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111-437: The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling . It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor -driven rotary cannon . The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyclic multi-barrel design which facilitated cooling and synchronized the firing-reloading sequence. As the handwheel is cranked, the barrels rotate, and each barrel sequentially loads

222-458: A .25 ACP semi-automatic pistol . A smaller-caliber .22 Magnum "Mini COP" was also made by American Derringer. DoubleTap Defense introduced a double-barreled (over-and-under), double-action hammerless DoubleTap derringer in 2012. The name comes from the double tap shooting technique, in which two consecutive shots are quickly fired at the same target before engaging the next one. These derringers also hold two extra rounds of cartridge in

333-799: A Pennsylvania National Guard unit from Philadelphia to use against strikers in Pittsburgh . Gatling guns were famously not used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn , also known as "Custer's Last Stand", when Gen. George Armstrong Custer chose not to bring Gatling guns with his main force. In April 1867, a Gatling gun was purchased for the Argentine Army by minister Domingo F. Sarmiento under instructions from president Bartolomé Mitre . Captain Luis Germán Astete of

444-600: A self-defense weapon, and became one of the many symbols of the American Old West . In 1909, Boss & Co. introduced the over-and-under shotgun, which has remained the more popular configuration for double-barreled shotguns. Nowadays the pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns have taken over most roles in civilian home defense , law enforcement, and military usage, though the over-and-under shotguns still remain popular for waterfowl hunting , upland hunting , and clay pigeon shooting . The development of

555-589: A Colonel in the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Division , A.E.F. —saw combat on numerous occasions, and was singled out numerous times by his superior officers for his efficiency and bravery in the field. As an instructor at the Army Machine-Gun School at Langres, France, Parker instructed AEF troops in the use of the machine gun, for which he received the Distinguished Service Medal. From January–November 1918 Parker received

666-615: A Gatling gun against the Ibadan during the early 1880s. In 1882 the Bonny used a Gatling gun during an attack on New Calabar. By 1880 Siam had imported an unknown number of Gatlings. By 1885 the kingdom had a Gatling Gun regiment of 600 men; those weapons were possibly used in the Haw Wars . They were also seen among Prince Bigit's escort in 1886. The Korean Empire possessed a number of Gatlings. Six had been imported in 1884, by 1891 it had

777-562: A battery of fourteen guns and in 1894 the army's two American drilled regiments had as many as 40 Gatlings and practiced regularly (Supposedly because the noise pleased Emperor Gojong ). Some of them were deployed to defend the approaches of the capital during the Donghak Rebellion , but there is no evidence they saw combat. Lieutenant Arthur L. Howard of the Connecticut National Guard had an interest in

888-831: A brigadier general in the United States Army. He is best known for his role as the commander of the Gatling Gun Detachment of the U.S. Army's Fifth Army Corps in Cuba during the Santiago campaign in the Spanish–American War . John Henry Parker was born and raised in the small town of Sedalia, Missouri . Nominated by his congressman to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, he graduated in 1892, and

999-467: A combination of increased labour costs and a shrinking  British Empire  saw an end to the demand for handcrafted sporting rifles and the double rifle was largely supplanted by the  bolt action  rifle during 1960s and 1970s. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s, with the emergence of the big game hunting industry in Southern Africa that the production of double rifles resumed at

1110-436: A concealed-carry weapon. The Sharps Derringers had four-barrels with a revolving firing pin (often called the "Sharps Pepperbox" despite not having a revolving-barrel design) and they were first patented in 1849, but were not manufactured until 1859, when Christian Sharps patented a more practical design. When loading and unloading, the four barrels slide forward to open the breech. Production of these came to an end with

1221-944: A dumping ground for men deemed unsuitable or undisciplined by their commanders. Nevertheless, Parker successfully carried out his assignment, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on June 11, 1892. At the time, all of the Army's artillery and ammunition supplies were typically transported by draft animals such as horses or mules. It was becoming evident to many army commanders, both in the United States and abroad, that draft animals—the sole source of transport away from railroad tracks—were highly vulnerable to modern artillery fire at ranges under 1,500 yards, especially when contained in slow-moving trains of horse-drawn carriages and heavy wagons. The inability of army ground forces to bring gunnery and ammunition trains closer than 1,500 yards to an opponent with modern artillery support effectively prevented

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1332-702: A few ''camel'' guns were purchased, these were smaller and used a tripod instead of the carriage. During the Siege of Khartoum an Egyptian Gatling gun aided by a telescope was able to target Sudanese artillery crews from a distance of 2,000 yards. Gatling guns were imported by some states in Nigeria. They were used during the Kalabari Civil war of 1879–83, the Abbi House bought one from King Jaja of Opobo and it may have been used in canoe warfare. The Ijesha used

1443-531: A few components finished in O.D. green. The U.S. Army purchased several M1900s. All Gatling Models 1895–1903 could be mounted on an armored field carriage. In 1903, the Army converted its M1900 guns into .30 Army to fit the new .30-03 cartridge (standardized for the M1903 Springfield rifle) as the M1903. The later M1903-'06 was an M1903 converted to .30-06 . This conversion was principally carried out at

