Hat 8179 Gatling Gun

The Gatling gun is an American shotgun from the second half of the 19th century, which is often - along with other rifles of this type - considered to be the precursor of modern machine guns. Its weight was 77.2 kilograms and its length was 108 centimeters. As the name suggests, the weapon was designed by the American weapon designer Richard Gatling in 1861 and patented in 1862. Gatling used a cartridge combined with a metal shell in his carter, which was then a technological novelty, but above all an equally innovative system based on the coordination of the bolt, ammunition feeder and the movement of several barrels in the weapon. Finally, a rifle with a practical rate of fire of up to 200 rounds per minute was created, which in the 1860s was an almost fantastic result! The weapon was used during the Civil War (1861-1865), including during the fighting near St. Petersburg (1864-1865). This weapon was also used during the colonial expansion in Africa and Asia by British and Russian troops.