The Lewis gun was too heavy and unwieldy to use for marching fire.
You remember those WALLY hunter killer teams I wrote about earlier in this thread? The ones who compelled the Germans to develop the MG08/15?
And OBSERVE real tests.
Notice the results?
Walking Fire tests. The Lewis gun can be walk fired, but not especially well.
Look at the Lewis gun in walking fire from 4.30 on
I really recommend the
CandR Arsenal/Forgotten Weapons series. It destroys a lot of myths and corrects a great many misperceptions about the small arms tech of WWI. AND I might add this archeology is quite recent and hands on for us for a across the board data set. Now I have a greater appreciation for the "idiots" who tried to solve brand new weapons (smokeless powder and high powered small bore bullet) tech of the late 19th century. They were not idiots after all.
For example, for me, among LMGs.
The Madsen after I've seen it in use, is horrible.
The Benet Mercie is worse than the Madsen.
The MG 08/15 was a kludge. It worked, but it was "weird".
The Lewis gun is phenomenal for the era.
The Chautchat for what it was supposed to do, is actually a lot better than I originally believed. That is one myth destroyed.
And the BAR is the BAR.
McP.