History of the Minigun

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Way back, in 1862, someone dr. Gatling of USA patented a manually operated, multi-barreled mechanical "machine gun", one of the most successful of such designs. Being gradually updated, this weapon, in many versions, served with number of armies around the world as an infantry support or a light artillery weapon. Usually chambered for the contemporary general issue rifle cartridge, the XIX century Gatling guns usually have 6 to 10 barrels, mounted around the single axis. Some naval Gatlings, thought, have had calibers up to 1 inch (25mm), and some derivatives, like the Hotchkiss, were up to 53mm in caliber. When crank at the back of the gun was rotated, the "bundle" of barrels rotated too. Each barrel had its own bolt, which completed full reloading circle per one turn of the barrels bundle. This resulted in the rate of fire as high as 200+ rounds per minute - quite an achievement in the era of the single-shot and even magazine fed rifles. While first successful "true" machine guns appeared by 1890, some Gatling guns seen use until World War 1, especially with the navies.

 

As the automatically operated machine guns became more and more mature, Gatling guns were gradually forgotten, until the late 1940s. At that time, the speed of combat aircrafts became so high, so even most fast-firing conventional machine guns became too slow to achieve desirable number of hits during the very brief encounters. This spawned the famous "Project Vulcan", that was intended to develop a super-rapid firing weapon for US Air Forces. Project was handled by the General Electric Co. First tests were conducted with the late 19th century Gatlings, fitted with electrical drive instead of manually operated crank; this immediately resulted in the rate of fire of about 4 000 rounds per minute, which was very impressive (it must be noted, that such tests were first conducted in early 1890s, but lead to no practical results at that time - there were no need in the rate of fire of up to 3 000 RpM). Further development resulted in some experimental, electrically driven, .60 caliber machine guns with 6 barrels, and, in 1956, the 6-barreled 20mm T171 gun was officially adopted as the M61 aircraft gun. This gun could fire at the rate of 4 to 6 thousands rounds per minute. This achievement is possible due to the fact that gun has multiple barrels, and the rate of fire per one barrel is about 1 000 rounds per minute or even less, allowing them to not to overheat. M61 became the main aircraft gun for US AF, and also was used on M161 and M163 Vulcan ground anti-aircraft gun mounts. The navies also turned back to Gatlings with the Vulcan-Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System).

 

When USA entered the Indo-China troubles during early 1960s, they soon found that they need to arm their helicopters, to provide additional firepower against enemy infantry. These applications also required a lot of firepower delivered in the short periods of time, so General Electric designers simply scaled the M61 gun down, for 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition. The resulting weapon, known as the M134 Minigun, could fire up to 4 000 rounds per minute, and soon found its way to the various helicopter mounts. It was mounted on chin turrets and in wing pods on AH-1G "Cobra" attack helicopters, on door, pylon and pod mounts on UH-1 "Huey" transport helicopters, and on many other helicopters and aircrafts, including famous "Gunship" airplanes like A/C-47 and A/C-119.

 

Usually, AH-1G "Cobra" carried one or two Miniguns in its chin turret, with the 2 or 4 thousands rounds of ammunition. The UH-1 could carry one or two (or even more) Miniguns on various mountings, with as much as 12 000 rounds of ammo available for "immediate delivery to enemy".

 

 

With the introduction of the 5.56mm ammo into the military service, Americans attempted to scale the the Minigun further down, resulting in the weapon, known as XM-214 Microgun. This little beast had 6 5.56mm barrels, was electrically driven and could fire up to 10 000 rounds. But the 5.56mm was way too weak for air-to-ground or ground-to-air (anti-aircraft) applications - the key niches of the modern Gatling systems. For the infantry, the Microgun had almost no use, being to heavy, complicated and with too much rate of fire and recoil (recoil force was up to 110 kg / 240 lbs at the full rate of fire). Infantry simply does not needed an extremely rate of fire to deal with the enemy infantry, and for AA use (where such high RoF makes sense), the 5.56mm (.223mm) and 7.62mm (.308) ammo is way too weak. 

