Machine guns are automatic weapons that fire bullets in a quick succession. The first machine guns were hand cranked. Later versions were self powered. Here are some of the first machine guns.

James Puckle, in 1718, designed what he called the Defence Gun. Puckle demonstrated his weapon, which were actually two versions. The Demonstration failed to attract any investors, and the gun was never used. It may have been the first ‘machine gun” ever designed. There are currently no preserved models, but only a few drawings.

The Gatling gun was the first gun in history that could fire continuously. The Gatling was designed in 1861 by Dr. Richard J. Gatling, and built in 1862. It saw service in The American Civil War in limited numbers, and was exported widely after the war. The Gatling was widely used because of its reliability, its high rate of fire, and very easy to use. It fell out of use after the Maxim gun was introduced to Europe.

The Gardner Gun was designed by Captain William Gardner of the U.S army. The Gardner was quickly put into production for the American navy after a successful demonstration, but the army refused to buy any. Then, and Gardner was offered to Britain’s navy, and the Royal Navy accepted, and soon the British army bought some also. It was replaced by the Maxim gun later in the 1880s.

In 1884, Sir Hiram Maxim designed the Maxim gun. Unlike previous machine guns such as the Gardner Gun and the Gatling gun (Which were hand ranked), the Maxim Gun was self powered. The Maxim was more efficient then earlier machine guns because of a new mechanism. Though Maxims were heavy and bulky, and took a team of people to operate it. Maxim guns became the primary gun of European armies during World War One.

The first machine guns were unreliable and slow to reload. They jammed quite often. The maxim for example, needed a constant supply of water to cool the barrels, it was also too heavy to move. The Gardner jammed quite often also. Gatlings were reliable, and were the most common machine guns up till the maxim gun was released.

Machine guns impacted World War I greatly. Millions on both sides were killed by the Maxim. The future of machine guns looks promising. Today, machine guns can fire ten thousand bullets easily in one minute. Machine guns changed the future of warfare forever.