Book Review: Flying Guns of World War I

We’ve looked at a couple early self-loading rifles that saw aerial use this week, so I figure it’s a good time to check out a book on the subject. Flying Guns of World War I is an excellent work on aerial weaponry up to 1932, from the very first hand weapons up to heavy cannons. It goes into detail on not just the guns, but also the aircraft and tactics of the time.

This book deserves a place in the library of anyone interested in unusual and interesting firearms – pick up a copy and enjoy!

3 Comments

  1. Hello,
    Thanks for demonstrating this ausome gun,and yes there is another model of this lewis exist developed by Savage arms corporation Model 1918 and Barrel design is entirely differant becouse this is an Aircraft version and this huge radiator housing is depleted..
    As you corrected yourself yes Lewis trigger mechanism doesnt have any hammers it have a sear just like all machine guns…

    Behind the curtains,German designer Lewis Stange is Engeniered FG42 with same bolt mechanism,so later on USA developed infamous M60,funny thing is bolt mechanism mostly not changed at all..

    So despite everything Lewis was an good example in firearms evolution and M60 still in full service lines…
    I have an diagram showing Aviational model of lewis drawing schematics,showing main cutaway view,ejection,extraction plus magazine front and rear sights..

  2. An excellent publication on the aircraft-mounted versions of the standard ground-based machine-guns, and what modifications it took to adapt them to the unfamiliar requirements of the strange and unexplored field of aerial combat. A very good recommendation on Ian’s part.

    By the way, as incongruous as this sounds, the camera caught Ian at a moment which makes him appear to be closing his eyes in sheer bliss over the book itself! 🙂

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