The machine gun is one of the most important inventions in military history. A machine gun is basically pieces of steel and aluminum all precisely pieced together to shoot enemies for military reasons, and hopefully not others. With its ability to fire rapidly, battlefield tactics had to be changed in a serious way and to this day it is still one of the most important weapons in our military. .
The worlds first working machine gun was invented by an engineer named Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, the founder of Maxim Gun Company. Some very unique features he invented that were included on his gun were the belt feed, so ammunition could be feed continuously to the gun, and the water cooling system, which prevented his gun from overheating after rapid use. Sir Maxims guns came in many different sizes and were primarily used during world war one. .
A few years later, 1895, John Moses Browning developed the more practical gas operated machine gun. This gun was much lighter than Maxims and had fewer parts which made for easier repairs. Browning's designs were basically the benchmark for today's high performance machine guns and the designs are still similar to this day. Today's machine guns are being built even lighter, more reliable and accurate. As we speak the U.S. Army is developing a new machine gun that will be accurate up to 2,000 meters. That just shows what technology can do!.
The machine gun was invented for one reason and that's faster rapid firing. Can you picture war today without a rapid firing weapon? Almost every weapon today is automatic, which means it continuously shoots while the trigger is held back. The machine gun is operated by first loading a round of bullets, which means to put a belt of bullets into the guns chamber. Then you pull the trigger back and hold it back. This will fire the gun, and it won't stop until you let off the trigger or you run out of ammo.