The Ripley Machine Gun was a volley gun

Volley gun

A volley gun is a gun with several barrels for firing a number of shots, either simultaneously or in sequence. They differ from modern machine guns in that they lack automatic loading and automatic fire and are limited by the number of barrels bundled together.In practice the large ones were not...

, an early precursor of the machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

, patented in 1861 by Ezra Ripley. Although it was likely never actually produced, it demonstrated a number of basic concepts that were employed in the design of the Gatling Gun

Gatling gun

The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...

 that was patented the following year.

Method of action

The design, as patented, consists of nine fixed barrels attached to a limbers and caissons. The weapon is loaded with a cylinder containing nine rounds of ammunition, arranged so that the rounds line up with the barrels of the weapon. A firing handle is then attached, locking the cylinder into place.

The weapon was fired by rotating the handle, the barrels firing in sequence. By rotating the handle quickly a high rate of fire could be achieved, or slowly, single shots. Once the nine rounds of ammunition in the chamber were expended, the cylinder could be removed for reloading and a fresh cylinder could be inserted into the breech.

The weapon was most probably never built, and was passed over in favor of volley guns like the Billinghurst Requa Battery

Billinghurst Requa Battery

The Billinghurst Requa Battery gun was an early rapid-fire gun used during the American Civil War. It was invented by a Dr. Josephus Requa , a dentist by profession, who had at the age of 16 spent three years as an apprentice to William Billinghurst...

.