1554-428: A heavy cannon, and the many barrels took as long (if not longer) to reload. They also tended to be relatively expensive since they were structurally more complex than a cannon, due to all the barrels and ignition fuses, and each barrel had to be individually maintained and cleaned. A pepper-box gun or "pepperbox revolver" has three or more barrels revolving around a central axis, and gets the name from its resemblance to

1665-442: A large number of shots, either simultaneously or in quick succession. These firearms were limited in firepower by the number of barrels bundled, and needed to be manually prepared, ignited, and reloaded after each firing. In practice the large volley guns were not particularly more useful than a cannon firing canister shot or grapeshot . Since they were still mounted on a carriage, they could be as hard to aim and move around as

1776-430: A lock cylinder were separate and all mounted on a solid plate revolving around a central shaft, mounted on an oblong fixed frame. Turning the crank rotated the shaft. The carrier was grooved and the lock cylinder was drilled with holes corresponding to the barrels. The casing was partitioned, and through this opening, the barrel shaft was journaled . In front of the casing was a cam with spiral surfaces. The cam imparted

1887-737: A modified Gatling gun circa 1888 known as the Accles Machine Gun. Circa 1895 the American Ordnance Company acquired the rights to manufacture and distribute this weapon in the Americas. It was trialed by the US Navy in December 1895, and was said to be the only weapon to complete the trial out of five competing weapons, but was apparently not adopted by US forces. The Gatling gun was first used in warfare during

1998-603: A moment, I leaped to my feet and called, "It's the Gatlings, men! Our Gatlings!" Immediately the troopers began to cheer lustily, for the sound was most inspiring. Trooper Jesse D. Langdon of the 1st Volunteer Infantry, who accompanied Col. Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders in their assault on Kettle Hill, reported: We were exposed to the Spanish fire, but there was very little because just before we started, why,

2109-475: A percussion cap because self-contained brass cartridges were not yet fully developed and available. The shells were gravity-fed into the breech through a hopper or simple box "magazine" with an unsprung gravity follower on top of the gun. Each barrel had its own firing mechanism. Despite self-contained brass cartridges replacing the paper cartridge in the 1860s, it wasn't until the Model 1881 that Gatling switched to

2220-805: A period of five hours, when he was relieved by the lieutenant colonel of his regiment. Parker remained in the Army after the Armistice. He was assigned to St. Louis, Missouri, on General Recruiting Service from August 15, 1919, to March 15, 1921. He reverted to his permanent rank of lieutenant colonel on March 31, 1920, and was promoted to colonel of Infantry on July 1, 1920. Parker commanded Jefferson Barracks , Missouri, from March 15 to November 15, 1921, served at St. Louis as Chief of Staff, 7th Corps, Organized Reserves from January 15 to December 15, 1922. He then served at Kansas City, Missouri, on recruiting duty until August 1, 1923, and finally Corps Area Recruiting Officer until February 29, 1924, when he retired from

2331-506: A period. During World War I , several German companies were working on externally powered guns for use in aircraft . Of those, the best-known today is perhaps the Fokker-Leimberger , an externally powered 12-barrel rotary gun using the 7.92×57mm Mauser rounds; it was claimed to be capable of firing over 7,000 rpm, but suffered from frequent cartridge-case ruptures due to its "nutcracker", rotary split-breech design, which

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2442-428: A reciprocating motion to the locks when the gun rotated. Also in the casing was a cocking ring with projections to cock and fire the gun. Each barrel had a single lock, working in the lock cylinder on a line with the barrel. The lock cylinder was encased and joined to the frame. Early models had a fibrous matting stuffed in among the barrels, which could be soaked with water to cool the barrels down. Later models eliminated

2553-489: A selectably variable rate of fire specified to fire at rates of up to 6,000 rpm, with most applications set at rates between 3,000-4,000 rounds per minute. The Minigun was mounted on Hughes OH-6 Cayuse and Bell OH-58 Kiowa side pods; in the turret and on pylon pods of Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters ; and on door, pylon and pod mounts on Bell UH-1 Iroquois transport helicopters . Several larger aircraft were outfitted with Miniguns specifically for close air support :

2664-456: A single cartridge from a top-mounted magazine , fires off the shot when it reaches a set position (usually at 4 o'clock ), then ejects the spent casing out of the left side at the bottom, after which the barrel is empty and allowed to cool until rotated back to the top position and gravity-fed another new round. This configuration eliminated the need for a single reciprocating bolt design and allowed higher rates of fire to be achieved without

2775-568: A steady rate, driven largely by demand from American sportsmen. The Gatling gun is one of the best-known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine guns and automatic rotary guns . Invented by Richard Gatling , it saw occasional 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

2886-565: A student officer, where he graduated in April 1898. That same month he was assigned as a First Lieutenant of Infantry to the 25th Infantry Regiment in Tampa, Florida , where it was fitting out for an amphibious assault on Cuba. After the outbreak of war with Spain, Lt. Parker approached General William Rufus Shafter , commander of the U.S. expeditionary campaign being readied in Tampa, Florida, for

2997-427: A theoretical rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute, roughly three times the maximum rate of a typical modern single-barreled machine gun. Gatling's electric-powered design received U.S. Patent #502,185 on July 25, 1893, but despite the improvements, Gatling guns soon fell into disuse after cheaper, lighter-weight and more reliable recoil- and gas-operated machine guns were invented; Gatling himself went bankrupt for

