The first effective machine guns were developed in the late 19th century, by Hiram Maxim, an inventor from Maine. This weapon, fittingly named the Maxim machine gun, the first to incorporate smokeless powder, was a portable machine gun that used only one barrel to automatically fire all of its bullets. Before this modern invention, the military used the hand-driven, crank-operated Gatlin gun, which, although effective in warfare was time-consuming and complicated.
The machine guns of today are fully loaded, auto-loading, firearms that can be broken down into different categories, from light, medium, and heavy to general purpose. They have also been involved in controversy in the United States with the use of bump stocks, a device attached to semi-automatic weapons that allows them to fire bullets at an even faster rate similar to machine guns, which violated federal law.
The U.S. Supreme Court was recently divided over whether a 2018 federal regulation banning the “bump stock” rifle attachment was valid and is expected to give its ruling by June of this year. Of course, this consideration is for civilians. In militaries around the world, machine guns — designed for sustained direct fire — are used extensively, many for infantry support. (Also see: every standard issue U.S. military rifle since the American Revolution.)
Machine guns are capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute, and some of the fastest ones can fire at a considerably higher rate. To identify the world’s fastest-firing machine guns, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed information on the maximum rate of fire (measured in rounds per minute, or rpm) from Military Today, American Rifleman, and The Range 702, in addition to other online sources. The maximum effective firing range, cartridge, and original manufacturer for each gun came from various sources.
The maximum firing rate for machine guns on this list ranges from 1,200 rounds per minute to a stunning 1 million rounds per minute. The latter, however, is a record established by a prototype machine gun. The battle-hardened second place can fire 6,000 rpms.
It may come as a surprise to see that the majority of machine guns listed here aren’t newer manufactured weapons but rather date back to World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and others that were created between the 1970s and 1990s. It should be noted that three machine guns on this list were prototypes and never entered service. Most of these weapons are still in use by different militaries worldwide.
Here are the world’s fastest-firing machine guns
9. MG3
Source: KrisfromGermany, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
- Original manufacturer: Rheinmetall
The early Cold War German Rheinmetall MG3 was derived from another gun on this list, the MG42 — one of the most feared weapons used by the Axis during World War II. The belt-fed MG3 was introduced when Germany joined NATO in the 1950s, with minor upgrades over the MG42.
With a 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge, a maximum rate of fire of 1,100 to 1,200 rounds per minute, and a maximum effective firing range of 3,937 feet, it was one of the common machine gun types during the Cold War, and its many variants and derivatives are still used today, though light machine guns have replaced many.
8. M1919
Source: Fotoafdrukken Koninklijke Landmacht, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Original manufacturers: Buffalo Arms Corporation, Rock Island Arsenal, Saginaw Steering Gear
After the U.S. military realized in World War I that water-cooled machine guns, such as the M1917A1, took up too much space in armored vehicles, John Browning developed the M1919A4, which was lighter with its air-cooled barrel design. The iconic M1919 was America’s answer to Germany’s MG42 during World War II and had a cartridge of .30-06 Springfield rounds. It was more maneuverable and could be mounted on tanks and aircraft while having a maximum firing range of 4,593 feet and a maximum rate of fire of 1,500 rounds per minute.
7. MG42
Source: ArjanL / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Original manufacturer: Großfuß AG
Nicknamed “Hitler’s Buzz Saw,” U.S. troops feared the lethal German MG42, partly because of its rapid firing capabilities of 1,000 to 1,800 rpm. Though it tended to overheat, the MG42 was considered to be light-years ahead of the U.S. Browning M-1919A4 and had a maximum effective firing range of 6,561 feet with a cartridge of 7.92x57mm. Germany produced roughly 400,000 MG42s during the war, according to The National WWII Museum. Postwar variants are still in use today in armies around the world.
6. MG45
- Original manufacturer: Großfuß AG
This prototype machine gun was the result of material shortages in Germany late in WWII. It was an attempt to reduce the materials and cost of production of the MG42. Engineering tweaks allowed the MG45 a faster maximum rate of fire at between 1,350 and 1,800 rpm but a significantly shorter effective firing range. With a cartridge of 7.92x57mm, it had a maximum effective firing range of 2,401 feet. Problems included overheating, ammo consumption, and punishing recoil.
5. Heckler & Koch G11
Source: Marcus Burns, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
- Original manufacturer: Heckler & Koch
This Cold War-era West German boxy G11 prototype looks like it should be used as a prop in a Science Fiction action movie. The lightweight machine gun is noted for its use of 4.73x33mm caseless ammunition, which eliminates the cartridge case to reduce weight. While this allowed for over 2,000 rpm, with a maximum effective firing range of 1,312 feet, the G11 was a complicated and over-engineered gun.
4. GAU-8 Avenger
Source: Thornfield Hall, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
- Original manufacturers: General Electric, General Dynamics
The GAU-8 Avenger uses seven barrels to achieve its high rate of fire. The maximum effective firing range for this incendiary projectile cartridge is 4,000 feet, with a maximum rate of fire of 4,200 rpm. The system was specifically built for the U.S. Air Force, to be mounted on the A-10 as a close-air support “Tank Buster.” During the Gulf War of 1990-91, this massive hydraulically Gatling-style autocannon destroyed about 3,200 military vehicles and artillery pieces, including 900 tanks.
3. MK15 Phalanx
Source: Paraxade, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Original Original manufacturer: General Dynamics
The radar-guided, rapid-firing MK 15 Phalanx close-in weapons system can fire between 3,000-4,500 20mm cannon rounds per minute, either autonomously or manually. The cartridge uses 7.62 NATO rounds but its maximum effective range is classified. It is designed to protect naval vessels, providing a last line of defense from missile attacks, aircraft, and littoral warfare threats that have penetrated other fleet defenses. The system, which weighs up to 13,600 pounds, is an autonomous last-chance defense system.
2. M134 Minigun
Source: Vladyslav Danilin / iStock via Getty Images
- Original manufacturers: General Electric, DillonAero, Garwood Industries, Profense
The M134 Minigun is a six-barreled, air-cooled, medium-machine gun used primarily in aircraft of the U.S. military. The Gatling-style M134, which fires standard 7.62 NATO rounds, relies on electric motors to power the barrels, resulting in a firing rate of as much as 6,000 rounds per minute.
With a maximum effective firing range of 3,280 feet, the M134 was mounted on helicopters in Vietnam and was used to protect the aircraft from ground-based small arms and RPG fire. The Minigun is still used today, mounted on land, sea, and air vehicles.
1. Metal Storm
- Original manufacturers: Metal Storm Ltd., DefendTex
The leap in the rate of fire from the M134 Minigun to the Metal Storm experimental weapon is enormous as the latter can fire 1,000,000 rounds per minute. Rather, one prototype Metal Storm, a 36-barreled stacked projectile volley gun, discharged 180 rounds in just one-hundredth of a second.
Bullets are fired electronically from the 36 barrels in the box-shaped gun and while firing a million rounds of caseless 9mm bullets can easily cut through a tank, it would be difficult to use this heavy weapon to sweep across a battlefield effectively. It has a maximum effective firing range of 984 feet.
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