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Isaac Newton Lewis is best known as the designer of the Lewis light machine gun, of course – but that was not his only work in the firearms field. In 1919, he patented a semiauto handgun using the same gas-operated, rotating bolt mechanism as the machine gun. It is a pretty massive steel beast of a handgun, and interestingly fires from an open bolt, despite being semiautomatic only. This is a questionable choice for a handgun, as it substantially hinders practical accuracy because of the heavy mass moving during the firing process, forcing the shooter to have exceptional followthrough to make hits.
That said, this pistol is very well made, and operated quite smoothly (except when the cocking sleeve rotates slightly out of alignment and prevents the bolt from falling). It even has a reversible firing pin. This pistol is chambered for .45 ACP, and is depicted in patents as having a double-stack magazine with a 15-round capacity. The magazine is missing from this example, but I am aware of another Lewis handgun of different design that does have a magazine of this basic type, so it’s not just a patent sketch. The gun is devoid of any markings, and I have no information on how many were made in total – but I suspect the number to be very low – possibly only this one.
Related:
Grant Hammond .45 Trials Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Vq-rfm5Rs
Savage .45 ACP Trials Pistols: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYOdvcnvkY
Knoble .30 Cal Trials Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99NZMAC7Spg
Early .45 ACP Ruby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFGT2KRfxTc
Mauser 12/14 in .45 ACP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lPRZzTC084
Schouboe .45ACP Pistols: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAEWDf-LfcY
Pieper .45ACP Prototype Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7E_2GGJIi4
BSA Prototype .45ACP Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA2nRg4T2PI
Русская версия: https://youtu.be/ES2x2laIkCo
At Forgotten Weapons I think the most interesting guns out there are the most obscure ones. I try to search out experimental and prototype weapons and show you how they work, in addition to more conventional guns that you may not have heard of before. You’re much more likely to find a video on the Cei Rigotti or Webley-Fosbery here than an AR or Glock. So, do you want to learn about something new today? Then stick around!