3108-599: Is fairly different from that of a Gatling. None of these German guns went into production during the war, although a competing Siemens prototype (possibly using a different action) which was tried on the Western Front scored a victory in aerial combat . The British also experimented with this type of split-breech during the 1950s, but they were also unsuccessful. In the 1960s, the United States Armed Forces began exploring modern variants of

3219-758: The 6mm Lee Navy round, which they employed to defeat the Spanish infantry at the battle of Cuzco Wells . Gatling guns were used by the U.S. Army during the Philippine–American War . One such instance was during the Battle of San Jacinto (1899) ( Spanish : Batalla de San Jacinto ) which was fought on November 11, 1899, in San Jacinto in the Philippines , between Philippine Republican Army soldiers and American troops. The Gatling's weight and artillery carriage hindered its ability to keep up with American troops over uneven terrain, particularly in

3330-553: The American Civil War . Twelve of the guns were purchased personally by Union commanders and used in the trenches during the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia (June 1864—April 1865). Eight other Gatling guns were fitted on gunboats. The gun was not accepted by the American Army until 1866 when a sales representative of the manufacturing company demonstrated it in combat. On July 17, 1863, Gatling guns were purportedly used to overawe New York anti-draft rioters . Two were brought by

3441-670: The Boshin War , the Anglo-Zulu War , and the assault on San Juan Hill during the Spanish–American War . It was also used by the Pennsylvania militia in episodes of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, specifically in Pittsburgh . The Gatling gun's operation centered on a pepperbox -like multi-barrel assembly whose design facilitated better cooling and synchronized the firing-reloading sequence. The gun

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3552-746: The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly with an internal gun and with pods on wing hardpoints ; and the Douglas A-1 Skyraider , also with pods on wing hardpoints. Other famous gunship aircraft were the Douglas AC-47 Spooky , the Fairchild AC-119 and the Lockheed AC-130 . John Henry Parker (general) John Henry Parker aka "Gatling Gun Parker" (September 19, 1866 – October 14, 1942) was

3663-745: The Peruvian Navy took with him dozens of Gatling guns from the United States to Peru in December 1879 during the Peru-Chile War of the Pacific . Gatling guns were used by the Peruvian Navy and Army, especially in the Battle of Tacna (May 1880) and the Battle of San Juan (January 1881) against the invading Chilean Army. In 1888 the SS Ozama smuggled a number of Gatling guns into Haiti In 1907 Gatling guns were used by Nicaragua in

3774-612: The Silver Star Citation and the Distinguished Service Cross four times for valor displayed on four separate occasions (his final DSC Citation was a Third Bronze Oak Leaf in lieu of a Fourth Award of the DSC). (Note - during and shortly after World War I, bronze oak leaves, rather than oak leaf clusters, were awarded to represent additional awards of decorations.) His fourth DSC citation states that he

3885-495: The mitrailleuse, which required manual reloading, the Gatling gun was more reliable and easier to operate and had a lower, but continuous rate of fire. The large wheels required to move these guns around required a high firing position, which increased the vulnerability of their crews. Sustained firing of black powder cartridges generated a cloud of smoke, making concealment impossible until smokeless powder became available in

3996-663: The percussion cap building on the innovations of the Rev. Alexander Forsyth 's patent of 1807 (which ran until 1821), and the Industrial Revolution allowed pepperbox revolvers to be mass-produced , making them more affordable than the early handmade guns previously only seen in possessions of the rich. Examples of these early weapons are the American three-barrel Manhattan pistol, the English Budding (probably

4107-429: The "Dolls head" lock in 1862 which greatly improved rigidity, this was followed by James Purdey's under-locking mechanism in 1863 and  W.W. Greener 's "Wedge fast" system in 1873, finally the basic break open action known to this day had the strength required to meet the stresses of large-bore projectiles. By 1914; triple, quadruple, and quintuple locking designs could be found in various proprietary actions. By 1900,

4218-411: The 'Bruce'-style feed system (U.S. Patents 247,158 and 343,532) that accepted two rows of .45-70 cartridges. While one row was being fed into the gun, the other could be reloaded, thus allowing sustained fire. The final gun required four operators. By 1886, the gun was capable of firing more than 400 rounds per minute. The smallest-caliber gun also had a Broadwell drum feed in place of the curved box of

4329-598: The 15th century, there were design attempts to have several single-shot barrels attached to a stock, being fired individually by means of a match . Around 1790, pepperboxes were built on the basis of flintlock systems, notably by Nock in England and "Segallas" in Belgium. These weapons were built on the success of the earlier two-barrel turnover pistols, which were fitted with three to seven barrels. These early pepperboxes had to be manually rotated by hand. The invention of

4440-499: The 1860s and 1870s, and field cannons firing canister shot , much like an upsized shotgun . The latter was widely used during and after the Napoleonic Wars . Although the maximum rate of fire was increased by firing multiple projectiles simultaneously, these weapons still needed to be reloaded after each discharge, which for multi-barrel systems like the mitrailleuse was cumbersome and time-consuming. This negated much of

