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In World War I, aircraft were initially intended for aerial reconnaissance, however some pilots began to carry rifles in case they spotted enemy planes.Soon, planes were fitted with machine guns with a variety of mountings; initially the only guns were carried in the rear cockpit supplying defensive fire (this was employed by two-seat aircraft all through the war).
It was mounted on Luftwaffe aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 87 G-1 and G-2; Henschel Hs 129B-2/R3; Messerschmitt Bf 110G-2/R1-3; Junkers Ju 88P-2 or P-3 and others. The cannon could be attached under the wings or the fuselage of the aircraft as self-contained gun pods with 12-round magazines.
Developed as a pod for high-speed fighter aircraft which lacked a gun, this pod was fitted with a single M61A1 20 mm cannon and 1,200 rounds of ammunition. This weapon is powered by a ram-air turbine, and fires at a fixed rate of 6,000 rpm. However, for this firing rate to be achieved the aircraft needs to fly over 300 mph (480 km/h), and the ...
Aircraft artillery was first used for ground attack roles during World War I.A notable user of aircraft artillery was the fighter ace René Fonck. Airships were used with some success, mostly used to harass cities, [1] but after the development of incendiary ammunition they were stopped being used due to the fire igniting the hydrogen used for the Zepplins.
The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm × 102 mm (0.787 in × 4.016 in) rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute).
When mounted on the Hs 129, the empty area behind the cockpit could be used for ammunition storage, greatly increasing the supply compared to the Ju. [18] The B-2/R3 package introduced the BK 3.7 cm (1.46 in) automatic cannon, but relatively few aircraft were converted in favour of the B-2/R4 and B-3, mounting the BK 7.5. [2] [19]
The 37 mm BK 3,7 cannon, based on the German Army's 3.7 cm FlaK 43 anti-aircraft autocannon was mounted in pairs in underwing gun pods on a small number of specialized Stuka Panzerknacker (tank buster) aircraft. The BK 5 cm cannon, based on the 5 cm KwK 39 cannon of the Panzer III, was installed in Ju 88P bomber destroyers, which also used ...
The A-10 was designed around the GAU-8 Avenger, a 30 mm (1.2 in) rotary cannon, which is the airplane's primary armament and the heaviest such automatic cannon mounted on an aircraft. The A-10's airframe was designed for survivability, with measures such as 1,200 pounds (540 kg) of armor for protection of the cockpit and aircraft systems that ...