Leonardo da Vinci designed an organ gun, a rapid-firing cannon array.
The weapon placed multiple small cannons in rows or on a frame. The arrangement resembled the pipes of a musical organ, which explains the name. A row could be fired together, then the frame could be repositioned while another row was prepared, creating a faster sequence of shots than a single muzzle-loading cannon.
Leonardo’s version was a proposed weapon, not a proven modern machine gun. Renaissance gunpowder weapons were slow, difficult to reload, and dangerous to operate. The organ gun also produced a concentrated volley rather than continuous automatic fire.
The design belongs to a wider family of multi-barrel weapons used in Europe. Leonardo’s contribution was his detailed study of how grouped barrels, carriages, and firing sequences might improve battlefield firepower.