4551-460: The 19th century, shotguns were mainly employed by cavalry units, as mounted units favored its moving target effectiveness, and devastating close-range firepower. Both sides of the American Civil War employed shotguns, and the U.S. Cavalry used them extensively during the Indian Wars . Shotguns also remained popular with citizen militias, guards (e.g. the shotgun messengers ) and lawmen as

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4662-427: The 4th, Parker ordered the three operational Gatlings moved into the battle line. The wheels of the gun carriages were removed, and the Gatlings, along with two M1895 Colt–Browning machine guns (a gift from Col. Roosevelt) were placed in breastworks where they could command various sectors of fire. The fourth Gatling was repaired and placed in reserve behind the others. However, it was soon moved to Fort Canosa, where it

4773-401: The American assaults on both San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill. Equipped with swivel mountings that enabled the gunners to rake Spanish positions, the three fast-firing guns, firing at a range of 600-800 yards, expended approximately 18,000 cal. .30 rounds in eight and one-half minutes (over 700 rounds per minute of continuous fire) into the Spanish defensive lines atop the heights, killing many of

4884-410: The Army's Springfield Armory arsenal repair shops. All models of Gatling guns were declared obsolete by the U.S. military in 1911, after 45 years of service. The original Gatling gun was a field weapon that used multiple rotating barrels turned by a hand crank , and firing loose (no links or belt) metal cartridge ammunition using a gravity feed system from a hopper. The Gatling gun's innovation lay in

4995-721: The Army. Parker was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General on the Retired List by an act of Congress on June 13, 1940. General Parker died on October 13, 1942, at Reno, Nevada , and was interred at Section OS, Row 36, Site 8 at the Presidio in San Francisco, California, the final resting place of his former commander, General Rufus Shafter. General Parker was admitted to the Missouri Bar in February 1906. He

5106-591: The Gatling gun in 1873-74 during the Anglo-Ashanti wars , and extensively during the last actions of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu war . The Royal Navy used Gatling guns during the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War . Gatling guns were used by Egyptian forces both on sea and land, and saw combat in Sudan and Abyssinia. Isma'il Pasha ordered 120 Colt 1865 six-barrel Gatling guns; after being convinced by Shahine Pasha who witnessed Gatling gun trials at Shoeburyness in 1866. In 1872

5217-424: The Gatling guns opened up at the bottom of the hill, and everybody yelled, "The Gatlings! The Gatlings!" and away we went. The Gatlings just enfiladed the top of those trenches. We'd never have been able to take Kettle Hill if it hadn't been for Parker's Gatling guns. On San Juan Hill, Parker's battery of Gatling guns continued to rake the trenchlines until the American assault broke into a charge about 150 yards from

5328-556: The Gatling was adapted to take the new .30 Army smokeless cartridge. The new M1893 guns featured six barrels, later increased to ten barrels, and were capable of a maximum (initial) rate of fire of 800–900 rounds per minute, though 600 rpm was recommended for continuous fire. Dr. Gatling later used examples of the M1893 powered by electric motor and belt to drive the crank. Tests demonstrated the electric Gatling could fire bursts of up to 1,500 rpm. The M1893, with minor revisions, became

5439-621: The Jaulgonne–Fère-en‑Tardenois Road during advance of this Division against the enemy from July 18 to 25, 1918, in the Second Battle of the Marne. An Officer of extraordinary courage; inspiring have regiment by the example of his bravery and coolness under the most concentrated fire. On July 25, 1918, when a battalion waiting for orders was suddenly exposed to extremely concentrated fire and began to break up, he rode through

5550-624: The M1895, and 94 guns were produced for the U.S. Army by Colt. Four M1895 Gatlings under Lt. John H. Parker saw considerable combat during the Santiago campaign in Cuba in 1898. The M1895 was designed to accept only the Bruce feeder. All previous models were unpainted, but the M1895 was painted olive drab green, with some parts left blued . The Model 1900 was very similar to the model 1895, but with only

5661-518: The Philippines, where outside the cities there were heavily foliaged forests and steep mountain paths. After the Gatling gun was replaced in service by newer recoil or gas-operated weapons, the approach of using multiple externally powered rotating barrels fell into disuse for many decades. However, some examples were developed during the interwar years, but only existed as prototypes or were rarely used. The concept resurfaced after World War II with

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5772-464: The Santiago campaign were noted by Col. Roosevelt, who stated: I think Parker deserved rather more credit than any other one man in the entire campaign ... he had the rare good judgment and foresight to see the possibilities of the machine-guns. ... He then, by his own exertions, got it to the front and proved that it could do invaluable work on the field of battle, as much in attack as in defence. On July 2, 1898, Parker's guns were placed in reserve. On

5883-542: The Spanish attacking the Americans on Kettle Hill. The effect of Sgt. Green's Gatling fire was immediate. According to the testimony of Spanish officers captured after the action, only 40 of the 600 Spanish troops survived. Parker then moved the two guns again to avoid counterbattery fire, where they were used at a range of 2,000 yards to kill and scatter the crew of a Spanish 160 mm (6.3-inch) artillery cannon. The contributions of Parker's Gatling Gun Detachment during

