Editor’s Note: This description of the Taylor Gun was published in Volume III of Farrow’s Military Encyclopedia, written and published by Edward S. Farrow in New York in 1885. Thanks to Bill Eagan for sending the information. A drawing of the gun appeared on page 4 of the Summer 2003 issue.
The Taylor machine-gun has in the gun proper a horizontal range of parallel rifle barrels, five in number, of 0”.43 caliber, securely united to each other and to a hollow breech, which contains the firing mechanism, etc., and supports upon its top the cartridge hopper.
A hand-crank, at the right-hand side of the breech, operates a transverse shaft, common to the firing mechanism, etc., of all the barrels.
Between the elevating screw and the breech a device for spreading the fire is interposed. This device consists of a hollow, laterally extended head, swiveled to the screw; a slide, working in this head and attached by ball and sockets, to the bottom of the breech; a hand lever, extending rearwardly through said slide from a fulcrum on said head; and a pair of stop-jaws within said head adjusted to any desired distance apart by means of a right and left screw-shaft operated by a hand wheel, at its left-hand end.
A folding seat, upon the trail of the carriage accommodates a man in convenient position to manipulate the spreading lever by means of his left hand, while with his right he turns the firing-crank.
A folding breech-sight, and a rigid front sight are attached respectively to the top of the breech and to the top of the barrel frame in line with the right-hand barrel.
Other appurtenances of the gun require no particular description. The features of peculiarity in the gun, apart from details of mechanical workmanship, are comprised in the parts within and upon the breech.
The gun is designed for center-primed fixed ammunition of a standard rifle range; and is designed and adapted to be distributed indiscriminately to the infantry and machine-gun batteries. Each case or package contains 25 cartridges in five rows of five each, with their heads abutting against each other at a certain distance from the top of the lower part of the case.
The ball ends are kept at the proper distance apart, and in proper position, by means of crossed strips of straw-board within the case, which is of the same material.
The gun is adapted to be made with any desired number of barrels without change of plan, and the parts belonging to the respective barrels may be interchangeable, so as to be substituted for each other or replaced from the manufactory with the utmost facility.
Other general advantages claimed for the gun are:
(1.) Economy, great certainty and rapidity in loading, owing to the transfer of the ammunition directly to the gun from simple paper boxes, in which the same is packed for transportation at the cartridge factory.
(2.) Simplicity and compactness, with certainty in the firing and shell-ejecting mechanism.
(3.) Effective support against recoil in line with the respective barrels as afforded by the operating cams.
(4.) Convenience of access to the working parts of the gun without dismantling the same.
(5.) Simplicity and convenience of means for manipulating the gun in action.
[The success of the Taylor Gun may be judged by the text’s next sentence: “Several improvements and modifications have been proposed by the inventor of this gun;” followed by a list of 16 proposals.]