Leonardo da Vinci sketched an organ gun with multiple barrels arranged for repeated volleys.
The weapon is often called a multi-barrelled cannon or 33-barrel organ. Its barrels were arranged in rows on a wheeled frame, allowing several shots to be fired in succession or a broad volley to be delivered. The design aimed to increase the rate of fire and reduce the delay between individual cannon shots.
Leonardo’s version belongs to a wider family of organ guns that existed in Europe before and during the Renaissance. Its name comes from the resemblance between its grouped barrels and the pipes of a musical organ. The drawing shows an idea for battlefield artillery rather than a modern machine gun.
Reloading black-powder weapons remained slow and hazardous, and the recoil and weight of many barrels created serious practical problems. Leonardo’s design therefore represents an attempt to solve battlefield firepower and loading limitations, not a fully automatic firearm.