Nordenfelt gun Facts for Kids

This page is about the rifle-caliber "machine gun". For the anti-torpedo boat gun, see 1-inch Nordenfelt gun. For the naval gun, see QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt.

Quick facts for kids Nordenfelt gun
Nordenfelt 10 barrel rifle-calibre machine gun (with ammunition feed slots removed). Musée de l'Armée, Paris.
Type	Organ gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Production history
Designer	Helge Palmcrantz
Designed	1873

The Nordenfelt gun was a special type of gun with many barrels, sometimes as many as twelve! It worked by pulling a lever back and forth. This made bullets drop into each barrel and fire. It was like a very fast, hand-powered machine gun.

These guns were made in different sizes. Some fired small rifle bullets, about 0.45 inches wide. Others used bigger bullets, up to 25 millimeters. The bigger guns were loaded quickly by hand. This article focuses on the smaller, rifle-sized Nordenfelt gun.

Sailor operating a 10-barrel rifle calibre gun, with his right hand on the lever.

How Was the Nordenfelt Gun Developed?
Who Used the Nordenfelt Gun?
What Conflicts Used the Nordenfelt Gun?
See also
- Other Guns Like the Nordenfelt

How Was the Nordenfelt Gun Developed?

A Swedish engineer named Helge Palmcrantz designed this unique weapon. He created a clever way to load and fire many barrels at once. All you had to do was move a single lever back and forth. He received a patent for his invention in 1873.

The money to build these guns came from Thorsten Nordenfelt. He was a Swedish steel producer and banker working in London. Because of his support, the gun was named the Nordenfelt gun. A factory was built in England to make the weapons. They also had sales offices in London.

The Nordenfelt gun was shown off at many events. It was even adopted by the British Royal Navy. They used it alongside their other fast-firing guns, like the Gatling gun and Gardner gun.

During one demonstration, a Nordenfelt gun with ten barrels showed its power. It fired 3,000 rifle-sized bullets in just over three minutes! It did this without any problems or stopping.

However, a new gun called the Maxim gun was invented later. The Maxim gun was fully automatic, meaning it fired by itself. This made the Nordenfelt gun seem old-fashioned. In 1888, Nordenfelt's company joined with the Maxim Gun Company. They became the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company Limited.

You can still see Nordenfelt guns today. One was even used in the 1966 movie Khartoum. It appears in a scene on a river boat. Another one is in the Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology in Koblenz, Germany. The Romanian Naval Museum in Constanța also has one on display.