Leonardo da Vinci designed an organ gun with 33 small cannons arranged on three platforms.
The weapon was designed to fire many guns in succession. Its three rows of barrels could be loaded while another row was being used, helping address the slow reloading problem of early gunpowder artillery. The arrangement also gave the weapon a distinctive appearance resembling the pipes of a musical organ.
Leonardo’s drawing presents a proposed military machine, not proof that he successfully built and deployed it. The concept belongs to a broader family of volley guns and multi-barrel weapons developed in different places and periods.
The organ gun should not be confused with Leonardo’s armored vehicle, which is a separate design. Nor was it a modern machine gun: it lacked automatic loading, continuous ammunition feed, and modern firing mechanisms. Its key identifying features are the multiple small barrels and the three-platform arrangement.