There were several inventors who started and improved on the design of the machine-gun, principally Americans - Sam Colt, Richard Gatling (of the Gatling gun) and the inventor of the first truly automatic machine-gun, Hiram Maxim.
Hiram Maxim was born in Sangerville, Maine, in 1840 and followed a career in coach building. Among his other inventions were a hair-curling iron, a gas generator and a locomotive headlight, and in the 1890s he was experimenting with ideas for aeroplanes. Maxim came to live and work in London and developed his machine-gun in 1884. While he was at Paris for a exhibition he met a man who told him: "If you wanted to make a lot of money, invent something that will enable these Europeans to cut each other's throats with greater facility." This man was right. After demonstrating the beast to the British army ,they immediately bought the weapon and Maxim's energetic selling in the 1890s (helped by the Prince of Wales) made sure that other armies were also supplied. .
Maxim was knighted in 1901. He died in 1916 just as the Battle of the Somme was ending. His machine-guns had mown down thousands on both sides. He is buried in West Norwood Cemetery, south London.
The success of Maxim inspired many other inventors The German Army's Maschinengewehr was based on Maxim's invention. John Moses Browning produced his first machine-gun in 1890 and five years it was adopted by the US Navy.
In 1861 Richard Jordan Gatling, a trained dentist from North Carolina, produced an effective mechanical gun.
In 1884 the American inventor, Hiram Maxim, demonstrated the world's first automatic portable machine-gun to the British Army. Maxim used the energy of each bullet's recoil force to eject the spent cartridge and insert the next bullet. The Maxim Machine-Gun would therefore fire until the entire belt of bullets was used up. Trials showed that the machine-gun could fire 500 rounds per minute and therefore had the firepower of about 100 rifles.
The Machine Gun The machine gun is one of the most important inventions in military history. ... Today's machine guns are being built even lighter, more reliable and accurate. ... Army is developing a new machine gun that will be accurate up to 2,000 meters. ... The machine gun was invented for one reason and that's faster rapid firing. ... Without the machine gun, the U.S. ...
To solve this problem the government should have certain laws that control guns: One would control magazine size; another would require background checks on who is eligible for gun ownership; and there would be certain restrictions regarding what type of guns should be owned by people, and no machine guns or any kind of heavy artillery should be owned by individuals. ... Weapons like machine guns can cause a disturbance in the community according to Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, as they are a first weapon choice for mobsters. ... In the 1930s, machine guns were the weapon of choice fo...
This modern debate has not been over the legitimacy of that amendment, but whether existing gun laws are sufficient, or if stricter gun laws need to be imposed. ... One was the National Firearms Act of 1934, which made it difficult to obtain lethal assault weapons, such as machine guns. ... Without a government law that monitors these private, unlicensed sales, guns are constantly falling into the hands of potential ex-convicts who are looking for an easy source of guns. ... Instead, it is quite simple: close the "gun show loophole." ... However, conservatives in the gun control debate possess...
The British army bought the machine gun in 1890. ... Air cooled machine guns had air vents built into the weapon. ... They immediately opened fire with there machine guns. ... The Germans placed their machine guns in the front of their lines so that the machine gun crew could have clear view of the battlefield. ... The machine gun changed warfare and tactics. ...
No other weapon has changed the face of the battlefield as the machine gun. ... The first true machine gun can be contributed to Wilson Ager (Maiorino, 2006, p.216). ... His patented recoil operation put him as head of machine gun development. ... The recoil operation was a milestone in machine gun development. ... By World War I, most countries involved had used the Maxim Machine gun. ...
Some pro-gunners and declare that heavy military equipment such as tanks, bazookas, etc., should be illegal, while reasonable controls on items such as automatic machine guns are all right. ... Opposition: Guns kill people. ... (FBI) Gun suicides outnumber gun homicides. ... Of thirteen studies, nine found a significant association between gun levels and rates of gun suicide, but only one found a significant association between gun levels and rates of total suicides. ... So should gun control be implemented? ...
Below are the machine guns which not a lot of soldiers carried only about two who used them to gun down enemy on the offensive. The Machine Gun This is a machine gun on the right. ... The gun fired 10000 rounds in 27 minutes which impressed British leaders who decided to purchase this machine gun. Lewis Gun The Lewis Gun, a light machine gun, was developed in the United States in 1911. At 12 kg it was far lighter than the Vickers Machine-Gun and in 1915 the British Army decided to purchase the gun for use on the Western Front. ...
Now these are some powerful machines. They are very heavily armored and can be equipped with devastating artillery such as machine guns. ... Another weapon I would like to discuss is the machine gun. ... One example was The Lewis Gun, a light machine gun; it was developed in the United States in 1911. It was far lighter than the Vickers Machine-Gun and in 1915 the British Army decided to use it on the Western Front. ...
Machine Tool Industry Did It Make a Difference? Did the making of machines help manufacturing? ... Screws that were exact to others were used in the manufacturing of machines. ... Whitney discovered that hand made components used for guns were unreliable. ... Whitney discovered the machine tool industry that created interchangeable parts that could fit on any gun made to a certain specification. ...