Generals:Gatling Guns
From Command and Conquer Wiki
[edit] Description
A Gatling gun is a weapon with multiple firing pins and breeches connected to multiple rotating barrels. Each barrel fires a single shot as it reaches a certain point in the cycle after which it ejects the spent cartridge, loads a new round, and in the process, somewhat cools down. This configuration allows higher rates of fire without the problem of an overheating single barrel, though accuracy suffers. A clearly advantage is a high rate of fire, and despite this, a high accuracy even against air targets and high damage against Infantry. Disadvantages are little damage against heavy armored enemies such as tanks.
[edit] History and Usage
It was invented by Dr. Richard Jordon Gatling in 1861. It is regarded by some as the first machine gun in history. However, it did not automatically reload under its own power and these first Gatling guns relied on a hand crank for external power. They become obsolete before the First World War and didn't reappear until the 1960s. However, this redeveloped Gatling technology produced some extremely powerful weapons. In 2020, China relies heavy on Gatling guns, as many of their vehicles and even infantry are armed with different scaled Gatling weapons.
[edit] Examples
- Gatling Tank - A tracked vehicle armed with a single large Gatling gun, effective against infantry, light vehicles and aircraft.
- Gatling Cannon - Twin Gatling guns mounted on a turret.
- Mini-Gunner - A Red Guard armed with a small Gatling gun. Specially trained under the command of General Shin Fai.
Gatling guns were not exclusive to the Chinese - the American A-10 aircraft also used such a weapon to great effect, mounted on the nose. Similarly the Spectre Gunship was also armed with Gatling guns in addition to howitzers. The particular names of these Gatling guns were 'Avenger' and 'Vulcan' respectively.
