Who invented automatic weapons

This period produced a number of single-purpose firearms. The forerunner of modern shotguns was the fowling piece, developed specifically for hunting birds. Among the upper classes, fowling was a leisure sport. Fowling pieces for the very affluent were often lovely works of art, but impractical for hunting.

The last war to use only muzzle-loaded guns. Introduced at the start of the Civil War, Spencer repeating guns were technically advanced, used cartridges a recent development , and could fire 7 shots in 15 seconds. But the Army didn't want a repeating gun, fearing that soldiers would fire more often, constantly need fresh ammunition, and overtax the supply system.

But in , President Lincoln test-fired a Spencer. His approval led to the purchase of , Spencer repeating carbines and rifles of , made , and the Spencer became the principal repeating gun of the Civil War. Both breech and muzzle loaded guns used. Breach-loaded guns are dominant. Winchester rifles were affordable, and produced in such great numbers, that the Winchester became the generic rifle.

The Winchester had such a powerful hold in some regions that it actually became known as "the gun that won the West.

Robert Stevenson. Read about the life of Robert Stevenson, the man who lit up Scotland with his lighthouses. The Lunar Society. Great British Inventions. The British are acknowledged to be among the best in the world when it comes to inventing…. Maxim harnessed a bullet's recoil power to create a portable machine gun needed only one barrel to fire all of its bullets automatically.

A gun based on his design became standard issue for the British Army during World War I, which became known as "the machine gun war. A Knack for Invention In , Hiram Maxim built the first effective machine gun, which revolutionized warfare. Born in in Sangersville, Maine, Maxim was apprenticed at 14 to a carriage maker. While learning that trade, he exhibited a knack for invention, designing a mousetrap that automatically reset and rid local mills of rodents. He obtained the first of his patents at age 26 for a curling iron.

The 98K it was intended to replace was not even semi-automatic. The StG 44 was not lighter than the 98k, but it had a barrel that, at Of course, the StG 44 packed less punch than the 98K and was not as accurate at extreme distances, but the Germans understood that the StG 44 was deadly enough.

Other countries quickly developed similar weapons. The British took a different approach with the EM-2, which had an even smaller cartridge.

The U. Still, the Army wanted something better than the old M-1 rifle, which opened the door in the s to new ideas. ORO studied the Korean War and came to the same conclusion the Germans had during World War I: Soldiers mostly shot at targets much closer than what they were trained to shoot at and what their guns were capable of hitting.

ORO also determined that in combat the best marksmen fired no better than the worst, and firing quickly was more important than firing accurately, within reason. The BRL analyzed ballistics tests and concluded that the lethality of a bullet had more to do with its speed than with its mass.

If a small. It could fire on automatic, but because of the ammunition it was difficult to control on that setting, and most kept it set at semi-automatic to avoid wasting ammunition. Stoner to review its data. Stoner used the information to develop the AR, which he brought to Fort Benning in for trials.