Neal submachine gun
Country of origin

United States

Weapon type

Submachine gun


.22 LR


Fosbery-felayed Blowback

Magazine/Cylinder capacity

50 round magazine

Cyclic rate

3000 rounds per minute

The Neal submachine gun is a .22 LR submachine gun patented under 2,436,175 during World War II. The weapon is unusual as it has 5 rotating barrels. It is fed from a helical magazine inserted into the weapon from the rear.


The original usage doctrine of the Neal submachine gun was based on the strategy of agile hit-and-run tactics rather than suppressive fire from a strong position. The concept of this weapon is to overcome the deficiencies of the low power rimfire cartridge by rapidly delivering a large number of projectiles. The weapon therefore relies on the .22 LR's very low recoil and a high rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute. It lacks a stock, but instead has a rear grip on the left side and an arm rest to handle the recoil force when firing.

The Neal did not appear to have gone beyond the blueprint stage, so no functioning prototypes, or even a mockup, were ever made.

Design detailsEdit


Early concept of a rotary barrel general purpose machine gun (Circa 2006). The Neal submachine gun operates in a similar way.


External LinksEdit

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