| Lewis Gun Optical | |
|---|---|
| |
| Details | |
Damage |
24 |
Accuracy |
43 |
Hip Fire |
32 |
Control |
58 |
Rate of Fire |
480 |
Fire Modes |
|
Ammunition |
47/141 |
Used By |
Support |
The Lewis Gun Optical is a primary weapon for the Support class in Battlefield 1.
In-Game Text[]
A versatile and iconic light machine gun considered by many to be the best of WWI. Also known as 'the Belgian Rattlesnake' and was widely used during the war.
History[]
The Lewis is the brainchild of U.S. Army colonel Isaac Lewis, created in 1911. After it was passed over by the Army, Lewis retired the Army and left the United States entirely, to create his own firearm production company in Belgium. The Armes Automatique Lewis focused on bringing the Lewis Gun to life and cooperated closely with the Birmingham Small Arms Company to rectify production difficulties. The result? One of the most distinctive and powerful light machine guns in the War. Officially adopted by Great Britain in October 1915, for both infantry and aircraft use, it was prized for its reliability, accuracy, and firepower. The LMG was so reliable, in fact, that its use by the British continued in World War II (though spurred on by the loss of more advanced weapons at Dunkirk).
The question of why such a weapon wasn't issued to American troops has a simple, embarrassing answer: Pettiness. General William Crozier, Chief of Ordnance of the Army, apparently disliked Lewis enough that not only did he block the LMG's adoption by the U.S. Army, it's reported that any Lewis guns procured by American troops were to be confiscated and replaced with the Chauchat... Interestingly, Crozier's decisions were otherwise spot-on and included the adoption of the Colt M1911, the Springfield M1903, the M1918 Browning Automatic, and the M1917 machine gun.