page_title: Lewis gun
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Lewis gun / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: MARINE CORPS RIFLE RANGE, LEWIS MACHINE GUN TESTS
context_page_description: The Lewis gun is a First World War–era light machine gun. Designed privately in America but not adopted, the design was finalised and mass-produced in the United Kingdom, and widely used by troops of the British Empire during the war. It had a distinctive barrel cooling shroud and top-mounted pan magazine. The Lewis served to the end of the Korean War. It was also widely used as an aircraft machine gun, almost always with the cooling shroud removed, during both World Wars.
context_section_description: The Lewis was produced by BSA and Savage Arms during the war, and although the two versions were largely similar, enough differences existed to stop them being completely interchangeable, although this was rectified by the time of the Second World War.
  The major difference between the two designs was that the BSA weapons were chambered for .303 British ammunition, whereas the Savage guns were chambered for .30-06 cartridges, which necessitated some difference in the magazine, feed mechanism, bolt, barrel, extractors, and gas operation system. Savage did make Lewis guns in .303 British calibre, though. The Model 1916 and Model 1917 were exported to Canada and the United Kingdom, and a few were supplied to the US military, particularly the Navy. The Savage Model 1917 was generally produced in .30-06 calibre. A number of these guns were supplied to the UK under lend-lease during the Second World War.
caption: U.S. Marines field tested the Lewis machine gun in 1917.
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