1022 FULLY TRANSFERABLE ORIGINAL BSA ENGLAND MODEL

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5,500.00USDby s*****l
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[?]Live Online Auction Starts In loading 2025 May 08 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Category Firearms & Military
Auction Currency USD
Start Price 5,500.00 USD
Estimated at 11,000.00 - 17,000.00 USD
1914 MARK III LEWIS MACHINE GUN. CURIO. Cal. 303 British. S# A95. Bbl. 26". The Lewis Machine Gun was one of the first light machine guns to be used in war time in a large scale. The first was originally adopted by the Belgian Army in 1913. The British Army, soon thereafter obtained manufacturing rights & it was made in large numbers for the remainder of the war. The primary interest points were two-fold; it was light enough to be fielded by a single man, where it could keep up with an infantry battle. The second attractive point was the fast turn around in manufacturing. 6 Lewis guns could be made with the same time & expense it took to build a single Vickers gun. The Lewis Gun is a gas operated, open bolt mechanism that fires in full automatic only w/ an average cyclic rate of approximately 550 rounds per minute. It is fed w/ a pan-style drum, typically made to hold either 47 rounds or 97 rounds. The action is based on a turning bolt w/ rear locking lugs. It was made in large quantities during WWI & was used by France, The Netherlands, Norway, Japan, Imperial Russia, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Honduras, Nicaragua,the United States & the British Commonwealth. One common visual characteristic of the Lewis Gun, aside from the pan style drum magazine, is the large barrel jacket that conceals the cooling fins around the barrel. At first glance it looks more like the water cooled machine guns of the era though this design is air cooled only. This particular example was manufactured by Birmingham Small Arms Ltd. in England for Armes Automatiques Lewis in Belgium, & marked as such on top receiver cover. It is a Model 1914, designated the "Lewis Auto Gun". All exterior metal surfaces are blued. The front sight is a protected blade. Rear sight is an elevation adjustable vertical peep sight marked out to 1900 meters. It is a gas operated, full auto only action, charged by a reciprocating charging handle located on the left side. It has the large-bow trigger guard forward of its pistol grip, w/ 2-piece hardwood grip panels. Hardwood shoulder stock w/ steel butt plate, rear sling swivel & top mounted, threaded oil canister & brush. Receiver & cooling jacket marked matching "92014" with a strike-through. Under the magazine it is marked "A95" the serial number under which it was registered, as indicated on paperwork. Folding bipod wraps around cooling jacket & retained w/ brass wing nut, marked "MOUNT FIELD .303 / LEWIS GUN MARK III / H&E Ltd. MAKERS / BIRMINGHAM". Sling swivels front & rear. MAGS: 4 steel 47 rd. drums, marked "303 MkVI & VII". UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: Tan canvas & aluminum brass catcher, Tan, canvas dual mag. pouch on tan canvas belt, wooden carry handle on barrel band, spare .303 bolt, spare trigger group w/ earlier, smaller trigger guard. CONDITION: Finish remains complete & consistent w/ some thinning on high spots and in areas of mechanical intervention. Markings remain deep & clear, many filled in white for ease of reading. Bore is bright w/ strong rifling. Fire control mechanism appears to function correctly when cycled by hand. NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT MG REQUIRING BATF TRANSFER BEFORE TAKING POSSESSION. FULLY TRANSFERABLE. PROVENANCE: From the Lifelong Collection of Brian Linde. (03-1819/JZ). CURIO CLASS III. $11,000-17,000.