One of the most bizarre weapons used in history is the "Puckle Gun," also known as the "Defence Gun," invented by James Puckle in 1718. The Puckle Gun was a tripod-mounted, rapid-firing flintlock gun that looked somewhat like a primitive machine gun, but it had a unique twist—its ammunition could be switched based on the enemy type.
The gun had two types of cylindrical barrels with different types of ammunition:
Round Bullets: Designed for use against Christian enemies, considered conventional and in line with contemporary warfare norms.
Square Bullets: Specifically designed to be used against Muslim Turks, square bullets were intended to cause more severe wounds. This design was based on the bizarre and cruel notion that square bullets would create more pain and suffering, which was seen as a psychological tactic against Ottoman forces during conflicts like the Siege of Vienna.
Despite its innovative concept, the Puckle Gun was not widely adopted due to technical problems, its complex mechanism, and its difficulty in manufacturing. The gun's novelty ammunition concept was particularly bizarre, reflecting a strange mix of early machine-gun aspirations and oddly specific cultural prejudices.
The Puckle Gun stands out as a historical curiosity that highlights the eccentricities and sometimes strange ideas in the development of weaponry.