5994-459: The advantage of their high rate of fire per discharge, making them much less powerful on the battlefield. In comparison, the Gatling gun offered a rapid and continuous rate of fire without having to be manually reloaded by opening the breech. Early multi-barrel guns were approximately the size and weight of artillery pieces and were often perceived as a replacement for cannons firing grapeshot or canister shot. Compared with earlier weapons such as

6105-507: The artillery. One of the Gatlings was detached to the service of General Shafter's aide, Lt. Miley. After being ordered to send his guns forward "to the best point you can find", Parker set up his remaining three Gatlings near the base of the San Juan Heights to provide covering fire for the advancing U.S. ground forces. During the assault on San Juan Heights , Lt. Parker and his men used three of their four Gatling guns to cover

6216-639: The assault on Santiago, Cuba, and requested permission to form a Gatling Gun Detachment. After Parker presented a detailed operational plan for the composition and employment of the Gatling Guns, Shafter approved the request, apparently impressed by the lieutenant's enthusiasm and attention to detail. On May 27, Parker was given four of a consignment of fifteen brand-new ten-barrel Model 1895 Gatling guns in .30 Army caliber recently received from Colt's Arms Company . In order to save time, Parker also received permission from General Shafter to utilize men from

6327-401: The barrels overheating quickly. One of the best-known early rapid-fire firearms , the Gatling gun saw occasional use by the U.S. forces during the American Civil War , which was the first time it was employed in combat. It was later used in numerous military conflicts, including the Boshin War , the Anglo-Zulu War , and the assault on San Juan Hill during the Spanish–American War . It

6438-400: The barrels rotated, these steel cylinders dropped into place, were fired, and were then ejected from the gun. The innovative features of the Gatling gun were its independent firing mechanism for each barrel and the simultaneous action of the locks, barrels, carrier, and breech . The ammunition that Gatling eventually implemented was a paper cartridge charged with black powder and primed with

6549-414: The battle of Namasique, largely manned by American mercenaries Gatling guns were kept in store by coal companies and used during the Battle of Blair Mountain ; In September 1 a group of miners looted one of these guns and assaulted a spot called Craddock Fork. Opposing forces fought back with a machine gun, but after three hours of heavy fire, their weapon jammed. The miners surged forward and briefly broke

6660-519: The boxlock and sidelock hammerless actions had largely superseded the hammer rifles and, with the addition of ejectors and assisted opening, the basic design of the double rifle has changed little to this day. Incidentally, it was Westley Richards who invented the first reliable safety catch for doubles, ejectors, the single selective trigger and the special extractors that enabled rimless cartridges to be used in double rifles, all features found in modern double rifles. After the  Second World War ,

6771-588: The company manufacturing Gatling guns and took a personally owned Gatling gun to the District of Saskatchewan , Canada, in 1885 for use with the Canadian military against Métis and First Nations rebels during Louis Riel 's North-West Rebellion . Because of infighting within army ordnance, Gatling guns were used by the U.S. Army during the Spanish–American War . A four-gun battery of Model 1895 ten-barrel Gatling guns in .30 Army , made by Colt's Arms Company ,

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6882-400: The crest of San Juan Hill during the infantry assault, stated the trenches on the hilltop were already filled with dead and dying Spanish riflemen, while the open ground behind the trenchline was covered with dead and dying Spanish defenders who had been shot while attempting to flee the hail of Gatling fire. Parker's employment of machine guns to support and cover infantry in the offense marked

6993-420: The crest of both hills, causing significant casualties. Despite this successful deployment, the Gatling's weight and cumbersome artillery carriage hindered its ability to keep up with infantry forces over difficult ground, particularly in Cuba, where roads were often little more than jungle footpaths. By this time, the U.S. Marines had been issued the modern tripod-mounted M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun using

7104-458: The crest of the hill, when the guns ceased firing (via hand signal from Lt. Ferguson of the attacking 13th Infantry) to avoid causing friendly fire injuries. Upon gaining San Juan Hill, the carnage wrought by the Gatling fire was immediately noted by the officers and men who had led the charge into the Spanish trenches atop San Juan. Captain Boughton, among the first of the officers to surmount

7215-498: The crews, using his own theory of mobile machine gun tactics to structure the new unit. Parker's men responded enthusiastically to the challenge of learning to operate, maintain, and fire the new guns. When it became apparent that space aboard the transports of the invasion force would be limited, Parker had the Gatling Gun detachment assigned to guard ammunition being taken aboard the transport Cherokee . Under this pretext he

7326-418: The cycle. This cyclic configuration overlapped the operation of the barrel-action groups, and allowed higher rates of fire to be achieved without each barrel overheating. Richard Gatling later replaced the hand-cranked mechanism of a rifle-caliber Gatling gun with an electric motor , a relatively new invention at the time. Even after he slowed down the mechanism, the new electric motor-powered Gatling gun had

7437-407: The death of Christian Sharps in 1874. Modern derringer designs are almost all multi-barrelled, most variants have two-barrels or four-barrels, thus essentially makes them a compact and concealable handheld version of the volley gun . The COP 357 is a .357 Magnum -caliber four-barrel (side-by-side and over-and-under), double-action hammerless derringer introduced in 1984, and not much larger than

