GATLING GUN

In 1861 Richard Jordan Gatling invented the first practical machine gun, which bears his name. It was of the multiple barrel type, having a series of parallel barrels (usually ten) arranged in a circle around a shaft parallel to them. Each barrel had its own lock, breach, etc. The whole series of barrels was arranged to revolve around their common shaft, the loading mechanism being arranged to feed the shells one at a time into a grooved carrier, which revolved with the barrels. A suitable mechanism was employed to pre the shells home into the breeches. The gun was operated by two men, one turned a crank, which, through a gear, rotated the set of barrels around its axis, the cartridges being fired by a mechanical arrangement when the gun barrel reached a certain point in its revolution. After firing, the cartridge was mechanically ejected and the barrel loaded and made ready for firing by the time it had reached its firing position. The gun differed from all previous models in principle and design, it also could be fired more rapidly and used heavier projectiles than its predece ors. Its maximum firing speed was about 20 rounds per minute. The arm is now practically obsolete, having been replaced by the automatic and semiautomatic machine gun.