• S.P. Niles, W.B. Colson, K.L. Ferguson, J.R. Harris, J.W. Lewellen, B. Rusnak, R. Swent
  NPS, Monterey, California
• C.H. Boulware, T.L. Grimm, J.L. Hollister
  Niowave, Inc., Lansing, Michigan
• P.R. Cunningham, M.S. Curtin, D.C. Miccolis, D.J. Sox
  Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington State
• T.I. Smith
  Stanford University, Stanford, California

The Naval Postgraduate School Beam Physics Laboratory, Niowave, Inc., and The Boeing Company have completed construction of a superconducting 500 MHz quarter-wave gun and photocathode drive laser system. This prototype gun went from conception to initial operation in just under one calendar year. Such rapid progress is due in part to the decision to develop the gun as a prototype, deliberately omitting some features, such as tuners and cathode loadlocks, desired for a linac beam source. This will enable validation of the basic concept for the gun, including high-charge bunch dynamics, as rapidly as possible, with lessons learned applied to the next generation gun. This paper presents results from initial testing of the gun, technical challenges of the prototype design, and improvements that would enhance capabilities in future versions of this novel design.