The Puckle gun (also known as the Defence gun) was a primitive autocannon invented in 1718 by James Puckle (1667–1724) a British inventor, lawyer and writer. The Puckle gun mechanism was essentially a flintlock revolver; the design concept behind the Puckle gun turned out to be years ahead of what was technologically achievable with 18th century technology. The first practical guns using this design principle, now known as revolver cannons, only appeared in the mid-1940s. Prototypes were shown in 1717 to the English Board of Ordnance, but they were not impressed. However, at a public trial held in 1722, the gun was able to fire 63 shots in seven minutes in the midst of a driving rain storm, an amazing feat for the period.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 12:08:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015