Navy's Mark VI Lewis Gun and Why the Marines Lost It in France

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons examines a US Navy Mark VI Lewis gun in .30-06, filmed at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City. The Navy bought about 6,000 of these guns, and McCollum explains how they reached the Marines and then left their hands.

Key points

• Army holdout: McCollum says a personal feud with inventor Isaac Newton Lewis kept the US Army from adopting the gun, while Britain and Belgium used it and had it built by Savage in New York.
• Navy adoption: The Navy ordered test guns from Savage in late 1916. They arrived April 5, 1917, a day before the US entered the war, and the gun was quickly adopted as the Mark VI.
• Caliber changes: Moving from .303 British to the higher-pressure .30-06 caused excess wear, so the gas port was made smaller and the bolt's camming lug was lengthened to slow the action.
• Spotting a Navy gun: McCollum points to a solid right side on the receiver, a reinforced buttstock cup, an integral rear sight base and 14 cooling fins instead of 17.
• Taken away in France: The Marines trained with the guns and took them to Europe with the 1st Infantry Division, but the Army, which commanded the division, swapped them for Chauchats.

Quick take

McCollum notes that once the guns were under Army control, American use of the Lewis was almost entirely as an aircraft gun. The video pairs that history with a close look at the gun's construction, including how muzzle blast pulls air over its aluminum radiator.

Watch the full video: Forgotten Weapons