Leonardo da Vinci designed an organ gun with 33 small cannons arranged on a rotating platform.
The device is often called a 33-barrel organ because its parallel gun barrels resemble the pipes of a musical organ. Leonardo’s arrangement was intended to let several barrels fire in succession, creating a rapid sequence of shots rather than relying on one cannon being reloaded repeatedly.
The design belonged to the Renaissance tradition of volley guns and was intended for military use. It appears among Leonardo’s studies of weapons and battlefield machinery. Like many of his military concepts, its practical effectiveness would have depended on manufacturing accuracy, ammunition handling, and the ability to control recoil.
The name can cause confusion: an organ gun is not a musical instrument, although its barrel arrangement suggested one. It is also different from a modern machine gun, which uses a later technology and operating system. Leonardo’s design remained a concept rather than a standard battlefield weapon.