The 33-Barreled Organ was a ribauldequin, or volley gun, with thirty-three bronze muzzles that the multitalented Leonardo da Vinci designed in 1480 AD. This multi-barrel firearm was designed to improve upon the current cannons of the period, which required too much time to load. The 33-Barreled Organ allowed for the firing of numerous cannons almost at once. This muzzle-loading cannon was designed to back up the efforts of the infantry on the battlefield, just like a regular tank.
Background of the 33-Barreled Organ
The scope of Leonardo da Vinci’s creativity was enormous. His manuscripts are the best evidence that, despite lacking the conventional education of his time, he studied a wide variety of subjects, including physiology, art, cartography, optics, cooking, machinery, architecture, mathematics, and many more. However, this also included the production of military weapons.
The views of Leonardo Da Vinci on the issue of war might be unsettling to some people. Despite serving as a military engineer under Cesare Borgia under Pope Alexander VI, he was actually seen as a gentleman, more interested in education and science than in warfare.
Warfare was common throughout his time period, and his interest in engineering and mechanics certainly prompted him to create several novel artillery pieces, similar to the Korean Hwacha. His huge crossbow, the da Vinci Tank, his scythed chariot, the da Vinci Catapult, and finally his 33 Barreled Organ stand out as some of the most innovative designs.
Leonardo created both the 33-Barreled Organ and a new type of experimental ribauldequin around the year 1480. They can be found in the 12-volume Codex Atlanticus, along with a number of other designs by the polymath, including two other cannons.
One of da Vinci’s other ideas was to have cannons shoot in a triangle pattern (above image), which would enhance the artillery’s bombardment area. This is a fan-shaped battery with eight cannons. The massive tail was required to counteract the heavy rods. A worm drive allowed for fine-tuning of the gun mount.
How Did the 33-Barreled Organ Work?
This Renaissance volley gun was called the “33-Barreled Organ” because it consisted of three rows of eleven short-caliber cannons. In the original concept, the 33-Barreled Organ also included side wheels for portability.
The bronze-mouthed cannons are attached to a single rotating platform to increase the overall fire rate. The hinged frame allows each row of cannons to be rotated up and out of the way while loading the next row of cannons.
During combat, the expected operation of the 33-Barreled Organ was to load the first row of cannons and fire them; after that, the platform would be rotated and the second set of 11 cannons would be fired.
While one row of 11 cannons was firing, another could cool down from firing, and a third could be loaded on the spot, making this machine gun much superior to conventional cannons at the time.
After the barrels had been filled, a metal rod with pegs on either side held them in place. The worm drive allowed the adjustment of the elevation of the shot.
On paper, Da Vinci’s 33-Barreled Organ allowed Renaissance armies to fire a continuous stream of bullets without ever needing to let the barrel cool down.
The 33-barreled organ got its name because the grouped cannon barrels resembled organ pipes.
Was the 33-Barreled Organ Ever Put to Use?
The 33-Barreled Organ was only one of Leonardo da Vinci’s numerous ideas that was never put into production, much less utilized in combat.
Although contemporary machine guns didn’t arrive until the late 19th century (1884), da Vinci’s volley gun design is often regarded as an inspiration for their development. The Katyusha Rocket Launcher of 1941 is one of the few examples of weapons that fit the description of da Vinci’s war machine.
Leonardo was also concerned with the potential operation of projectiles; therefore, he experimented with projectiles made from shells packed with gunpowder, studied air resistance, and designed exact aerodynamic lines for their trajectory and piercing force.
Modern weapon manufacturers would later leverage his research findings and multi-barreled gun designs to create their own cutting-edge rocket artillery.
The Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan has a reproduction of the 33-Barreled Organ today.
References
- Featured Image: File:Cannone con trentatrè canne – Museo scienza tecnologia Milano 00412 01.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
- A replica of the 33-Barreled Organ designed by Argan Giovenale, Museoscienza.org.
- “Codex Atlanticus”. codex-atlanticus.it. p. 157.
- Tratado de pintura – Treatise on painting by Leonardo da Vinci, WorldCat.org.
