Bailey machine gun The Bailey Machine Gun was a rapid - fire weapon developed in the late 19th century . It was a multiple barrel weapon similar to the much more commonly known Gatling gun , and was the first weapon of this type to be belt - fed . Although commonly referred to as the Bailey Machine Gun , it is technically not a machine gun since it is externally powered using a hand crank . However , rapid - fire weapons of this type are commonly referred to as machine guns , even though this usage of the term is technically incorrect . History . The Bailey Machine Gun was designed in 1874 by Fortune L . Bailey of Indianapolis , Indiana . The initial design had some issues , but by 1875 , a reliable working model had been produced by the Winchester Arms Company . This design was submitted to the U . S . Navy for evaluation . In January 1876 , Commodore T . H . Patterson of the Navy Yard in Washington , D . C . ordered trials for the new weapon . These trials began on February 11 , 1876 . It was noted that the weapon was small in comparison to similar weapons , which Bailey explained was due to the fact that the weapon had been designed around the . 32 caliber rifle round for demonstration and proof of concept . Initial testing of the weapon had been so successful that Bailey had chosen to demonstrate the weapon as - is , rather than scale the technology up to a larger round . The Navy Board found that Bailey had brought an insufficient number of ammunition belts for a thorough reliability and endurance test , and because of this , they refused to officially take the weapon under consideration . They did allow Bailey to fire off as many rounds as he desired for unofficial consideration , however . The ammunition belts that Bailey had provided held 100 rounds each , and a second belt could not be loaded after a burst of fire had been initiated . The sustained rate of fire was therefore found to be inadequate for Naval requirements . Bailey did manage to demonstrate a very high rate of fire , firing off a complete 100 round belt in 6 seconds for an official firing rate of 1 , 000 rounds per minute . Commander Sicard , the officer in charge of the evaluation , wrote that " The test that was made for rapidity of fire was , however , truly astonishing . One hundred rounds being fired in about 6 seconds , the gun appearing to be almost in a continual blaze , the whole number ran off smoothly . " Design and Features . Superficially , the Bailey Machine Gun resembled the Gatling gun , as it also had multiple barrels and was hand cranked . The similarity was only superficial though , as the firing mechanism of the Bailey Machine Gun was significantly different than that of the Gatling gun . The Bailey Machine Gun used a belt feed system that did not remove the cartridges from the belt as the weapon was fired . Other rapid - fire weapons of this era used a drum or hopper to hold the ammunition . The belt - feed was considered to be very innovative , and many later machine guns would end up using belt - feed mechanisms of some sort . When the handle was cranked , the barrels as well as the firing mechanism rotated . The round was fired from the top barrel , and the weapon was designed so that a round could not be fired until the round and its associated barrel reached the top position on the weapon . This prevented accidental premature discharges . References . " The Machine Gun , History , Evolution , and Development of Manual , Automatic , and Airborne Repeating Weapons " by George M . Chinn , Lieutenant Colonel , USMC . Prepared for the Bureau of Ordnance , Department of the Navy , 1951