1862 Gatling Machine Gun Patent

This work is derivative from the Public Domain Patent Image Associated with the device shown. Credit: U. S. Patent Office ... more

by Barry Jones

Title

1862 Gatling Machine Gun Patent

Artist

Barry Jones

Medium

Photograph - Public Domain Image

Description

This work is derivative from the Public Domain Patent Image Associated with the device shown. Credit: U. S. Patent Office

Wikipedia Excerpt About:

The Gatling gun is one of the best-known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. Invented by Richard Gatling, it is known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat. Later it was used in the Boshin War, the Anglo-Zulu War and still later in the assault on San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.[1]

The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyclic multi-barrel design which facilitated cooling and synchronized the firing/reloading sequence. Each barrel fired a single shot when it reached a certain point in the cycle, after which it ejected the spent cartridge, loaded a new round, and in the process, allowed the barrel to cool somewhat. This configuration allowed higher rates of fire to be achieved without the barrel overheating.

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November 12th, 2014