The Gatling Gun

The Gatling gun, one of the most destructive weapons in modern warfare, was actually created with the intention of saving lives.

American inventor Richard Gatling first constructed the fearsome weapon in 1861 as a response to the ongoing U.S. Civil War. Many soldiers of the time died of malnutrition. Gatling devised his gun to allow one solider to do the work of many, thereby allowing armies to be smaller and easier to feed and supply. It was also his hope that the weapon's sheer violence and the carnage it could inflict would put an end to warfare forever. Sadly, it only intensified the arms race, sending fellow inventors scurrying to discover more lethal killing machines.

The first Gatling gun consisted of six barrels mounted in a rotating cylinder and was powered by a hand crank. While it was reliable and easy to load, it weighed nearly 90 pounds, making it cumbersome and difficult to deploy in the heat of battle. Its unwieldy nature combined with the lack of a trigger mechanism convinced the U. S. government not to purchase the weapon for the Civil War. But Union General Benjamin Butler spent his own money to procure a dozen of the guns, although he barely had a chance to use them before the end of the war. Their brief appearance, however, shocked combatants on both sides with its devastating power.

It wasn't long before the Gatling gun was a fixture in armies across the globe. Modern technology has only increased the weapon's lethal potency, allowing it to fire upwards of 6,000 pounds per minute.

The Submachine Gun

Bombs flew over head, men peeked over trench lines and quickly shot at the enemy, and some men even ran across fields to attempt slaying their opponent via the sharp blade of their bayonet. Fighting tactics during World War I were less than effective and more than gruesome, but troops worked with the weapons that they had. Towards the end of World War I, along came the submachine gun and changed the way that battles were fought. Originally designed by Italy to aid its troops in trench warfare, the submachine gun was not an accurate weapon, but it was highly efficient. The introduction of this gun meant that men no longer had to run across enemy lines in hopes of wounding a foe. The submachine gun was a sure thing. Hundreds of bullets splattered the air eliminating anything that was in its path.

During World War II, the submachine gun was still regarded as a highly effective weapon. The gun was engineered to be lighter and to shoot even more rapidly than before. During the Second World War, Italy, Germany, and the United States were the only three countries that began to develop these guns in large quantities. Although perfect for trench wars, the submachine gun was not capable of long range power and could not be used to attack incoming airplanes. With the eventual advancement of arms came the advancement of armor, and as troops and military vehicles began to become more adequately protected, the submachine gun proved useless against the newer, heavier tanks, and the well equipped men.

88mm Anti-Aircraft Gun

The German-engineered 88mm anti-aircraft gun was Germany’s only means of attack against high-flying, fast-paced aircrafts during the Second World War. The gun was crafted by the same maker that fashioned most of Germany’s artillery, the Krupps Company. This gun was craftily engineered with a long muzzle that could be a deadly shot when tilted and aimed at the sky, and could cause equally devastating effects when shot at close range. Germany wasted no expense during World War II, and unlike other countries that were desperately trying to conserve funds and manufacture cheaper weapons, Germany mass produced its 88mm guns ensuring that no battle would go without the crucial anti-aircraft gun.

These progressive guns, like most of the weapons used during the world wars, were constantly being updated and bettered by German engineers. As enemy planes were able to fly higher, the guns also had to be able to reach a higher altitude in order to be effective. Various models of the 88mm gun were produced during the war. In an attempt to keep up with Germany’s lavish spending and quick ingenuity, allied countries had to think of ways to keep their aircrafts in the sky and avoid the looming threat that an anti-aircraft gun could be waiting on the ground to shoot them out of the air. Eventually, planes were developed that could fly higher than the 88mm gun could reach, but that posed another problem – accuracy. If planes flew too high, their targets would likely be missed. This called for highly skilled pilots, and German soldiers that were capable of swiftly manning the 88mm guns. Battle fields eventually became a constant game of hit or miss, as planes swooped down and Germans took aim, each hoping to catch the other off guard.

The STEN Gun

During World War II, Britain bought most of its submachine guns from the United States, which seemed to work out nicely for both countries at the beginning of the war. But as Britain began to come under heavy attack, many of its soldiers were killed and their weapons were taken by opposing armies. Suddenly, Britain was in a poor position, there weren’t enough guns coming in from the United States to replace the amount of guns that were rapidly disappearing from the military’s stock. In a panic, Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, sought to devise a gun that could be swiftly manufactured and sent to fighting troops. The only problem was that Britain’s funds were also rapidly fading, this meant that Britain had to find a way to manufacture a gun that was both easy to assemble and cost effective. Engineers came up with the STEN gun, which was aptly named for the initials of its team of designers.

The STEN could be assembled in a mere five hours and was made from simple metal, which needed little welding in order to construct it. The thin, easy to assemble STEN guns were dropped from aircraft carriers to waiting ground troops who were badly in need of protection. Surprisingly, these close range guns were extremely effective and packed a deadly punch once they were delivered to infantry. In addition, the STENs were small and could be taken apart in order to conceal each piece of the gun underneath clothing or inside of backpacks, which was crucial for soldier survival and for efficiency.