Leonardo da Vinci designed an organ gun as a rapid-fire array of small cannons.
Leonardo’s organ-gun design arranged multiple small gun barrels in rows on a supporting frame. The name comes from the visual resemblance to the pipes of a musical organ. The concept was intended to let several barrels fire in sequence, increasing the rate of fire compared with a single muzzle-loading gun while another row could cool or be reloaded.
The design belongs to Leonardo’s military engineering studies in the late 15th century. It was not a modern automatic weapon: each barrel still required loading and ignition, and the practical speed depended on the crew. Leonardo also drew larger artillery and fortified machines, so the organ gun should not be confused with his giant crossbow or armored vehicle concepts.