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and again, during its long history, the Gatling Gun proved itself a ‘super riot gun’-a little of its
characteristic ‘music’ or just the sight of its menacing multiple muzzles was usually enough to
discourage a mob.” They were used by armies around the world and were especially suited for
use on naval vessels. They largely replaced the use of heavier “grapeshot” firing artillery pieces
and could be fitted to a variety of carriages and mounts depending on their intended role. This
example would have obviously been best suited for regular field use given its full size carriage.
Lighter models like the smaller police version of the Model 1883 Gatling gun could even be
fitted on a fairly light tripod. While, the true Gatling guns were declared obsolete before WWI
after the introduction of more modern designs by Maxim and Browning, their impact is still seen
today. The Vulcan and Minigun are two of the most obvious descendants. They paved the way
for modern machine gun designs by demonstrating the utility of high rates of fire in warfare and
forever altered battlefields around the world.
They were first used in combat by Union forces in the Civil War at the Battle of Petersburg.
Gatling’s stated goal was to reduce the number of deaths in war by decreasing the size of
armies. Since a Gatling gun can fire more shots in a minute than an entire unit, large armies
would become less necessary, and thus deaths from disease in the camps and field would
decrease. The first Gatling guns were capable of a cyclic rate of 200 rounds per minute,
but later models could reach cyclic rates as high as 1,500 rounds per minute. The speed on
this model is variable and depended on which lever is cranked and how fast the operator
rotates it. The Model 1883 has two sets of sights so that it can be fired with either 405 or 500
grain bullets without correction. They were incredibly useful against massed attacks and in
suppressing the enemy while the main ground forces prepared to charge. Their very presence
could lead to surrender or retreat. According to Wahl and Toppel in “The Gatling Gun,” “Time