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Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss

American engineer

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Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss was an American ordnance engineer who developed the Hotchkiss machine gun in 1878. He had a factory in Paris where he produced various rapid-fire guns. His early machine guns were big-bore and hand-cranked.12

One notable development was the Hotchkiss Model 1914, an early gas-operated, air-cooled machine gun widely used by the French in World War I. This model featured a heavy barrel with external fins for heat dissipation and could fire approximately 450-500 rounds per minute. Hotchkiss also produced smaller rapid-fire guns, such as one-pounder and three-pounder models, designed to counter torpedo boats.12

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