Gatling gun

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An 1865 Gatling gun.

Gatling gun refers to a gun with multiple firing pins and breeches connected to multiple rotating barrels. Each barrel fires a single shot as it reaches a certain point in the cycle after which it ejects the spent cartridge, loads a new round, and in the process, cools down somewhat. This configuration allows higher rates of fire without the problem of an overheating single barrel, though accuracy suffers. The gun was designed by the American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling, in 1861 and patented in 1862.

The Gatling gun may have been the first "machine gun" (depending on how 'machine gun' is defined) as it was capable of firing continuously. The first Gatling gun relied on a hand crank for external power. Some time later, Gatling-type weapons diverted a fraction of gas from the chamber to spin the rotating barrels. Later still, electric motors supplied external power.

1 History
2 Modern Gatling guns
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

Patent drawing for R.J. Gatling's Battery Gun, 9 May 1865.

The original Gatling gun was a black powder field weapon, which 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. It was first used by the Union Army during the American Civil War. Unlike earlier weapons such as the mitrailleuse which had limited capacity and long reloading times, the Gatling gun was reliable, easy to load, and had a high firing rate. Gatling guns were used by the US side during the Spanish-American War, most notably during the battle of San Juan Hill. ^[1]

After Gatling guns were replaced by lighter, cheaper blowback-style weapons, the approach of using multiple rotating barrels fell into disuse for many decades. However, Gatling gun-style weapons made a return in the 1940–50s, when weapons with very high rate of fire were needed in military aircraft such as the Lockheed AC-130 gunship and ship-based CIWS. For these modern rotating-barrel cannons, electric motors were used to rotate the barrel.

One of the main reasons for the resurgence of the Gatling gun-style design is the weapon's tolerance for continuous high rates of fire. For example, if 2000 rounds were fired non-stop at high rate from a conventional single-barrel weapon, this would likely result in overheating or a weapon jam. Ultimately the limiting factor is the rate at which the shells can be loaded and the empties extracted. In a single barrel design these tasks must alternate. A multiple barrel design allows them to take place simultaneously, with different barrels at different points in the cycle. In contrast, a five-barreled Gatling gun-style weapon firing 2000 rounds fires 400 per barrel, an acceptable rate of fire. Their high rate of fire also makes them popular for systems that often have little time to engage their targets, such as CIWS which defend against fast-moving anti-ship missiles.

The M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon is the most commonly-used member of a family of weapons designed by General Electric and currently manufactured by General Dynamics. It is a six-barrelled Gatling capable of more than 6,000 rounds per minute, a rate unachievable with a conventional machine gun. Similar systems are available ranging from 5.56 mm to 30 mm (there was even a 37 mm Gatling on the prototype T249 'Vigilante' AA platform); the rate-of-fire being somewhat inversely-proportional to the size and mass of the ammunition (which also determines the size and mass of the barrels).

During the Vietnam War, the 7.62 mm calibre M134 Minigun was created as a helicopter weapon. Able to fire 6,000 rounds a minute from a 4,000-round linked belt, the Minigun proved to be one of the most effective non-explosive projectile weapons ever built and is still used in helicopters today. When used in Vietnam, the Minigun was nicknamed "Puff the Magic Dragon" because it fired red tracers that gave the appearance of breathing fire.

They are also used with lethal effectiveness on USAF AC-47, AC-119 and Lockheed AC-130 gunships, their original high-capacity cargo airframes able to house the items needed for sustained operation. With sophisticated navigation and target identification tools, Miniguns can be used effectively even against concealed targets. The crew's ability to concentrate the Gatling's fire very tightly produces the appearance of the 'Red Tornado' [2] from the light of the tracers, as the gun platform circles a target at night.

The GAU-8 Gatling gun of an A-10 Thunderbolt II at Osan Air Base, Korea.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, many modern systems have the advantage of being externally-driven (as opposed to relying on the energy from fired cartridges). This increases their reliability, as cartridge firing failure will not interrupt the operation cycle. Additionally, certain other stoppages, such as faulty extraction and many feeding-related problems, are eliminated or reduced considerably due to the external power source. It should however be noted that, although complex mechanically and uncommon, modern systems that derive power from the ammunition do exist. The world's fastest Gatling-style weapon, the 10,000 RPM GSh-6-23 uses a gas-operated drive system.