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Gatling gun |
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Gatling gunHand-cranked multi barrel rotary gun. It was invented by Richard J. Gatling (1818–1903) during the American Civil War. Making use of the newly invented brass cartridge, he assembled a cluster of 10 barrels, each of which was fired and reloaded during rotation by a crank. The barrels were loaded by gravity and the action of the cartridge container, and the spent cartridge cases were ejected. Without equal in the era of single-shot guns, it could fire as many as 3,000 rounds per minute. It became obsolete in the 1880s when the invention of smokeless powder led to development of a truly automatic machine gun. Gatling gun [′gat·liŋ ‚gən] (ordnance) Type of machine gun using multibarrels which fire in rotation; it permits very rapid fire because it reduces the problem of overheating in a single barrel. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Recent tests included the first firing of flares designed to distract heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles, and the first firing of the Raptor's six-barreled, 20 mm rotary cannon. |
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