7548-406: The defenders, forcing others to flee the trenchlines, while disrupting the aim of those still alive who continued to resist. Col. Theodore Roosevelt later noted that the hammering sound of the Gatling guns raised the spirits of his men: While thus firing, there suddenly smote on our ears a peculiar drumming sound. One or two of the men cried out, "The Spanish machine guns!" but, after listening

7659-603: The defensive line, but were repulsed by another machine gun nest located further up the ridge. The Gatling gun was used most successfully to expand European colonial empires by defeating indigenous warriors mounting massed attacks, including the Zulu , the Bedouin , and the Mahdists . Imperial Russia purchased 400 Gatling guns and used them against Turkmen cavalry and other nomads of central Asia. The British Army first deployed

7770-413: The dense jungle foliage often led to barrels quickly overheating or the action jamming. In order to develop a weapon with a more reliable, higher rate of fire, General Electric designers scaled down the rotating-barrel 20 mm M61 Vulcan rotary cannon for the 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition. The resulting weapon, the M134 Minigun , could fire up to 6,000 rounds per minute without overheating. The gun has

7881-489: The development of the Minigun and the M61 Vulcan . Other versions of the Gatling gun were built from the late 20th century to the present, the largest of these being the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger autocannon as used on the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II . Multiple-barrel firearm Multiple-barrel firearms date back to the 14th century, when the first primitive volley guns were developed. They are made with several single-shot barrels assembled together for firing

7992-467: The double rifle has always followed the development of the double-barrelled shotgun, the two are generally very similar but the stresses of firing a solid projectile are far greater than  shot . The first double-barrelled  muskets  were created in the 1830s when  deer stalking  became popular in Scotland. Previously  single barrelled  weapons had been used but, recognising

8103-630: The electric-powered, rotating barrel Gatling-style weapons for use in the Vietnam War . American forces in the Vietnam War, which used helicopters as one of the primary means of transporting soldiers and equipment through the dense tropical jungles , found that the thinly-armored helicopters were very vulnerable to small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attacks when they slowed to land. Although helicopters had mounted single-barrel machine guns, using them to repel attackers hidden in

8214-430: The enemy and with shell splinters falling about him, he talked to his men in such cool, calm terms as to reassure them and brace them up so that when he left they were in a cheerful state of mind and in better condition to ward against attack. 1st Bronze Oak Leaf: On July 21, 1918, near Trugny, France, he made a personal reconnaissance over a front of about 2 kilometers on horseback in the face of enemy fire and determined

8325-504: The first English percussion pepperbox) and the Swedish Engholm . Most percussion pepperboxes have a circular flange around the rear of the cylinder to prevent the capped nipples being accidentally fired if the gun were to be knocked while in a pocket, or dropped and to protect the eyes from cap fragments. Samuel Colt owned a revolving three-barrel matchlock musket from British India , and an eight-barrel pepperbox shotgun

8436-528: The first use by the U.S. Army of such weapons in that role. After gaining the Spanish positions on the heights, the Americans prepared for a Spanish counterattack. Parker sited two of his Gatling guns near the crest of San Juan Hill. A major counterattack by some 600 Spanish infantry troops developed against the positions of the 1st Volunteer Cavalry and 3rd Cavalry on Kettle Hill. At a distance of 600 yards, Parker immediately ordered Sgt. Green's Gatling—the only gun within shouting distance—to open fire against

8547-410: The front, together with sufficient supplies of ammunition and spare parts carried in highly mobile carriages and wagons. Parker visualized the detachments as independent from the slow-moving artillery and ammunition trains, constantly redeploying to avoid being targeted by enemy artillery, while using terrain masking to provide cover for the men and their transport animals. As self-contained, mobile units,

8658-487: The grip, allegedly drawing inspiration from the FP-45 Liberator pistol. By 1790, Joseph Manton , acknowledged as the “father of the modern shotgun”, first brought together all the facets of the contemporary flintlock shotguns into the form of the modern double-barreled shotguns. Soon, caplock ignition replaced flintlock, and then rather quickly, was replaced by the self-contained shell cartridge . During

8769-555: The household pepper shakers . It has existed in all ammunition systems: matchlock , wheellock , flintlock , caplock , pinfire , rimfire , and centerfire . They were popular firearms in North America from the 1830s until the 1860s, during the American Civil War , but the concept was introduced much earlier. After each shot, the user manually rotates a next barrel into alignment with the hammer mechanism, and each barrel needs to be reloaded and maintained individually. In

8880-488: The infantry regiments already in Tampa and assigned to the invasion. However, the men themselves were "volunteers" selected by their existing company commanders, many of whom believed the assignment to be a temporary work detail (one commander even sent the cook from his private mess). On his own initiative, Parker developed his own table of organization to include gun carriages, crew schedules, ammunition loads, and draft animal requirements. He then commenced training drills for

8991-403: The late 19th century. When operators were firing Gatling guns against troops of industrialized nations, they were at risk, being vulnerable to artillery they could not reach and snipers they could not see. The Gatling gun was designed by the American inventor 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

9102-455: The machine gun detachments could be used by a commander to provide effective covering fire for the artillery trains until they could get within effective range of the enemy lines. Unfortunately, Parker's treatise was ignored by the Army, though he continued to advocate the use of the machine gun in an offensive role. In September 1897 Parker was assigned to the Infantry and Cavalry School as

