A prototype machine gun designed to fire nine bullets in succession without reloading. Designed around a revolving block, one block held round bullets to fire at Christians. The second block held square bullets to be fired at heathens. The guns were never fired and so we will never know what damage they could have inflicted. Nor have I yet found out why heathens should have square bullets fired at them. But the gun was invented by one James Puckle around the 1720's to accompany Nathaniel Uring on his expedition to the West Indies!
A blog about dinghy cruising a Welsford 'Navigator' around the coastal waters of SW England
Saturday, 13 April 2013
The Puckle gun
A prototype machine gun designed to fire nine bullets in succession without reloading. Designed around a revolving block, one block held round bullets to fire at Christians. The second block held square bullets to be fired at heathens. The guns were never fired and so we will never know what damage they could have inflicted. Nor have I yet found out why heathens should have square bullets fired at them. But the gun was invented by one James Puckle around the 1720's to accompany Nathaniel Uring on his expedition to the West Indies!
The only known sale of the Puckle Gun came in 1722, when the Duke of Montagu privately purchased two to accompany him during his ill-fated attempt to conquer the Caribbean islands of St. Lucia and St. Vincent.
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