Gatling gun

The Gatling Gun is one of the earliest and most famous rapid-fire weapons and the forerunner of the modern machine gun.

Design[]

The Gatling gun's operation centers on a cyclic multi-barrel design which allows for better barrel cooling and a synchronized firing and reloading sequence. Each barrel fires a single shot when it reaches a certain point in the cycle, after which it ejects the spent cartridge and loads a new round, cooling down in the process. This configuration gives the Gatling a higher rate of fire than earlier rapid-fire prototypes and circumvents barrel overheating. However, the Gatling Gun is not a true automatic weapon despite its continuous fire, as it requires an operator continuously turning a crank in order to function compared to real machine guns which recycle a portion of the exhaust gases in the chamber to reciprocate another round for firing. Gatling sold his patents to Colt Firearms in 1870 and the company began marketing carriage mounted guns from the US Civil War onward. Towards the 20th century after the British invented the Maxim Gun in 1884, the Gatling gun was deemed obsolete.

History[]

Developed by American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861, the Gatling Gunsaw particular success during the American Civil War and, spreading as various new models throughout the world, soon stood beside the Armstrong Cannon and the ironclad battleship as one of the "Three Great Machines of War". The Gatling Gun made its way to Japan and was used with devastating effectiveness by the Bakufu against the Ishin Shishi during the Boshin War.

Tokyo Arc[]

In Rurouni Kenshin, the Gatling Gun first appears in the possession of Takeda Kanryū. Upon revealing the weapon in his mansion to Himura Kenshin, Shinomori Aoshi and Myōjin Yahiko, Kanryū boasts that the Gatling he has purchased is a new model unknown even to the Meiji Government and capable of firing two hundred rounds per minute. Kanryū first attacks Aoshi, shooting the onmitsu's legs while Kenshin and Yahiko flee, but the noise of the weapon draws all of the Oniwabanshū to the scene, where each of Aoshi's four subordinates give their lives in turn to rescue their Okashira and give Kenshin an opportunity to strike.

In the manga, Kanryū's undoing is his own unfamiliarity with the weapon and combat in general; after firing two hundred shots per minute for some time, the Gatling runs out of ammunition. However, in the anime, Kanryū remembers to reload the gun periodically and his undoing comes at the hand of Beshimi, who manages to fire one of his Rasenpyō into the Gatling's ammunition feeding mechanism, jamming it at the cost of his own life.

Kyōto Arc[]

The Gatling Gun reappears as a weapon onboard Shishio Makoto's ironclad battleship Rengoku.

Hokkaido Arc[]

Years later, Honda Udoku brought a Gatling Gun to Otaru which Kanryu used to defeat Honda.

Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration[]

In Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration, Kanryū appears with a stylized and modified Gatling Gun which detached from its transportation carriage and is apparently light enough for the corrupt merchant to carry around and use in his arms. He uses this weapon to slaughter swordsmen in the basement of his mansion for fun, but is defeated by Himura Kenshin, who demolishes the weapon with a single strike.

Users[]

Takeda Kanryū - He bought a Gatling Gun in the black market, and used it to hurt Shinomori Aoshi, and ultimatelly kill the 4 Oniwabanshū members Han'nya, Hyottoko, Beshimi and Shikijō.
Shishio Makoto - Onboard the ironclad Rengoku, Shishio had several Gatling Guns. One of them was fired towards Sagara Sanosuke, but he was able to protect himself with a water wall created by using the Futae no Kiwami.

Trivia[]

While the Gatling gun was the fore bearer to the modern machine gun and was deemed obsolete with the advent of the modern machine gun in 1884, the gatling gun resurfaced in the Mid 20th century as an externally powered cannon.
In the English Dub, it is implied by Kenshin's reaction that even he fears the gatling gun or distinctly remembers the death it unleashed, presumably he witnessed the weapon being used against samurai during the Boshin War. During the real Battle of Kokueusu, Imperial forces acquired 2 Gatling Guns and 2000 minie ball french rifles.
The manga's portrayal of the Gatling Gun has more in common with a Maxim Gun than a Gatling Gun due to its single barrel and a water jacket around the barrel. It is also belt-fed, rather than using a top-mounted gravity-fed magazine as on a proper Gatling Gun. It is moved on small wheels and raised on top of a tripod when in use. The only true Gatling Gun part of the weapon is the handcrank used for firing. The portrayal in the 1996 anime is similar but is fired from a large carriage instead of a tripod, which is similar to a real Gatling Gun. The portrayal in the 2023 anime is a proper Gatling Gun.