Leonardo da Vinci designed a multi-barrel cannon known as an organ gun. The weapon arranged many small guns in parallel rows or a fan-shaped formation, resembling the pipes of a musical organ.
Leonardo’s design was intended to improve the rate of fire of artillery. While one row was firing, another could be loaded, and the frame could be repositioned. The arrangement also allowed multiple projectiles to be discharged in a volley, potentially creating a broad field of fire against troops.
An organ gun was not a machine gun in the modern sense. It still required manual loading, separate ignition, and substantial preparation. Leonardo’s notebooks contain several military-engineering proposals, including fortified structures, bridges, and weapons. His organ gun belongs to the long history of volley firearms and multi-barrel artillery rather than to the later development of automatic firearms.