This book contains copies of all Dr. Gatling's original Gatling Gun patent and patent drawings from the United States Patent Office. Also included are the patent drawings of the Broadwell Drum Feed, Bruce feed and Accles feed that was used on Colt Gatling Guns. Shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War, Dr. Richard J. Gatling began work on his most famous invention. A prototype gun was made late in 1861 and was demonstrated in Indianapolis early in 1862. On November 4, 1862, Dr. Gatling received the first of his 10 patents for the famous gun that etched his name into history forever. The Gatling Gun was sometimes called by Dr. Gatling, Colt Firearms Company and the United States Patent Office as a battery gun, rotating battery gun, rotating cannon and machine gun. When the "modern" machine gun was made, it was referred to as an automated machine gun. These patent drawings provide a step back in time to view a technically advanced 19th century weapon that changed history.

A unique chapter in the history of firearms, the multibarrel, hand-cranked Gatling gun was one of the first practical rapid-fire weapons ever to be used in battle. It changed warfare by introducing the capability to project deadly, high-intensity fire on the battlefield, and portended the devastation that automatic weapons would wreak in World War I. During its 50-year career, it saw widespread service with US, British, and other forces on a host of battlefields through conflicts in Zululand and the American West, to the Spanish-American War. Although it saw widespread use in the hands of industrialized nations against various groups of indigenous native warriors, it was famously left behind by Custer at the battle of the Little Bighorn, where some argue it could have made all the difference. Featuring full-colour artwork plus contemporary and close-up photographs, this engaging study investigates the origins, development, combat use, and lasting influence of the formidable Gatling gun.

A provocative look at the life and times of the man who created the original weapon of mass destruction Drawing on her investigative and literary talents, Julia Keller offers a riveting account of the invention of the world's first working machine gun. Through her portrait of its misunderstood creator, Richard Jordan Gatling-who naively hoped that the overwhelming effectiveness of a multiple-firing weapon would save lives by decreasing the size of armies and reducing the number of soldiers needed to fight-Keller draws profound parallels to the scientists who would unleash America's atomic arsenal half a century later. The Gatling gun, in its combination of ingenuity, idealism, and destructive power, perfectly exemplifies the paradox of America's rise in the nineteenth century to a world superpower.

The Gatling Gun outlines the development of the Gatling gun from its inception during the Civil War to applications on a variety of modern combat systems. The Gatling gun concept has proven itself to be, in a very real sense, timeless. Future weapons systems will no doubt continue to apply the engineering elegance inherent to Dr. Gatling's design, assuring the survival of this most interesting weapon system.

Here is the first complete 130-year history of what is a truly remarkable and timeless weapon. Author Joseph Berk traces the glorious career of this multi-barreled, high-rate-of-fire gun from its inception during the Civil War to its current role as a state-of-the-art modern combat system of the US military.

The machine gun is a uniquely American invention that revolutionized the way in which war was waged. This first look in more than 30 years at its social and historical impact also profiles the inventors responsible for the creation of the weapon. Martin's Press.