<P> The Puckle gun (also known as the Defence gun) was a primitive crew - served, manually - operated flintlock revolver patented in 1718 by James Puckle (1667--1724) a British inventor, lawyer and writer . It was one of the earliest weapons to be referred to as a "machine gun", being called such in a 1722 shipping manifest . However, the Puckle gun was never used during any combat operation or war . Production was highly limited and may have been as few as two guns . </P> <P> The Puckle gun is a tripod - mounted, single - barreled flintlock weapon fitted with a manually operated revolving cylinder; Puckle advertised its main application as an anti-boarding gun for use on ships . The barrel was 3 feet (0.91 m) long with a bore of 1.25 inches (32 mm). The cylinder held 6 to 11 shots depending on configuration, and was hand - loaded with powder and shot while detached from the weapon . </P>

When was the first rapid fire gun made