Gatling Guns

Gatling gun
1876 Gatling gun kept at Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Type	Rapid-fire gun, hand cranked Machine gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1862–1911
Used by	United States Russian Empire British Empire Empire of Japan France Siam Empire Korean Empire
Wars	American Civil War Anglo-Zulu War Indian Wars Haw Wars Boshin War Donghak Peasant Riots of 1894 Northwest Rebellion War of the Pacific Spanish–American War Philippine–American War Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War 1895 Counter-revolution in Hawaii
Production history
Designer	Richard Jordan Gatling
Specifications
Weight	27.2 kg (60 lb)
Length	107.9 cm (42.5 in)
Barrel length	67.3 cm (26.5 in)
Crew	Four-man crew
Barrels	6-10
Action	Crank handle
Rate of fire	200 rounds per minute on .58 caliber, 400 rounds per minute on .30 caliber

The Gatling gun is one of the best-known early rapid-fire spring loaded, hand cranked 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 again in numerous military conflicts, such as the Boshin War, the Anglo-Zulu War, and the assault on San Juan Hill during the Spanish–American War. It was also used by militias and the National Guard in episodes of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, specifically in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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 barrels overheating.

The Gatling gun was designed by the American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861 and patented on November 4, 1862. Gatling wrote that he created it to reduce the size of armies and so reduce the number of deaths by combat and disease, and to show how futile war is.

Although the first Gatling gun was capable of firing continuously, it required a person to crank it; therefore it was not a true automatic weapon. The Maxim gun, invented and patented in 1883, was the first true fully automatic weapon, making use of the fired projectile's recoil force to reload the weapon. Nonetheless, the Gatling gun represented a huge leap in firearm technology.