175 rounds per minute

[major bill]

The Billinghurst-Requa battery were said to be able to fire 175 rounds per minute and are considered the most widely used weapon of this type. They were reportedly used at the Siege of Port Hudson , Louisiana and Fort Wagner, South Carolina.

I have seen that about 50 of these were made starting in 1862. The effectiveness of them appears to have mixed reviews. This type of weapon during the Civil War was used in a very limited way and had little impact on the War.

 

[kholland]

I have seen that about 50 of these were made starting in 1862. The effectiveness of them appears to have mixed reviews. This type of weapon during the Civil War was used in a very limited way and had little impact on the War.

View attachment 171525 View attachment 171526

That may be but I can't imagine the psychological effect on soldier's that experienced this weapon for the first time.

 

[DixieRifles]

The Billinghurst-Requa battery were said to be able to fire 175 rounds per minute

Clarification: the Battery could fire 175 rpm; not one gun.
How many guns in a Battery?
How long did it take to reload 25 barrels?

Im guessing it took a minimum if 2 seconds to reload each barrel--total 50 seconds. If 2 men were reloading, that would be be 25 seconds to reload. Thus calculates to one gun firing 50 rounds per minute.
So a battery of 4 guns could fire 200 rounds per minute.

 

[major bill]

Each single weapon was called a battery. So one weapon could fire 7 shots per minute. Seven times twenty-five equals one hundred seventy-five bullets per minute. A four weapon group could fire 700 rounds per minute.

I am not sure that this rate of fire could have been maintained for too long .

 

[Hawkeye Brehm]

Each single weapon was called a battery. So one weapon could fire 7 shots per minute. Seven times twenty-five equals one hundred seventy-five bullets per minute. A four weapon group could fire 700 rounds per minute.

I am not sure that this rate of fire could have been maintained for too long .

That might be why it wasn't used very much.

 

[WJC]

That might be why it wasn't used very much.

That, and the fact that it required men and animals to move from point to point. It was probably best suited to use in defensive positions.
It was, however, successful enough that additional weapons were ordered after the war.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

If you read the description of how the gun was operated, as shown in the photo included in the first post, the Billinghurst Requa gun was loaded with a piano hinge magazine/clip that held 25 rounds. Therefore reloading it was easy and fast, open the breech, insert the magazine, prime, close the breech, place a cap on the single nipple, fire....open the breech, remove the fired magazine holding all 25 cartridge cases.....repeat procedures. It was very fast and required only a few men, but not quite as fast as a "Company Front" which hypothetically would fire 100 rounds per volley, times how many volleys per minute. The difference was the number of men required.
J.

 

[Mike Serpa]

Leonardo's designs of multi-barrel guns.

http://www.openculture.com/2016/04/leonardo-da-vinci-draws-designs-of-future-war-machines.html

 

[cl73]

The Chinese also designed a similar weapon way before, if I recall correctly.
It doesn't have a particularly wide field of fire, unless you had loads of them lined up, firing at staggered intervals. They would get over run quite quickly? especially by the Stonewall brigade! It's light and quickly transportable compared to other heavier pieces I guess.