A military and social history of the machine gun shares the stories of the inventors and innovators responsible for its development--including Samuel Colt, Dr. Richard Gatling, and Hiram Maxim--its integration into the military forces of the world, and its impact on tactical warfare. Reprint.

The machine gun has been around since the end of the nineteenth century and its impact on warfare cannot be overestimated. Its capability of prolonged fire, ability to wipe out dozens of victims in a single burst without the need for enormous accuracy on the part of the operator, has made it a fearsome weapon. It exacted a huge toll during the First World War and today it is still a potent weapon in the hands of troops on the ground and in the air. Terry Gander's readable history neatly sums up the development of the weapon. Information on all the most important designs, including Maxim, Browning, Lewis and Degtyarev, as well as specifications of the most significant models are included.

Product Description: This authoritative guide to post-war machine-guns covers a vast array of weapons from the Gatling gun to the six-barrel Vulcan. In addition to outlining the history of each weapon type and its development, this guide cites the caliber, ammunition, length, weight, feed, rate of fire, and muzzle velocity of each weapon...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

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Product Description: Book by Thompson, Jim