Machine Gun
Weapon that rapidly fires bullets.
WWI Machine Gun
The WWI Machine Gun would be used by a gun crew of four to six operators. Optimistically the machine gun was able to fire 400-600 small calibre round per minute, but the figure would be at least doubled by the end of the war. But the reality of the machine gun was that it would overheat or get jammed. They would cool down the machine gun by either using cooled water or air. The water would cool down the machine gun, through using water jackets, which could hold about one gallon of water. But the fault in using water to cool it down was that the machine gun would still overheat fairly quickly, and they would run out of water to use. Later in the war they would cool down the machine gun with air through air vents. They also got jammed frequently, especially during hot conditions or through inexperienced operators.
The machine gun used in WWI invented in 1884, in the Untied Kingdom by Hiram Maxim. The machine gun was often used for defense. It was also used over rifles because the machine gun machine gun was equivalent to 80 rifles. The Machine gun was used in the battle of Somme. Impact and Consequences of the Machine gun |
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The machine gun was able to shoot more bullets per minute than any rifle available, so the overall impact was that there more were deaths because of machine guns than a rifle could of caused. One major influence that the machine gun had was that it helped lengthen the war and introduce trench warfare . That happened because solider were more cautious because the machine gun could fire rapidly and kill people more quickly and easier than in any other war. It affected the soldiers near the front lines of Europe by the fact that it made them more cautious and worried about death because they knew how easily it could come about them if they made a wrong decision during the battle.
It also affected the leaders of the warring nations and the decisions they made because they converted their industries into munitions factories which are the factories that build weaponry. Which also had a big impact of the citizens. A negative affect of the machine gun is that it made the war more defensive rather than offensive. Due to the fact that the machine gun was rather heavy and needed 3 men to work it. It also killed more men than any other war before. Connections to Today
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A modern day example of a machine gun is the M2A1. It has improved through becoming lighter, safer, easier to use, and more reliable. The M2A1 is used by soldiers in the military, the gun was originally made in 1933 but is frequently updated to be one of the more modern machine guns used in the military. The machine gun has been used in many wars but a more recent war that it was used in is the Iraq war.
By: Rachel DeWolf
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