Was The "gatling" gun an Effective Weapon?

[11811]

@Scissorjack

The sand of the desert* is sodden red,
Red with the wreck of a square that broke.
The Gatling’s jammed and the Colonel’s dead,
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of Death has brimmed its banks,
And England’s far and honour a name.
But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks,
“Play up! Play up! And play the game!”

*The Sudan, presumably.

From Henry Newbolt’s Vitai Lampada, 1897.

Whatever happens we have got
the Maxim gun and they have not

I believe that’s quoted in King Leopold’s Ghost.

[Cicero]

@Hypno-Toad

I believe that the .50 caliber round was modified to be less stable in order to address this. It had to be re-redesigned back to it’s original configuration for use in the .50 sniper rifle. I wish I could remember the source for this info.

That said, I’ve seen video of a .30 Browning water-cooled being used to cut down a 4x4 post in order to demonstrate its accuracy. In order to do this, it was on a tripod mount with 11 sandbags piled around and on the legs. The gunner used the micrometer knob on the tripod to adjust the fire just enough to saw the post down.

Was that for use against infantry? Or was it being mounted as an anti aircraft weapon where I would think more accuracy would be required.

[Scumpup]

@Cicero

Was that for use against infantry? Or was it being mounted as an anti aircraft weapon where I would think more accuracy would be required.

The type of mount described doesn’t sound like an AA mount. In either use, dispersion of shots is desirable. Google machinegun + “beaten zone” for details.

[Hypno-Toad]

@Cicero

Was that for use against infantry? Or was it being mounted as an anti aircraft weapon where I would think more accuracy would be required.

It was a standard anti-infantry mount. Like this one but for the Browning M1919 water cooled MG. The demonstration was about WWI MGs and their effect on the battlefield. The greater accuracy meant greater effective range. A skinnier beaten zone means that the “Fat” part of the cone of fire can engage targets much farther away. Remember that once trench warfare set in, the defending MGs would usually be engaging targets all the way across no mans land. If your beaten zone was too fat, you’d have no chance of hitting your targets at that range.

But the problem of too tight grouping was recognized in WWI. If you get the chance, look at some footage of Germans firing a heavy MG. Occassionally, the gunner will slap the side of the gun as he’s firing. This was to make the gun waver and spread the beaten zone.

[Hypno-Toad]

I have to correct myself. I believe the Model 1917 is the watercooled MG, Not the 1919.

[Cicero]

@Hypno-Toad

It was a standard anti-infantry mount. Like this one but for the Browning M1919 water cooled MG. The demonstration was about WWI MGs and their effect on the battlefield. The greater accuracy meant greater effective range. A skinnier beaten zone means that the “Fat” part of the cone of fire can engage targets much farther away. Remember that once trench warfare set in, the defending MGs would usually be engaging targets all the way across no mans land. If your beaten zone was too fat, you’d have no chance of hitting your targets at that range.

But the problem of too tight grouping was recognized in WWI. If you get the chance, look at some footage of Germans firing a heavy MG. Occassionally, the gunner will slap the side of the gun as he’s firing. This was to make the gun waver and spread the beaten zone.

Without going to far as we are getting off topic, I believe towards the later years of WW1 greater accuracy was required as they would want to effectively be able to target any holes in the barbed wire.

[Cicero]

@Hypno-Toad

I have to correct myself. I believe the Model 1917 is the watercooled MG, Not the 1919.

.

Geez- I was about to pick that up