The Advancement of The Machine Gun Essay -- Warfare

War has been a recurring part of Americas history for the past hundreds of years. From the 1700s to the present, America has gotten into numerous situations and turmoil, which eventually lead to the wars we currently study and know about today. Technological advancements in war were incumbent and a great obligation during times of war. This was pursued with drastic improvement. From the version of the use of smoothbore muskets during the Civil War to the industrial revolution principal to weaponry innovations post civil war, the nature of warfare dramatically changed. These developments prove to be proficient in battle. In the midst of these hundreds of years, while many technological advances demonstrated to be efficient in battle, the machine blast was one of the most significant advancements in technology that changed the face of warfare through its transformation of operations and strategy. During the civil war before the mental institution of the machine guns, union so ldiers predominantly used smoothbore muskets. The rifles low muzzle velocity and consequent high parabolic flying made for difficult long- say shooting, especially since soldiers engaged in weeny target practice and received virtually no training in estimating distances or in using the adjustable sights to compensate for the bullets curved flight. The tangled terrain of most battlefieldsand the black powder smoke that engulfed every battleoften rendered enemy soldiers invisible until they were within smoothbore range (Hess 288). This was assumed to be the reason of why the war was prolonged, and the combat losses were higher during the smoothbore era. Also with an ability of only firing a maximum of three rounds per minute (Howey), this rat... ...smith, Dolf L., and R. Blake. Stevens. The Devils Paintbrush Sir Hiram oozeims Gun. Toronto Collector make Publications, 1989. Print.2. Hess, Earl J. The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat Reality and Myth. Lawrence, Kan University be ar on of Kansas, 2008. Print.3. Howey, Allan W. Weaponry The Rifle-Musket and the Mini Ball History Net. History Net. Weider History Group, Oct. 1999. Web. 12 whitethorn 2012. .4. Lee, Loyd E. World War II. Westport, CT Greenwood, 1999. Print.5. Popenker, Max R. Modern Firearms - MachineGuns. Max R. Popenker, 1999-2010. Web. 10 May 2012. .6. Simkin, John. Machine-Gun. Spartacus Educational - Home Page. John Simkin. Web. 10 May 2012. .