During 1862, that is, during the American Civil War (1861-kloc-0/865), gatling tried to find a way to improve the firing rate from the gun loading mechanism.
Therefore, he designed a unique machine gun, that is, six barrels with the caliber of 14.7 mm were organically combined on the gun rack, and equipped with special firing and recurrence devices. When shooting, the shooter uses the handle and drum wheel to turn the barrel in turn. When the drum is driven, the transmission mechanism completes the actions of bolt opening, loading, locking, arming and firing, forming a continuous firing. According to relevant information, a skilled shooter can shoot about 400 bullets per minute.
Gatling's breakthrough has turned a new page in the development history of continuous firing. Later, it was driven by a motor instead of hands. This heavy machine gun was patented in 1862 and played a certain role in the American Civil War.