 British airmen, on the other hand, had various reasons for retaining the wing-mounted Lewis guns of their Nieuports.In early 1916 Sergeant Foster of 11 Squadron RFC improved the French hinged mounting for the upper wing Lewis gun on a Nieuport 11 or 16, by replacing the awkward double hinge of the French mount with a quadrant shaped I-beam rail.This rail became the feature of all later "Foster" mountings, and enabled the breech of the gun to slide back "and down" in one movement, bringing the breech conveniently in front of the pilot, and making it much easier to change ammunition drums or to clear stoppages.