Gatling
Rapid-fire namesake
A Gatling gun is an early rapid-fire weapon with multiple rotating barrels, invented by Richard Gatling in the 1860s.
The rotating design allowed sustained fire without overheating.
Modern electric-powered rotary cannons on aircraft and ships descend from this mechanism.
As a verb, to gatling means to fire rapidly or unleash a barrage: She gatlinged questions at the witness.
Projectile-launching weapon
- machine gunContinuous-fire arm
- crankRotary operating handle
- barrelsCylindrical storage vessels
- rotatingTurning on an axis
rapid-fire · ammunition · rounds · caliber · cartridge · firepower · muzzle · tripod
Countrymen fighting countrymen
- UnionNamed political entity
- cavalryMounted military force
- infantryGround combat troops
- battlefieldCombat engagement area
artillery · fortification · siege · warfare · combat · troops · deployment · army
Masculine name, Germanic origin
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
- 1861Civil War's start
- inventionNew device or method
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
engineer · innovation · design · mechanism · blueprint · manufacturing · Colt · production
gun
Projectile-launching weapon
- machine gunContinuous-fire arm
- crankRotary operating handle
- barrelsCylindrical storage vessels
rotating · rapid-fire · ammunition · rounds · caliber · cartridge · firepower · muzzle · tripod · volley
Civil War
Countrymen fighting countrymen
battlefield · artillery · fortification · siege · warfare · combat · troops · deployment · army · engagement
Richard
Masculine name, Germanic origin
prototype · engineer · innovation · design · mechanism · blueprint · manufacturing · Colt · production · development
nineteenth century
Years 1801-1900
- VictorianOf a prim era
- Industrial RevolutionEra of mechanized production
- American WestHistoric frontier territory
frontier · colonial · imperial · obsolete · antique · museum · relic · legacy · precursor · evolution
Gatlingunarmed
Having no weapons
musket · muzzle-loader · flintlock · bare hands · bow and arrow
Gatlingplowshare
Cutting blade for tillage
pacifism · disarmament · peace · nonviolence · olive branch
- Gatling gunsHand-cranked rapid-fire weapons