9213-414: The matting jacketing as being unnecessary. Cartridges, held in a hopper, dropped individually into the grooves of the carrier. The lock was simultaneously forced by the cam to move forward and load the cartridge, and when the cam was at its highest point, the cocking ring freed the lock and fired the cartridge. After the cartridge was fired the continuing action of the cam drew back the lock bringing with it

9324-404: The men, who had only such cover as was afforded by the shallow ditches along the road, were thrown into some confusion. At that moment Col. Parker came down the road on horseback. Immediately appreciating the situation, he twice rode down the line and back again at a slow walk, stopping to talk with the men; and thus by his fearless personal exposure to, and disregard of, danger, he promptly steadied

9435-483: The mid 16th century, the invention of the  express rifle  by  James Purdey "the Younger"  in 1856 allowed for far greater muzzle velocities to be achieved through a rifled longarm, significantly improving the trajectory and as such greatly improving the range of these rifles. These express rifles had two deep opposing grooves which were wide and deep enough to prevent the lead bullets from stripping

9546-417: The need for a rapid second shot to dispatch a wounded animal, double-barrelled muskets were built along the same format as double-barrelled shotguns already in common use. These first double-barrelled weapons were  black powder ,  smoothbore   muzzleloaders  built with either  flintlock  or  percussion cap  ignition systems. Whilst true  rifling  dates from

9657-428: The number of deaths by combat and disease. The US Army adopted Gatling guns in several calibers, including .42 caliber, .45-70 , .50 caliber, 1 inch, and (M1893 and later) .30 Army , with conversions of M1900 weapons to .30-03 and .30-06 . The .45-70 weapon was also mounted on some US Navy ships of the 1880s and 1890s. British manufacturer James George Accles, previously employed by Colt 1867–1886, developed

9768-502: The offense. He was a prolific writer, and contributed numerous articles and treatises to the Infantry Journal and other Army publications. Parker was promoted in rank to captain in 1900 and was transferred to the 28th Infantry Regiment. In January 1908 he was assigned the task of developing organizational schedules and training regulations for the U.S. Army's dismounted machine gun companies. During World War I, Parker—by now

9879-512: The other guns. The drum, named after L. W. Broadwell , an agent for Gatling's company, comprised twenty stacks of rounds arranged around a central axis, like the spokes of a wheel, each holding twenty cartridges with the bullet noses oriented toward the central axis. This invention was patented in U. S. 110,338. As each stack emptied, the drum was manually rotated to bring a new stack into use until all 400 rounds had been fired. A more common variant had 240 rounds in twenty stands of fifteen. By 1893,

9990-486: The percussion muzzleloader. In 1858,  Westley Richards  patented the break open, top leaver breech loading action, whilst a useful development these early break open designs had a great deal of elasticity in the action and upon firing they sprung open slightly, a problem that gradually worsened with repeated firing and with more powerful cartridges. Many gunmakers tried various methods to rectify this problem, all to little avail until Westley Richards invented

10101-455: The point that it completely overshadowed all other designs and becoming synonymous with the word " derringer ". It used a break action design with two single-shot barrels chamber for the .41 rimfire cartridge, and a cam on the hammer alternated between the barrels. The Remington derringer design is still being manufactured today by American Derringer , Bond Arms , and Cobra Arms , and used by Cowboy Action Shooting reenactors as well as

10212-426: The rifling if fired at high velocities, a significant problem previously. Various experimental  breech loaders  had been in existence since the 16th century, however developments such as the  Ferguson rifle  in the 1770s and early  pinfire cartridges  in the 1830s had little impact on sporting rifles due to their experimental nature, expense and the extraordinary strength and reliability of

10323-484: The short-ranged American black powder cannon of the day from providing any effective counterbattery fire to advancing infantry. In 1897, after considering the issue, Lt. Parker submitted a paper to the Army General Staff in which he advocated the use of highly mobile machine gun detachments. These machine gun detachments would be equipped with portable machine guns capable of being dismantled and transported to

10434-401: The spent casing which then dropped to the ground. The grouped barrel concept had been explored by inventors since the 18th century, but poor engineering and the lack of a unitary cartridge made previous designs unsuccessful. The initial Gatling gun design used self-contained, reloadable steel cylinders with a chamber holding a ball and black-powder charge, and a percussion cap on one end. As

10545-519: The strength of the German forces to insure the most advantageous approach for his troops to attack. Several times he was an inspiring figure to his men under a heavy artillery barrage and concentration of machine‑gun fire. 2nd Bronze Oak Leaf: On July 25, 1918, on the road through La Fere Wood, between Beuvardes and Le Charmel, France, a battalion just coming into the line was halted, awaiting orders. Subjected suddenly to an intense artillery concentration,

10656-578: The technical handling of one of the most important fire power weapons developed in the present war, rendering services of great value to the American Expeditionary Forces. For gallantry in action against Spanish forces at the battle of Santiago, Cuba, July 1, 1898. For having shown marked gallantry and meritorious service in the capture of Torcy, Belleau, Givry, Bouresches Woods, Rochet Woods, Hill 190 overlooking Château Thierry, Etrepilly, Bezuet, Epieds, Trugny, and La Fere Woods to

