Who Invented The Gun?
The word ‘gun’ is a rather broad term which encompasses muskets, rifles, machine guns, cannons, and anti-aircraft guns. Here, we will deal with them one by one. Let’s begin with the smallest of them – hand held guns.
The first revolver was invented by Samuel Colt and the patent was issued in 1836. Rifles come in several types but the first breech loading rifle was invented by Captain Patrick Ferguson. This was followed by the Winchester Rifle, M16, M1 semi automatic rifle etc. Rifles are especially popular among snipers. McMillan Tac-50, a sniper rifle, holds the record for the longest shot ever fired. Machine guns may be the most-liked weapon of the reactionaries around the world. These guns are small and they fire at a rapid pace. The Gatling gun was the first machine gun and it was invented by Doctor Richard Gatling and patented in 1861. However, the AK – 47 remains the most popular machine gun. It was invented by Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov during the Second World War but it is still the preferred choice of soldiers around the world.
The boundary between a gun and cannon is rather vague. It is not that every big gun can be called cannon but normally this is what happens. Usually the difference is of size. Cannons have their own subtypes: howitzers, mortars and anti-aircraft guns fall in this category. The biggest cannon ever made was the Schwerer Gustav. It was built by the company of Fredrich Krupp Family during the Second World War. Gerald Vincent Bull, a Canadian engineer, could have built world’s longest range cannon had he not been assassinated by the Mossad (Israel’s secret service). He was building a gun which could deliver nuclear weapons for the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, when he was gunned down at his apartment by Mossad’s men.
