Leonardo da Vinci designed an organ gun with 33 small cannons arranged in three rows.
The design appears in Leonardo’s military engineering studies and is often called a triple-barrelled cannon or organ gun. The nickname comes from its visual resemblance to the pipes of a musical organ. Its multiple barrels were meant to let a crew fire a concentrated volley and then rotate or reposition the weapon while another row was prepared.
Leonardo’s concept addressed a practical problem with early artillery: firing was slow because loading and cooling took time. By arranging several barrels on a frame, the weapon could deliver repeated volleys more efficiently than a single cannon. The design also used a wheeled carriage for movement.
The weapon should not be confused with a modern machine gun. It still relied on gunpowder, individual barrels, and the limitations of Renaissance artillery. As with many of Leonardo’s military drawings, surviving evidence shows a design study rather than a proven battlefield weapon.