A mitrailleuse is a type of volley gun with barrels of rifle calibre that can fire either all rounds at once or in rapid succession. The earliest true mitrailleuse was invented in 1851 by Belgian Army captain Fafschamps, ten years before the advent of the Gatling gun. It was followed by the Belgian Montigny mitrailleuse in 1863. Then the French 25 barrel "Canon à Balles", better known as the Reffye mitrailleuse, was adopted in great secrecy in 1866. It became the first rapid-firing weapon deployed as standard equipment by any army in a major conflict when it was used during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71.
Reffye mitrailleuse Le Général Hanicque ("Canon à balles modèle 1866"), manufactured in 1867, on display in Les Invalides
The 37-barrel Montigny mitrailleuse, which was developed in 1863.
Rear view of 25-barrel Reffye mitrailleuse; Musée de l'Armée
Reffye mitrailleuse mechanism
A volley gun is a gun with multiple single-shot barrels that volley fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession. Although capable of unleashing intense firepower, volley guns differ from modern machine guns in that they lack autoloading and automatic fire mechanisms, and therefore their volume of fire is limited by the number of barrels bundled together.
The mitrailleuse, a 19th-century volley gun
Ottoman Empire volley gun with 9 barrels, early 16th century, Army Museum (Paris)
Duckfoot pistol made during the reign of George III.
Three-barrel tap-action pocket pistol capable of firing all barrels simultaneously or sequentially using a rotating block in the pan.
