We start with No. 8, the Colt M1895 “Potato Digger” belt-fed ... Newton Lewis and based off the previous McClean machine gun design, the Lewis Gun is operated by a gas piston and fed from ...

He took it to Colt's, which was interested in the design and began producing it as the Colt Model 1895, which later became the Model 1914. The soldiers likely gave it the nickname "Potato Digger ...