ARTILLERY REGISTER |
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| Historical Specifics: | The gun was designed by the American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861 and patented in 1862. The Gatling gun was hand-crank operated with six barrels revolving around a central shaft and first saw use during the American Civil War.
The model of 1881 was designed to use the 'Bruce'-style feed system 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 1876 the Gatling gun had a theoretical rate of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute, although 400 rounds per minute was more readily achievable in combat. When fighting troops of industrialized nations, Gatling guns could be targeted by artillery they could not reach and their crews could be targeted by snipers they could not see. The Gatling gun was used most successfully to expand European colonial empires by killing warriors of non-industrialized societies including the Matabele, the Zulu, the Bedouins, and the Dervish. Imperial Russia purchased 400 Gatling guns and used them against Turcoman cavalry and other nomads of central Asia. The Royal Navy used Gatling guns against the Egyptians at Alexandria in 1882. Gatling guns were used by the US during the Spanish-American War, most notably during the battle of San Juan Hill. |
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