Since the earlier wars such as World War I, the weapons used in war have constantly been evolving. According to Jennifer Eiss, a historian for the History Channel, “before WWI, the most popular automatic rapid-fire weapon was the gatling gun, which resembled a cannon and weighed about as much” (Eiss, 2016). Weapons like these often required a minimum of six men to help work it. Machine guns were later created to be more portable, lighter and easy to use. Machine guns have become lighter and more reliable over the years. Guns like the Vickers and the Lewis gun were high artillery machine guns, but were not as reliable as guns used today. One problem discussed in class with earlier weapons was that the guns needed to be cleaned every day and the battle condition did not allow for that. The conditions caused guns to jam up and resulted in shooting injuries due to gun malfunctions. Machine guns today have been made to where the weapon can be fired multiple times before needing to be cleaned. Weapons like a m249 or a m240b are machine guns that are used by the military today. These guns are lighter and more portable, but are still able to shoot multiple
Since the earlier wars such as World War I, the weapons used in war have constantly been evolving. According to Jennifer Eiss, a historian for the History Channel, “before WWI, the most popular automatic rapid-fire weapon was the gatling gun, which resembled a cannon and weighed about as much” (Eiss, 2016). Weapons like these often required a minimum of six men to help work it. Machine guns were later created to be more portable, lighter and easy to use. Machine guns have become lighter and more reliable over the years. Guns like the Vickers and the Lewis gun were high artillery machine guns, but were not as reliable as guns used today. One problem discussed in class with earlier weapons was that the guns needed to be cleaned every day and the battle condition did not allow for that. The conditions caused guns to jam up and resulted in shooting injuries due to gun malfunctions. Machine guns today have been made to where the weapon can be fired multiple times before needing to be cleaned. Weapons like a m249 or a m240b are machine guns that are used by the military today. These guns are lighter and more portable, but are still able to shoot multiple