大象传媒

One of the worst crimes in any of the Services is to discharge your weapon by accident.I must plead guilty,not once but three times have I fired a weapon un-intentionally.This is how the first came about.I was a Lewis gunner.I was concerned with defending the heavier guns from attack by low flying aircraft.On this particular morning I had been in action against a DORNIER 17.When the All Clear sounded I removed the magazine from the top of the gun and asked permision to leave my post to clean the gun.I took the gun down to my bed space,intending to boil out the barrel.This was normal procedure after firing any weapon.I noticed that the gun was "cocked" and to release the springs (once again normal practice)I pulled the trigger.To my surprise the gun fired! Luckily I had pointed the,once again did not eccochet gun away from any other person.The bullet hit the concrete wall a few feet away,and did not recochet,which it could well have done as the room was a concrete bunker having been built in the 1800s.I am still puzzled as to why this happened.By-the-way,I had had no training on the use of a Lewis gun merely been told to "go on the Lewis" .Which was typical of the 1940s.

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