Gun photos & information

Machine Guns

M1917 Lewis Machine Gun

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  Photo courtesy of the Life Magazine archives, a copy in the private collection of Ric Hedman.
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  Photo courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.

The M1917 Lewis light machine gun rose to prominence during WWI. It was a popular infantry weapon on the front in Europe and it also saw extensive use on aircraft. Despite being only .30-06 caliber, it had an imposing look due to the large heat-sink cooling tube that surround the main barrel. This tube had fins on the inside that helped to disperse heat while firing. The 47 round pan magazine sat atop the weapon and could be quickly changed. The Navy adopted the weapon during the war and it became the first machine gun to equip U.S. submarines. It was used as a self-defense weapon and in an anti-aircraft mode. It could be fired from the shoulder using the standard stock and bipod mount, or attached to a pintle mount topside (usually on the bridge). This photo shows the weapon being aimed from the bridge, using an optional vertical handle in place of the stock.

Although these guns were undoubtedly still in use through WWII (likely on the O & R-class training boats), they had been largely supplanted by the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle and the M2 .50 caliber machine guns.

A color photo of the Lewis, with two open pan magazines on display. Although it was a little tedious to load the magazines with rounds, once loaded several magazines could be brought topside and quickly changed out by the gunner.

Some of the heat-sink fins can be seen just at the end of the large cooling tube, near the receiver.

Photo courtesy of Sturmgeweher.com.

A M1917 Lewis gun seen mounted above the trim manifold on the R-16 (SS-93) in 1923. This version has the standard stock installed.

Photo in the collection of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum. Contributed by Darryl Baker.

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle

Built as a man-portable infantry support light machine gun, the M1918 and M1918A1 became a standard U.S. Army and Marine Corps weapon. It was rolled out late to Army and Marine units in WWI, out of unwarranted fears of it being captured and copied by the enemy. The Navy adopted the weapon in large numbers as part of a ship's Table of Allowance for small arms. It ended up being the successor to the M1917 Lewis gun and an supplanted that weapon aboard most ships and submarines by WWII. The webmasters have seen BARs stowed in weapons racks aboard pre-WWII submarines. Hard hitting and deadly when used by properly trained men, the only real criticism of the weapon was the relatively small 20 round magazine.

Although largely discontinued by the Navy after WWII, the BAR saw service with the Army and Marine Corps well into the Vietnam war.

Photo courtesy of Historicalfirearms.com.

Deck Guns

3"/23 caliber Mk 9

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Photo in the private collection of Ric Hedman.

3"/50 Mark 7 Mod 19

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