheers!

The pure joy on Mae's face while firing these lovely guns is just fantastic and Othias' calm and educational talk on the technical details is great too! Thanks for sharing it all with us! :)

No! No! No! This is just more lustful heresy! Othais has feet?!? What's next??? And if I may quote The Book of Armaments, Chapter Six, Verses 7-8: "The individual blessed details of holy firearms shall be brought to the faithful onlookers' attention with the sacred yellow plastic pokey hand. Red is not the color of the sacred yellow plastic pokey hand." Great video, crew! Love it! XD

the "bang bang bang bang" sounds at 8:20 made my day

A great episode! The animations are superb and well worth what you paid, and really made the gun's functioning easy to understand. Finally, best of all was that Mae's usual post shoot smiley face became an out and out cheesy grin. You can tell that she's just having the best time :)

Thanks for the plug for Canadian troops!

The limerick around the 27:00 mark alone is worth a thumbs up.

I love this channel. No other channel goes into this level of detail on firearms. You don't just show a gun you tell a story and give a comprehensive background on it. Keep up the great work this video like all the others was great.

I would love to see a full biographical episode on William Crozier once you guys get done with WWI.

when out in my shop working on some of these old guns I watch and listen to your videos, I just hope you keep them coming. Best history of firearms ever.......

I was enthralled, total consumed, Loved the back story, just enough to get the point. When I was young, would spend alot of time cleaning and tracing the mechanics of operation. So, now to be able to see some really famous weapons, and their design and operation, along with an evaluation of the shooting and handling, is Awesome. As I will never get to do it on my own

What an absolutely amazing episode! I really loved the animation, it really was outstanding.

I'm glad this video is still up.

I, for one, really enjoy the long form programming you folks present, thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication!

Fantastic video Othias and Mae! The Lewis has always been my favourite WW1 weapon and it was great to sit here for for an hour and 20 odd minutes listening to both of you break it down! I could have listed for another 2 hours! One thing I'd like to add is that the Lewis Gun also changed the face of the Infantry Battalion during the war - I'm talking from a British Commonwealth perspective here Originally the Commonwealth Infantry Battalion had a Machine Gun Section, several large heavy Vickers Guns. These were used at the Battalion Commanders command to strong point areas. In attack they were bloody heavy and used in a consolidation roll. The Lewis Guns arrival saw them issued first at a Company level and then down to the Platoon level, and the heavy machine Guns were moved to permanent Machine Gun Battalions. Companies and Platoons now became serious tactical units rather than blocks of battalions of Riflemen. Keep up the great work!

Hollywood LOVES this gun!...all the way from Rory Calhoun carrying one around in a bass fiddle case in "Treasure of Pancho Villa" to a Star Wars stormtrooper wielding one in the first movie!....

can we get an "angry chief of Ordnance" gif?

Oh and as if you now have 3D animations for the mechanism! This channel is one of the most impressive on youtube at conveying information in an in-depth yet entertaining way. It's clearly incredibly well researched and the information imparted is well chosen and always fascinating. There is definitely an audience for this stuff and I'm happy to be a part of it. Good luck for the rest of this project and whatever else you do after!

Othais has a very soothing voice. sometimes i like to listen to old episodes qhile trying to sleep and really long ones where theres one shooting segment late in the video are best for this.

This was my favourite episode so far. Intresting political scheming, twice as long as normal, bigger gun than normal, longer even more detailed animation, Mae having extra fun at range with that huge grin after shooting...

Amazing episode. Love the level of detail and care you put into these.

Without any doubt this is the best episode you have produced to date. The huge amount of detail in the back-story, the new animations and the amount of editing you must have had to do with multiple shoots. Well done all of you, you should be really proud to have created this.

I remember this being a brilliant episode 4 years ago. Just rewatched it and my memory is not faulty this is a brilliant episode one of the best bang bang bang bang

Thanks Othais and Mae! Exellent show. Keep em coming!!!

I hope I'm not the only one who sees a remarkable similarity between the Mclean Musket Machine Gun and the assault rifle in Fallout 4.

Love that scene in “The Professionals” when Lee Marvin is shooting a Lewis gun at the Mexican Irregulars from the train. That was a movie.

I have deliberately waited until i could sit down and thoroughly enjoy this video without being disturbed. WOW! the best episode YET! you guys are simply the best,no other channel comes close full stop. Please keep up the great work, i know its hard but the quality of the content is second to none and just gets better. You are the best. Love from the UK!

Love, love, love the history of firearms.

Imagine being a marine and having your M1917 Lewis taken away and being issued a Chauchat.

Always loved the look and attitude of this gun but I was never able to truly understand and appreciate the engineering that went into this gun. amazing video

So I've watched like three episodes, each one better than the last, blame it on being new but I was floored when he actually held up a freaking Lewis gun, Thank you for doing these, I can't exaggerate how much I'm enjoying them.

this is riveting television!!!!!!!!! great work othais.

bang bang bang bang.... made me laugh

A thorough, historical and practical review of a wonderful piece of early technology. Well done video lacks nothing. Outstanding!

