Albany Rifles

The Mason-Dixon Line - Overivew of Mason-Dixon Line

Technically Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon established the demarcation line between the Colony of Virginia, the colony of Deleware the province of Pennsylvania and the province of Maryland.

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RustyBattleship

RIGHT ON JAD. Most people thought they were all hand cranked, and most of them were. But sometimes the guy doing the cranking was out of rhythm and the gun would jam or they would be way off target. So Gatling himself thought of adding a motor to it for proper control and increase in rate of fire.

Interesting though that you say it was in 1893 when he did this. On the Militqry channel they said 1897 and on one website it said 1903.

Oh well, the next question is yours anyway.

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glyn

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JAD_333

My source had it as 1893. It was only 46 years before I was born, but not exactly a schoolyard fact.

While we are on automatic weapons.

Why did the US Army reject the Maxim machine gun for its forces?

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RustyBattleship

No googling on this. Just my best guess based upon the time frames of the development of water-cooled Machineguns.

Even before 1914 the US was not having the best of relations with Germany or its larger ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Besides, John M. Browning was coming along with his refinement of a water-cooled Machine gun later designated by the Army as the 1917 Browning (Serial No. 2 is in his museum in Ogden, Utah). His automatic rifle (the BAR) was about ready for mass production. He already had plans laid out for an air-cooled Machine gun later designated as the 1919 Browning which survived through several wars afterwards.

Then there was Vickers of England working on a Machinegun that was almost a copy of the Maxim and they may have been considered a more friendly source should the Browning come out too late.

Finally, we were already required to pay royalties on our 03 Springfield rifles as some court claimed they were close enough copies of the 1898 Mauser to be considered a stolen patent. So if we adopted the Maxim but wanted to manufacture it ourselves, we might have wound up paying more in royalties than it cost to make the gun.

That might have put John Moses Browning out of a job and he would not have produced the .50 caliber anti-tank round and later the greatest Machine gun of all to fire it -- the MAH DEUCE.

Well, if my guesses are wrong, so what? It was fun writing them up anyway.

JAD_333

Well, my source doesn't say you are wrong on some of what you say, but that was not the reason the army first rejected the Maxim.

A couple of small points. Maxim himself offered the gun to the army and he had all the necessary patents. So that angle is DOA.

Browning vs. Maxim? Both were Americans. Anyway the Army couldn't see into the future, and Maxim's was ready and available.

The Vickers gun, at least later on, was not a copy. Vickers bought out Maxim and his partner who also had developed a machine gun. His partner's gun wasn't much, but he was a hell of a saleman.

JAD_333

...I will say this...it's a laughable reason seen in hindsight...

Kansas Bear

Was someone going to ask a question??

JAD_333

I did. But since no one has answered, I'll pass the batton to you.

BTW, the reason the US Army turned down the Maxim machine gun was logistical. It rate of fire was so fast that the Army didn't think it could move the amount of ammo needed to keep the guns firing on the front lines.

Albany Rifles

This wa the exact same reason that BG James W. Ripley, Chief of Ordnance of the US Army, gave in the late 1850s for rejecting the breech loading rifle. For good reason he was ridiculed as Ripley Van Winkle.

RustyBattleship

I think the 4 day rule has expired, so I'll ask a question.

Everyone knows of Teddy Roosevelt's charge with his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. Also, a lot of people know that his charge was possible because of the covering fire from Lt. Parker of New York with 3 of his 4 Gatling guns (one was commandeered earliar for another engagement). In Roosevelt's own book of the battle he said, "We heard a peculiar drumming sound to our left." The Spanish and Cubans were pinned down in their trenches and Roosevelt's cavalry unit (without horses) charged up the hill. The Gatlings were moved up as well and they soon took the crest of the hill.

BUT, it was NOT San Juan Hill. What was the real name of the hill?

T_igger_cs_30

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ghost88

Kettle Hill.

However I think you are mistaking Roosevelt's first charge up Kettle Hill as the only attack. After The First Volunteer Cavalry and the Colored Troops took Kettle Hill the whole US Army attacked SJH including Teddy's force on Kettle.

RustyBattleship

No, I didn't mistake it, just omitted it. But it was the taking of Kettle Hill that opened up the ability for the Army to take San Juan Hill.