The advanced fighters in the world today have been equipped with various air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles and air-to-ship missiles. There are many long-range missile battles between opposing sides in the air, and there are few space fighting scenes where you chase after each other. But in the Second World War, air combat was the most important way and the most wonderful air combat mode.
However, when the plane entered the battlefield, they didn't bring their own weapons. For example, during World War I, such a scene often appeared. For example, when German pilot Hans was on a reconnaissance mission, he met a French plane head-on. Hans waved, but the other side ironically held out his little finger. Hans turned his nose angrily, pulled out his pistol and shot at the enemy plane. The other side also immediately fired a gun back. However, neither of them hit the other. This situation often occurred during the First World War.
Early fighters were mostly used for reconnaissance, without air combat weapons. Pilots usually carry pistols for self-defense, not for shooting at the enemy in the air. This situation was not changed until the appearance of Lewis machine guns. 19 1 1 year, Saak Newton Lewis, the headmaster of Fort Maun, USA, was an expert in mechanical and circuit technology. At the invitation of Buffalo Automatic Weapons Company, he decided to develop a machine gun that can be used on airplanes.
At that time, most machine guns were generally heavy, and at least three soldiers were needed to control them. Lewis designed a central fixed machine gun barrel, located above the machine gun, which is convenient for replenishing ammunition and reducing the occupied space. At the same time, Lewis tried to "slim down" the machine gun with light materials, but the result was that the heat dissipation effect of the machine gun became worse. For a long time, he didn't find a solution to the problem.
In a shooting competition, Lewis happened to find that the high-speed airflow from the muzzle of a machine gun would form a low-pressure area. Therefore, he boldly innovated and adopted a unique cylindrical thick sleeve with aluminum longitudinal fins, which can form a low-pressure area to suck away the cold air flow behind the barrel, thus accelerating the cooling of the barrel. The improved Lewis machine gun has high shooting accuracy, portability and practicality, and can be operated independently by individual soldiers.
19 12 In the early morning of summer, it was sunny and sunny over Klaijipke, Maryland. With the help of Captain Chandler, Lewis loaded the new machine gun on the Wright -B biplane and fired at the ground targets in the air. During the shooting, nearly half of the bullets hit the target.
The performance of the new machine gun was good, and the excited Lewis immediately reported the results to the US Army Ordnance Department. However, the US military believes that aircraft are only suitable for reconnaissance, not for air combat, and regards new firearms as lost. Desperate Lewis decided to go to Europe to find another way out.
In a pub in Belgium, retired Lewis met his bosom friend. A Belgian businessman had a good talk with Lewis. After being invited to visit the Lewis machine gun, the businessman decided to invest in the establishment of Lewis Automatic Weapons Company. During the construction of the factory, Lewis upgraded the machine gun and designed the butt of the gun as a shovel handle, which made the gun more stable when shooting in the air.
Soon after, fighters equipped with new Lewis machine guns took off. Over the shooting range 120 meters, a Belgian soldier fired a Lewis machine gun at a wooden target with a ground area of 7.5 square meters, firing 47 rounds and hitting the target with 28 rounds. This result made Lewis's machine gun famous, and soon Lewis got the first order from the Belgian military. Russia, Britain, France and other countries have also set up factories to produce Lewis machine guns. Germans have a special liking for Lewis machine guns and call them "Belgian rattlesnakes".
However, no matter how favored by European countries, Lewis machine gun still has not pried open the door of the US military trade market. The US military has a tough attitude and always ignores Lewis machine guns. It was not until 19 18 that the US military accepted Lewis machine guns-2,500 Lewis machine guns left the production line and were installed on US fighter planes. Since then, Lewis machine guns have become popular all over the world, and Lewis himself is also known as the "father of aviation machine guns".