Gatling gun

n. A machine gun having a cluster of barrels that are fired in sequence as the cluster is rotated.

[After Richard Jordan Gatling.]

Gatling gun

(ˈɡætlɪŋ) n (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) (sometimes not capital) a hand-cranked automatic machine gun equipped with a rotating cluster of barrels that are fired in succession using brass cartridges[C19: named after R. J. Gatling (1818–1903), its US inventor]

Gat′ling gun`

(ˈgæt lɪŋ)
n. an early type of machine gun consisting of a cluster of barrels around an axis that is rotated by a hand crank, with each barrel fired once during each rotation. [1860–65, Amer.; after R. J. Gatling (1818–1903), U.S. inventor]

Thesaurus

Noun

Gatling gun - an early form of machine gun having several barrels that fire in sequence as they are rotatedmachine gun - a rapidly firing automatic gun (often mounted)

Gatling 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.

Gatling Gun

a multibarreled firearm mounted on a wheeled carriage or tripod and designed for rapid fire. The first Gatling gun, built by the American inventor R. Gatling in the 1860’s, had from six to ten barrels of 13 or 25.4 mm caliber and fired up to 200 rounds per minute. Many armies, including the Russian, used Gatling guns. The more refined Gatling gun designed by the French inventors J.-B. Verchére de Reffye and Montigny had 37 barrels and was called a mitrailleuse. In the 1880’s, Russian inventors, among them A. P. Gorlov, invented a still more refined gun that had from five to ten barrels and that fired standard rifle cartridges. In the late 19th century Gatling guns lost their value because shrapnel fired by artillery guns proved more effective. Further searches for the technological solution to the problem of rapid fire led to the construction of the machine gun.

Gatling gun

Gatling gun

Gatling gun

Gat′ling gun`

Gatling Gun

Gatling gun

Gatling Gun

Gatling gun

Words related to Gatling gun

noun an early form of machine gun having several barrels that fire in sequence as they are rotated

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