Before the machine gun was invented, the preferred weapons were rifles. But rifles were very cumbersome. In its early stages, soldiers could only fire one shot at a time and then have to reload. While reloading, these soldiers were easy prey.

     The machine gun solved all of these problems. It was not only capable of sustained or continuous fire, but it could also fire accurately and provide much firepower. The machine gun was also was soon used in other parts of the battlefield. They were mounted on tanks and other armored vehicles as well as on airplanes and ships. The machine gun soon became the standard choice of weaponry for almost all aspects of warfare.

     During the 19^th century, the vast continent of Africa was conquered with the machine gun. Prior to the invention of the machine gun, it would have take European nations centuries to conquer Africa. In both World Wars, machine guns played an enormous role for the victors. In 1917, the Browning machine gun was adopted as the standard of the U.S. Army. The Browning gun was one of the first modern day machine guns. It had improved ammunition and was an effective weapon for delivering a sustained fire of great volume. These machine guns were used primarily on the ground and were mounted on aircraft during World War II and the Korean War.