135. Light field mount top lug. 136. Barrel mouthpiece spanner. 137. Magazine filling handle. [Illustration: Plate VI. LEWIS AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN. ] Description. The gun complete weighs 25¼ lbs. and can be withdrawn from its leather case and put into action immediately. There are only 62 parts in the gun proper—these cannot be wrongly assembled, and require no adjustment. No water is used for cooling purposes, the steel barrel being closely fitted with a jacket of aluminium having deeply-cut grooves throughout its length. Over this is a thin tubular steel casing, the muzzle end of which extends (in reduced diameter) beyond the end of barrel, the special shaped mouthpiece screwed to the end of barrel serving the double purpose of firmly securing the radiator in place and of directing the powder blast of each discharge as to greatly increase the “ejector action” of this blast in sucking cool air through the grooves of the radiator. The system is so effective that the gun is found to give a slightly greater velocity to the bullet than can be obtained from the same length of barrel in a shoulder arm firing the same ammunition. There is no excessive recoil and the gun can be used with or without mount. The gun is fed from a rotating drum magazine, which is controlled by the reciprocating breech mechanism. Shell Deflector. The shell deflector is an attachment for controlling the ejection of empty cartridge cases. It is very readily and quickly attached, and when in position can be instantly swung back out of the way so that the inside of the gun may be examined or any part of the mechanism got at. Light Folding Field Mount. Is a three-and-a-half-pound folding mount adapted for general use with infantry and cavalry. The mount is surprisingly rigid, and permits of very accurate shooting. Both front and rear mounting yokes, connected through centre post and rear brace, are pivoted about the axis of the centre post, so that the gun is always free to traverse. The gun is also free to turn within the yokes, so that the sights may always be kept vertical, no matter what the position of the feet. When the mount is attached, it is often convenient to use the rear brace as a handle for carrying the gun. [Illustration: Plate VII. Light Folding Field Mount Complete. ] To Put Gun into Action. When a loaded magazine is dropped into place over the magazine post, and the charging handle pulled to the rear as far as it will go and then released, the gun is put into action by a pull on the trigger, and continues to fire until the finger pressure on the trigger is released, or until the magazine is empty. Single Shots. When the trigger is pulled once and very quickly released a single shot is fired, this may be repeated at will until the magazine is empty. Semi-Automatic Fire.