Terrific episode! So very well done, especially the animations made this complex gun understandable. The genius of the design is just awesome.

Re-watching the forbidden knowledge in protest. Wish I could do something effective

"some silly little pistol contract" I pretty much lost it at that point. Your talent for understatement is positively brilliant. :D

That animator deserves a medal. Between the animation and your explanation I understood how it works, a small triumph considering that I know nothing about firearms. Overall - a little wordy in parts but otherwise entertaining and informative, a bloody good effort. Thank you for taking the time (I hope my presentation tomorrow is as well organised and useful).

Just seeing this, four years old... wow! What a great program!

amazing job showing how everything worked. very good job.

dude you are awesome the person throwing parts back on the table was great your info is great

Nice to see the Canadians getting some love!

Othais & Mae, This was an awesome video with LOADS of information. I made it all the way thru and enjoyed every minute! Thank you for all your efforts! You got a subscriber!

Interesting fact: there is a Lewis gunner on the Canadian National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Beautiful bit of engineering this.

I love when there’s records of how a certain gun was used in seat. This is a stand out episode for so many reasons.

Utterly splendid from start to finish!

24:05 "Oww, my foot, shh nevermind roll with it, work through the pain, feel the burn, lust it"

Holy crap. hour and a half! I'm so excited for this one.

One of your very best, and probably your most significant video in this entire series. Thanks so very much for this!!!

Those 3D animations are top notch. Amazing detail.

I had never looked at the Lewis gun in any detail but this thing is awesome. I had never heard of that barrel cooling system but that was so cool. I had also always written that drum mag off as witchcraft. Awesome video.

Love the giggle Mae.:)

This episode is a showcase of vast interconnected historical knowledge and fantastic storytelling.

Oh my god that's a gorgeous animation. And the way it's divided up to show each different assembly is perfect!

Awesome video guys. So well done.

One of the best, especially about the personal politics.

This video is absolutely fascinating. We need more channels with quality information like this.

I don't why but I got really excited by that spring that acts upon the bolt. Such a cool little mechanic way of not having a traditional recoil spring that Ian would note "would shoot across the room" during disassembly.

Fascinating history!!! Together with Forgotten Weapons these are my two fave channels!!

Your videos are brilliant. You deserve to make your passion your business. Hat's off to you and Mae.

Thanks for doing this one. I never quite understood how that big shroud thing worked, I just knew in general it helped cool the barrel, but now I understand the ingenuity of that design.

Ridiculously amazingly outstanding graphics for the animation! Wow! That's some ingenious clockwork on that gun for its time!

46:01 with the Light Infantry Troops? Man those guys sound LIT ;-)

This episode was amazing! It's so cool how you guys put out such a high quality documentary every other week. Is doing these videos a full time job for the (is it 3?) 3 of you?

This show has invaded my dreams! No joke I had the playlist going when I went to sleep and was dreaming about a history teacher going over the Crozer vs Liewis stuff as well as him not prepping the army in general.

i really dig these long stories attached to the guns these are my favorite episodes soetimes i fall asleep......but ill com back to what i remember last and finish. these really are way cool

With that firing sound of course the army didn't approve the first version. You may say anything about the steam, or the magazine being silly, but it was obviously because nobody would take it seriously with that noise.

Over an hour! Duuuuuude, I've died and come to heaven!

WOW, best video yet! So much information and back story. The new animation style is simply incredible, it made understanding the mechanics of the gun very easy. Kudos to the whoever took the time to make that work, and to everyone involved. Thanks guys you are doing great work and somehow manage to keep improving on already fantastic work, I can't emphasis enough how much your work is appreciated I'm going to have to bump up my patreon support!!!

These videos have developed into full-fledged history lessons, and captivating ones at that!

@8:31 - BANG! BANg! BAng! Bang...bahg bong bung bahhh....

Great show. Looking at the magazine while Mae loaded it made me wonder how well the rounds would have stayed in place during the rigors of combat.

All your labor was worth it to me, I thoroughly enjoyed watching your video. I always liked the Lewis (I should- being Canadian), and I like it even more....what a tale. I started with the T-Gewehr, and I may get to bed late tonight!!

Absolutely loved this! Thanks for all the effort put into it!

Gosh darn dude you know how to tell a damn story. I don't know what it is but these videos just grab my attention and hold it well.

Jesus Christ it's Othias Bourne

Best Episode yet, and on a remarkable firearm I never really gave any appreciation. great job to to everyone who worked on this,I can't (but will) wait for the next one.

8:20 Thank you Othais for these wonderful sound effects! In another life you could have been a perfect voice actor!

"God I love Roosevelt" XD

Would you mind doing the same with the Chauchat please. The most misunderstood LMG of the war, but also the most commonly available ! From a fellow french fan.

Love your content, fascinating history of the Lewis so, many facts that I didn't know before watching this vid. Thanks so much for taking the time to produce such in depth and thoroughly researched content related to history of firearms.

When I was a little kid I saw "For Whom The Bell Tolls", Gary Cooper was using a Lewis and I absolutely fell in love with that machine gun and it's been the top of my list ever since.