Bira Gun

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	Weapon: Bira Gun Type: Hand-Cranked Machine Gun Country of Origin: Nepal Year Adopted: 1896 Caliber: .577/450 Martini-Henry Action: Manual Crank Overall Length (mm): 1500.0 Weight (kg): 400.00 Effective Range (m): 1500

The Bira Gun was an indigenous Nepalese crank-operated machine gun, developed in the late 19th century by General Gehendra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana and named after King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah. Based on the British Gardner Gun, the Bira Gun was a hand-cranked, twin-barreled weapon, designed to provide rapid-fire capability to the Nepalese army. Its design was relatively simple, relying on manual power to feed and fire rounds, making it effective at shorter ranges where quick bursts of fire could be advantageous.

Production of the Bira Gun was limited, as it was manufactured exclusively in Nepal using local resources and expertise. Estimates suggest that only around fifty units were produced in the 1890s due to the challenges of local manufacturing and the limited resources available in the region. Although it was intended to be a powerful addition to Nepal's defenses, the Bira Gun saw limited combat action and was mostly retained within Nepal's borders as a defensive measure rather than an offensive weapon in foreign conflicts.

The Bira Gun holds a unique place in firearms history, not only as one of the few indigenous machine guns developed in Asia but also as a symbol of Nepal's determination to produce its own weaponry. Today, surviving examples are extremely rare and have become prized by collectors and historians alike, representing a distinctive blend of local ingenuity and adaptation of Western designs. The Bira Gun is displayed in select military museums, celebrated as a notable example of Nepalese craftsmanship and an artifact of a unique period in Nepalese military history.

John Stemple's Nepalese Bira Gun: cal.577/450