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Nordenfelt 10-Barrel Volley “Machine” Gun
LOT 1199
Incredibly Rare Nordenfelt 10-Barrel Volley “Machine” Gun with Carriage - NSN, 43 , 32 inch part octagon bbl., bright finish. This is a very nice example of an incredibly rare 10-barrel Model 1873 Nordenfelt crank handle volley gun. This weapon was reportedly originally designed at the end of the 1860s by Helge Palmcrantz (July
7, 1842-November 22, 1880), a Swedish inventor, and subsequently financially backed in the early 1870s by Thorsten Nordenfelt (March 1, 1842-February 8, 1920), a Swedish steel producer and banker operating out of London, as a multi-barreled, volley firing weapon. Both of the aforementioned names have British patents relating to the designs of the gun, ammunition and carriage. The gun was officially named the “Nordenfelt machine gun” with the Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company operating with sales offices in London and a plant set up
in England. These guns were made in anywhere between single, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10 and 12-barrel configurations and offered in a variety of calibers. An early variant of the gun was demonstrated to the Swedish Defense Minister
in 1868, and it was subsequently bought into the Swedish Army. During a demonstration at Portsmouth naval base in England, a 10-barrel Nordenfelt, like this example offered, reportedly fired 3,000 rounds in 3 minutes
and 3 seconds without any stoppages, which was a very respectable feat for the time. The British Royal
Navy officially adopted the Nordenfelt in addition to their Gardner and Gatling guns then in
use. The Nordenfelt gun was eventually overshadowed by the Maxim machine gun as
designed by Sir Hiram Maxim. Thorsten Nordenfelt eventually merged operations
with the Maxim Gun Company to officially become Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns
and Ammunition Company Limited in 1888. Shortly after, Thorsten
Nordenfelt suffered a personal bankruptcy and was forced out
of the Maxim-Nordenfelt company in 1890.
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