The Advancement of Technology Essay -- Military Technology

War has been a reoccurring part of Americas history for the past 230 years. From the 1700s to the present, America has gotten into galore(postnominal) different situations and turmoil, which eventually lead to the wars we currently study and know about today. Technological advancements in warfare were necessary and a great obligation during measure of war. This was pursued with drastic improvement. From the transformation of the use of smoothbore muskets during the Civil War to the industrial revolution leading to weaponry innovations post civil war, the nature of warfare dramatically changed. These developments proved to be proficient in battle. In the midst of these hundreds of years, while many technological advances demonstrated to be efficient in battle, the railcar gun was one of the most significant advancements in technology that changed the face of warfare through its transformation of operations and strategy. During the civil war before the launching of the machine gu ns, union soldiers primarily used smoothbore muskets. The rifles low muzzle velocity and consequent high parabolic trajectory do for difficult long-range shooting, especially since soldiers engaged in little target practice and received virtually no training in estimating distances or in using the adjustable sights to compensate for the bullets curved flight. The tangled terrain of most battlefieldsand the black powder smoke that engulfed every battleoften rendered opponent soldiers invisible until they were within smoothbore range (Hess 288). This was assumed to be the reason of why the war was prolonged, and the combat losses were higher during the smoothbore era. Also with an ability of only firing a maximum of three rounds per minute (Howey), this rat... ...Goldsmith, Dolf L., and R. Blake. Stevens. The Devils Paintbrush Sir Hiram Maxims Gun. Toronto Collector Grade Publications, 1989. Print.2. Hess, Earl J. The Rifle Musket in Civil War bit Reality and Myth. Lawrence, Ka n University Press of Kansas, 2008. Print.3. Howey, Allan W. Weaponry The Rifle-Musket and the Mini Ball History Net. History Net. Weider History Group, Oct. 1999. Web. 12 May 2012. .4. Lee, Loyd E. World War II. Westport, CT Greenwood, 1999. Print.5. Popenker, Max R. upstart Firearms - MachineGuns. Max R. Popenker, 1999-2010. Web. 10 May 2012. .6. Simkin, John. Machine-Gun. Spartacus Educational - Home Page. John Simkin. Web. 10 May 2012. .