10767-462: The troops and prevented probable disorder at an important juncture. 3rd Bronze Oak Leaf: For extraordinary heroism in action near Gesnes, France, Sept. 29, 1918. During the attack on the village of Gesnes he displayed great gallantry and fearlessness in leading and directing his front line with utter disregard for personal safety and urged his men forward by his personal example, all under heavy machine‑gun, high‑explosive gas‑shell and shrapnel fire. He

10878-409: The use of multiple barrels to limit overheating, a rotating mechanism, and a gravity-feed reloading system, which allowed unskilled operators to achieve a relatively high rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute. 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,

10989-502: Was a member of the National Geographical Society , Military Order of Foreign Wars , Sons of Veterans , and was a 32d Degree Freemason . For extraordinary heroism in action at Seicheprey, France, April 20, 1918. During the engagement at Seicheprey, he went out in a withering hostile barrage to inspect his lines. Repeatedly he climbed upon the firing step of the trench, and, standing there with his back toward

11100-564: Was able to get his men, guns, wagons, and equipment aboard ship, though the Detachment still had not been supplied with any horses for pulling the guns. While aboard the transport Cherokee , Parker's Detachment was assigned the task of anti-torpedo boat duty by the ship's captain, and the men were forced to manhandle one of the guns from the stifling hold up to the deck to accomplish this task. Parker's battery, consisting of four guns, carriages, and some 30,000 rounds of .30 Army ammunition,

11211-491: Was abreast of his front line until he fell, twice wounded, but thereafter remained in active command for a period of five hours, when he was relieved by the lieutenant-colonel of his regiment. For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services. As an instructor in the Army Machine Gun School at Langres, by his tireless efforts he secured the necessary equipment and ably instructed a large student body in

11322-412: Was also used by the Pennsylvania militia in episodes of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, specifically in Pittsburgh . Gatling guns were also mounted aboard ships. The Gatling gun is operated by a hand-crank mechanism, with six barrels revolving around a central shaft (although some models had as many as ten). Each barrel fires once per revolution at about the same position. The barrels, a carrier, and

11433-526: Was assigned in June of that year as a 2nd Lieutenant to the 13th Infantry Regiment . Known as "Blackie" to his fellow officers, Parker was tasked with the charge of training soldiers of the Machine Gun Detachment in the use of their weapons. In the 1890s, duty with the machine gun detachment was regarded as of little value by most Army officers, and the detachment was frequently used as

11544-510: Was designed in 1967, but never went into production. The original Philadelphia Deringer was a small single-barrel, muzzleloading caplock pistol designed by Henry Deringer (1786–1868) and produced from 1852 to 1868, and was a popular concealed carry single-shot handgun of the era widely copycatted by competitors. However, it was the breechloading over-and-under Remington Model 95 , manufactured by Remington Arms from 1866 to 1935, that has truly achieved widespread popularity to

11655-547: Was formed into a separate detachment led by Lt. John "Gatling Gun" Parker . The detachment proved very effective, supporting the advance of American forces at the Battle of San Juan Hill . Three of the Gatlings with swivel mountings were used with great success against the Spanish defenders. During the American charge up San Juan and Kettle hills, the three guns fired a total of 18,000 .30 Army rounds in 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 minutes (an average of over 700 rounds per minute per gun of continuous fire) against Spanish troop positions along

11766-482: Was given priority for disembarkation at Daiquirí , Cuba by General Shafter. When General Samuel Sumner ordered Parker and his men to remain aboard and wait their turn (on the grounds that Parker, a mere lieutenant, lacked authority to enforce his priority), Parker sent word to the expedition commander, General Shafter, who personally arrived in a steam launch to ensure that the Gatling Gun Detachment

11877-416: Was landed immediately. Upon landing at Daiquirí, Parker immediately arranged for the purchase of several mules from local sources to pull the guns. After being officially mustered into service on June 30, 1898, the Gatling Gun Detachment was ordered to advance to El Pozo, the site of General Shafter's headquarters for the impending offensive. Parker's battery was initially ordered to provide covering fire for

11988-416: Was operated by manually turning a crank -like side-handle, which was geared to rotate the entire barrel assembly. Each barrel is coupled to a cam -driven bolt , which picked up a single cartridge and then fired off the shot when reaching certain positions in the rotation, afterwards it ejected the spent cartridge case and allowed the empty barrel to cool somewhat before loading a new round and repeating

12099-479: Was receiving the award for extraordinary heroism in action: During the attack on the village of Gesnes Colonel Parker displayed great gallantry and fearlessness in leading and directing his front line with utter disregard for personal safety and urged his men forward by his personal example, all under heavy machine-gun, high-explosive, gas-shell, and shrapnel fire. He was abreast of his front line until he fell, twice wounded, but thereafter remained in active command for

12210-461: 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. Before the Gatling gun, the only weapons available to military forces capable of firing many projectiles in a short period of time were mass-firing volley weapons , like the Belgian and French mitrailleuse of

12321-421: Was used to fire 6,000 to 7,000 rounds into the city of Santiago during the siege of that city , causing enemy casualties, disrupting communications, and demoralizing the defenders. After Parker's exploits became known by the press, he would forever after be referred to as "Gatling Gun" Parker. As an Army officer, Parker continued to expound his theories on the tactical employment of machine guns, particularly in

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