For the civil war era, the only weapons firing bullets were rifles and muskets, which shot once and had to be reloaded. Weapons have improved for firing one shot but they could not fire rapidly. The soldiers would fire their rifle then have to reload their weapon, allowing the enemy to shoot you while you were reloading. That also brought up the problem that if you shot and missed, the enemy could fire back at you and kill you. Another aspect of fighting was that there was no way to kill multiple enemies in a fast manor. The soldiers would have to fire their one shot then reload, which made it hard to defeat the enemy quickly.
The government was trying to find a way to fire multiple bullets or shots without reloading. They tried some prototypes but they jammed and broke consistently. They wanted a way to defeat a line of enemies with one gun by firing shots at a high firing rate. They also wanted the weapon to be operated by as few soldiers as possible. Thus making them have more firepower per soldier and increasing their chances of victory.
in 1861 a man by the name of Richard J. Gatling created an engineering marvel, the Gatling gun. The Gatling Gun used cannon like wheels to maneuver and required 2-3 soldiers to operate it. The gun consisted of six barrels (later changed to 10) rotating on a central axis, allowing for the barrels to be cooled and not overheat before firing the next round. The gun was magazine fed (which was another engineering feat); this allowed multiple rounds to be ready to fire and allowed the gun to fire more than one bullet before they had to reload the weapon. The reload time was also great on this weapon because the gun did not have to have gunpowder and the ball/bullet put into the barrel to be fired. The gun fired a .58 cal (later changed to .30) percussion cap bullet. This weapon fired a blazing 300-400 rounds per minute depending on how fast the operator was rotating the crank which fired the gun and turned the barrels.
This gun changed the status quo because it gave us a huge firepower advantage over our enemies. Instead of 300 soldiers firing 1-2 bullets per minute, the Gatling Gun would use 2-3 soldiers to fire 300-400 bullets per minute. This high rate of fire was used to destroy enemy lines and made the use of lining up to fight obsolete. This weapon allowed for great defensive positions as well. The gun could be set up on a post and fire on the enemies coming at us, and we would have two set up, which in firepower would equal 500 soldiers, but only have 10 operating the weapons.
Richard J. Gatling's goal when he crafted this weapon was to cause less casualties in the war in the aspect that this gun would end the war because of the rate at which soldiers would die, thus ending the war sooner. He intentionally created this weapon, but accidentally stumbled upon something greater. This weapon was the foundations for weapons in the future. Before this weapon's creation no gun could fire sustained bursts without jamming or breaking. This weapon was reliable and aided in America's wars.
The Gatling Gun had a lot of trouble getting into the american army. The majority of generals and commanders saw the weapon as cumbersome. They also saw the weapon as expensive and hard to use because only soldiers that are trained to use the complex machine could operate it. Thus making the weapon only usable by few soldiers, and if those soldiers were KIA, the gun would have no one to operate it; compared to the rifles used by infantry. The gun was also heavy and rolled on an old cannon frame and wheels, making maneuverability a difficulty. Because of this, the government did not want to use this weapon.
The Gatling Gun had a positive impact for us, even though it did cause a lot of people to be killed, it helped us immensely when we used it. Although the American Army was skeptical of the weapon's use, the Union bought two Gatling Guns and placed them at defensive positions at Petersburg. The Gatling Gun was used in the later part of the Civil War, but mainly used in the Spanish American War. The most famous use of Gatling Guns was in the Battle of San Juan and Kettle Hills, the American forces would be walking into a suicide mission to try and take over the defensive position the Spanish were in. But because of the Gatling Gun, we were able to fire 18,000 rounds in 8-9 minutes and completely decimate the Spanish forces. This gun when used correctly could give us major firepower advantages.
This weapon had a small impact on the Civil War. but a large impact in the Spanish American War. This weapon was the foundation for future weapons, but for the time it had a large impact in the aspect that a few soldiers could have the firepower of hundreds of soldiers. This weapon had an impact on the Spanish American War because it helped us immensely in some battles and gave us firepower advantages over our enemies.
