Early electric gun research

There have been sporadic efforts to use electricity to power guns and launch projectiles at high velocity for more than a century. Each generation seems to have "reinvented" the idea and has built upon prior efforts, leading to successively greater progress. With the present interest in electric guns for military, and other, applications, it is instructive to review previous developments and examine their relevance to present research. Although there are isolated reports of early efforts in the 19th century, the major developments have been in the 20th century. They include efforts in Norway in 1901, French developments in World War I and research in Germany and Japan during World War II. The primary focus of this paper is to review the work of Andre Louis Octave Fauchon-Villeplee in France and Joachim Hansler in Germany, although the early Japanese and Russian interests are also mentioned. The various novel ideas suggested are highlighted, especially where they are relevant to ideas that are being studied or considered today.