Multiple Barrel Small Arms

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If anyone here is up for discussing about multiple barrel small arms (IE: SMGs, Assault Rifles, GPMGs etc) or finds any post here.

Asides that, does anyone here think it would be effective on the battlefield, for example as an alternative to barrel cooling or for rapid fire purposes?.
 
Some assault rifles.

H&R SPIW , one cartridge with 3 projectiles and 3 pencil (!) barrels .
A 4.32mm Advanced Rifle System for the FRS program , one folded cartridge with 3 bullets ,concept only .
2 french prototypes (MAS and MAT(?)) with 3 m193 in a clip and pencil barrels . one can vary the dispersion of the rifle (like a gatling gun) by twisting the barrels !





Rifles with 3 barrels are either too heavy or too fragile . accurate shooting at long range is problematic . the "one cartridge , 3 barrels" concept has pressure variations between the first and the last projectile and so of velocity .
 
Coincidentally today I encountered a reference to the MAT triple-barrel 5.56 test-bed.

  • Developed c. 1965
  • As tround noted, dispersion was controllable through an adapter mechanism
  • In tests against moving targets it demonstrated twice the hit probablility of the FN CAL for the same number of engagements and rounds.

Ironically although this appeared to be a significant improvement it was considered to be too late for incorporation into the 1967 French assault rifle specifications which demanded a rifle right now; that became the FAMAS F1, which after two halts finally entered service in 1979....

Source: COMHART Volume 8.1

* The CAL was no accuracy slouch, the French tested it twice and rated it as an excellent performer ahead of the HK 33, but let down by its reliability in poor conditions. Interestingly if the Belgians had bought the Mirage F.1 then one offset deal was for the French to adopt the CAL as their standard rifle.
 
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a pencil barrel?

Regards
 
@Kiltonge : Do you have any pic or schematic of the triple-barrel test bed ?
 
See the designs of Robert Hillberg including the Liberator shotgun and the COP 357 derringer (Leon's gun in "Blade Runner").

Hillberg_patent_3260009.png
 
There is an entire family of German/Central-European/South African multi-barrel break action rifles. IMHO, the most elegant of which is a Bockdrilling: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bockdrilling

The main benefit appears to be versatility, and the ability to have a back-up shot without needing to reload. Some use a pair of adjustable barrels (like many over-under designs), but the traditional versions have all barrels cut from the same block and sharing their walls. The precision required is impressive - but the result is that a three barreled rifle ends up weighing less than most single barreled rifles.
I honestly wish I could afford one of these...
 
At IWA this year there were huge posters advertising a twin-barrelled pistol. It looked just like a standard modern auto pistol, only with a wider slide enclosing two barrels side-by-side, so presumably was intended to fire both barrels simultaneously. Can't recall offhand which company was advertising it....or why!

Someone also had a twin MG based on the MG3. A sort of modern version of the MG 81Z.
 
Mauser-IWK modified the mg81z to use the 7.62 nato cartridge with m13 links , in the sixties as helicopter armament .
 

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