Leonardo da Vinci proposed an organ gun with multiple small cannon barrels arranged in rows.
The design took its name from the resemblance between the parallel barrels and the pipes of a musical organ. Several barrels could be loaded and fired in sequence, creating a rapid volley compared with a single muzzle-loading cannon. Leonardo’s drawings also explored a carriage that could help position the weapon and manage recoil.
An organ gun was not a machine gun in the modern automatic sense. Each barrel still required loading, and the weapon relied on human crews, black powder, and historical artillery technology. The arrangement improved the concentration of fire but also created problems involving weight, smoke, reloading, and coordination.
Leonardo’s proposal belongs to his military-engineering studies. It shows how he applied repeated mechanical elements to artillery, much as he used repeated parts in textile, hydraulic, and manufacturing designs.