The Gatling Gun has made a large impact on today's society. This weapon has a lot of the features used by machine guns today, and a few weapons such as the Vulcan Minigun, are modeled after it. The Vulcan Minigun uses the same concept of a rotating barrel, but they can be fired at a much faster rate (7,000 rounds per minute). This remodeled weapon was later used in the Vietnam War. Mounted on helicopters, this gun made it possible to transport in and out troops with helicopters--this helped us in the war and gave us tactical advantages.
The government was trying to find a way to fire multiple bullets or shots without reloading. They tried some prototypes but they jammed and broke consistently. They wanted a way to defeat a line of enemies with one gun by firing shots at a high firing rate. They also wanted the weapon to be operated by as few soldiers as possible. Thus making them have more firepower per soldier and increasing their chances of victory.
in 1861 a man by the name of Richard J. Gatling created an engineering marvel, the Gatling gun. The Gatling Gun used cannon like wheels to maneuver and required 2-3 soldiers to operate it. The gun consisted of six barrels (later changed to 10) rotating on a central axis, allowing for the barrels to be cooled and not overheat before firing the next round. The gun was magazine fed (which was another engineering feat); this allowed multiple rounds to be ready to fire and allowed the gun to fire more than one bullet before they had to reload the weapon. The reload time was also great on this weapon because the gun did not have to have gunpowder and the ball/bullet put into the barrel to be fired. The gun fired a .58 cal (later changed to .30) percussion cap bullet. This weapon fired a blazing 300-400 rounds per minute depending on how fast the operator was rotating the crank which fired the gun and turned the barrels.
This gun changed the status quo because it gave us a huge firepower advantage over our enemies. Instead of 300 soldiers firing 1-2 bullets per minute, the Gatling Gun would use 2-3 soldiers to fire 300-400 bullets per minute. This high rate of fire was used to destroy enemy lines and made the use of lining up to fight obsolete. This weapon allowed for great defensive positions as well. The gun could be set up on a post and fire on the enemies coming at us, and we would have two set up, which in firepower would equal 500 soldiers, but only have 10 operating the weapons.
Richard J. Gatling's goal when he crafted this weapon was to cause less casualties in the war in the aspect that this gun would end the war because of the rate at which soldiers would die, thus ending the war sooner. He intentionally created this weapon, but accidentally stumbled upon something greater. This weapon was the foundations for weapons in the future. Before this weapon's creation no gun could fire sustained bursts without jamming or breaking. This weapon was reliable and aided in America's wars.
The Gatling Gun had a lot of trouble getting into the american army. The majority of generals and commanders saw the weapon as cumbersome. They also saw the weapon as expensive and hard to use because only soldiers that are trained to use the complex machine could operate it. Thus making the weapon only usable by few soldiers, and if those soldiers were KIA, the gun would have no one to operate it; compared to the rifles used by infantry. The gun was also heavy and rolled on an old cannon frame and wheels, making maneuverability a difficulty. Because of this, the government did not want to use this weapon.
The Gatling Gun had a positive impact for us, even though it did cause a lot of people to be killed, it helped us immensely when we used it. Although the American Army was skeptical of the weapon's use, the Union bought two Gatling Guns and placed them at defensive positions at Petersburg. The Gatling Gun was used in the later part of the Civil War, but mainly used in the Spanish American War. The most famous use of Gatling Guns was in the Battle of San Juan and Kettle Hills, the American forces would be walking into a suicide mission to try and take over the defensive position the Spanish were in. But because of the Gatling Gun, we were able to fire 18,000 rounds in 8-9 minutes and completely decimate the Spanish forces. This gun when used correctly could give us major firepower advantages.
This weapon had a small impact on the Civil War. but a large impact in the Spanish American War. This weapon was the foundation for future weapons, but for the time it had a large impact in the aspect that a few soldiers could have the firepower of hundreds of soldiers. This weapon had an impact on the Spanish American War because it helped us immensely in some battles and gave us firepower advantages over our enemies.
The Gatling Gun has made a large impact on today's society. This weapon has a lot of the features used by machine guns today, and a few weapons such as the Vulcan Minigun, are modeled after it. The Vulcan Minigun uses the same concept of a rotating barrel, but they can be fired at a much faster rate (7,000 rounds per minute). This remodeled weapon was later used in the Vietnam War. Mounted on helicopters, this gun made it possible to transport in and out troops with helicopters--this helped us in the war and gave us tactical advantages.