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Jan 1, 1364
First use of a firearm
This is the first recorded use. The official date is unknown. -
Percussion Cap Guns
Percussion cap guns were more weatherproof than the flintlock, as if a flintlock got wet, it could not fire. Percussion caps relied on initial striking pressure as opposed to a burning flint. The precise date is unknown. -
Gatling Gun
The Gatling Gun could fire at a clip of 200 .58 caliber rounds per minute. This was well beyond what any other gun could do in its time. Despite its initial unpopularity, it quickly became the most popular firearm in the world, being purchased by almost every civilized nation at the time. The original Gatling gun used percussion cap rounds. -
Rimfire Cartridges
Richard Gatling switches the Gatling Gun to Copper Rimfire Cartridges, which make for more efficient and reliable. This would lead to the Gatling Gun's adoption into the United States Army the following year. -
Maxim Machine Gun
A non-direct descendant of the Gatling Gun, the Maxim Machine Gun, though at first thought to be impractical, the British army adopted this gun in 1889.This was the first true machine gun, because it did not require the hand cranking that the Gatling Gun required. -
Obsoletion
In 1911, the United States Army declared the Gatling Gun obselete due the fact it required the user to hand crank it. Other guns had caught up to its rate of fire and only required a pull of the trigger. -
Thompson Submachine Gun
The Thompson Submachine gun is another gun found that was found to be an indirect descendant of the Gatling Gun. It was intended to help end World War I, the gun was never shipped overseas. The gun instead held infamous ranking by becoming the most prevalent weapon for the gangs that ruled during Prohibition. -
Bergmann MP18
Another indirect Gatling Gun predecessor, the Bergmann MP18 was used by the Germans in World War I and known as one the first Sub Machine guns, meaning it was practical to carry in battle and sustain fast movement. -
M134 Minigun
The minigun is the most direct descendant of the Gatling Gun. It is shaped exactly the same and employs the same rotating barrel style. The M134 is electrically powered, with a switch to turn it on and off. It can fire at rates almost climbing into 4000 rounds a minute, almost 20 times that of the Gatling Gun. -
Gunpowder
A Chinese alchemist created gunpowder while in the pursuit of an elixir that would grant immortality. It was noted that if subject to flame, it would explode instead of just burn. The precise date is unknown.
