Travel:

Aberdeen Proving Ground
Tank Park and Museum

Nordenfelt Machine Gun

article and photos by Russ Lockwood



Nordenfelt Machine Gun was developed in Europe between 1873 and 1878 and used throughout the continent until the turn of the century. Two to six barrels were placed in horizontal alignment and fired in succession or in volleys by moving the lever on the right side of the breech backwards and forwards. A hopper-type magazine supplied the ammunition by gravity. The empty shells fell out the bottom, extracted by the backwards movement of the lever. Several hundred shots per minute could be fired from this gun. This particular gun is mounted on a naval mount, the volley fire was considered a good defense against torpedo boats. Although there is no documentation of this particular gun, best guess is that the Spanish Navy took the gun to the Philippines, where it was captured by Filipino rebels and subsequently captured by the US Army during the Philippine Insurrection.

Aberdeen Museum and Tank Park

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