Maxim machine gun is the first truly successful automatic weapon powered by gunpowder and gas in the world. Maxim heavy machine gun, known as the competition gun in China, was invented by hiram Stevens Ma Keqin, an Englishman, in 1883, and its principle was tested, and it was patented in 1884.
Maxim machine gun has a complex structure, a huge water-cooled barrel, and the reliability of canvas belt becomes worse after it is wetted, but it has been widely used in modern wars.
Generate background:
Before the appearance of Maxim machine gun, the guns used by people were all non-automatic guns, and the bullets needed to be loaded and fired. The decisive force of war victory depends largely on the speed of loading, and many people were inexplicably killed before they could fill the second bullet.
And Ma Keqin's machine gun, at the moment of launch, the machine gun and barrel are locked together, and the energy of gunpowder gas is used as power to open the gun chamber through a set of mechanisms. The bolt machine continues to recoil and throws the empty shell out of the gun, and then drives the ammunition supply mechanism to compress the compound spring. Under the action of spring force, the bolt pushes the bullet into position and fires again.
In this way, once you start shooting, the machine gun can keep shooting until the bullets on your belt are finished, which can save a lot of loading time. Hiram Stevens Ma Keqin, an American engineer, was born in poverty and became a famous inventor through diligent self-study.