 

 

Others than noted, US also developed a number of other Gatling-type designs chambered in .50BMG, 20mm,

 

 

25mm, and even 30mm (like the famous GAU-8/A "monster gun", shown at left,  mounted on the A10 Warthog attack planes). It also must be noted that the USA was not the only country to exploit Gatling ideas. USSR (and latter Russia) built several aircraft and AA guns and machine guns. For helicopter use, they made a 4-barreled machine guns in 7.62mm and 12.7mm, and for aircrafts - 23mm and 30mm 6-barreled guns. Some 6-barreled 30mm Gatling type guns also used by Soviet and Russian navy for shipborne AA installations, sometimes coupled with short-range AA missiles.

 

Modern Gatling guns - pros and cons.

Key advantage of the modern, externally powered Gatling type guns, is the extremely high rate of fire, usually 4 to 6 thousands of rounds per minute (RPM), sometimes up to 10-12 thousands RPM. This rate of fire is necessary to deal with the fast-moving targets, when the engagement time is very short. Such targets are mostly aircrafts, or ground targets, fired at from aircrafts. The downside of multi-barreled systems is they relative complexity, heavy weight, and requirements for external power (electrical, pressured air or hydraulics). There are few self-powered (gas-operated) Gatling type guns, but they still are much bulkier and heavier, than the conventional single-barreled guns. Another drawback of the Gatling-type guns, which is essential for aerial combat, is that the gun requires some time to get on to the full speed (rate of fire) after the trigger is pressed. For the M61 Vulcan cannon, for example, the "speed up" time is about 0.4 second or so.

The Most Lethal Fighter Jets In Current Usage

Thinking about the safety system if different countries, it is essential to consider cutting-edge air power fighter planes. The following list of top ten fighter planes in the world will allow you see which are the most powerful and deadliest planes on earth.
10. J-10

The J-10 is also called the Vigorous Dragon, which can perform several roles in different weathers. The plane was created by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation for China to use with its People’s Liberation Army Air Force. Right under the intake on the side of the port, the plane has a twin cannon of 23 mm. however, the eleven hard points it has on the exterior can transport no less than 6,000 kg of weapons.
9. MiG-35

The MiG-35 is tagged as a four plus generation jet fighter plane and it is widely famous for its distinctively elaborate Optical Locator System that reduces the plane’s dependence of relying on the Ground Controlled Interception. It is also useful to perform several roles during military operations in an independent way. There’s a Laser Emission Detector on every wingtip of the plane that improves the interception of possible threats and defeats them by using infrared laser.
8. T-50 Golden Eagle

Korea Aerospace Industries produced the T-50 Golden Eagle, which is one of the few supersonic advanced trainers in the world. The plane comes with a General Dynamics A-50 20 mm cannon placed right behind the pilot’s cockpit. It is capable of running 250 rounds of unconnected missiles and bullets and it is the perfect to use if you need great objective capability.
7. F-16 Fighting Falcon

General Dynamics was responsible of creating the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which is a jet fighter plane capable of performing several roles. The majority of pilots know the F-16 as the Viper. Some of the greatest characteristics of the plane include the Relaxed Static Stability feature, a seat with a 30 degrees inclination to help the pilot with G force, transparent canopy to enhance the visibility and a control stick that is placed on one side that makes things easier for the pilot when flying the plane.
6. Rafale

The Rafale is a fatal air power fighter plane that is worldwide famous for its unsurpassed fighting capability in the air. Dassault Aviation, a fighter plane manufacturing company from France, was the company in charge of creating Rafale. The plane can work with an electronic combat system called SPECTRA that safeguards the plane from ground and air menaces. Rafale is also useful to help pilots with real-time 3D maps that have been used for long-distance interception and objectives.
5. JAS 39 Gripen

The JAS 39 Gripen consists of eight strategic points to carry many missiles and bombs. The best feature of this fighter plane is that it is a lightweight plane that is famous for its design of delta wing-canard and because its really easy to pilot. The plane can hold up a complex PS-05/A pulse-Doppler X-band radar that has the capability to watch and recognize objectives that are at 120 kilometers away. It also has the capability to strike objectives that are not in the visual range by sending air-to-air missiles.
4. Eurofighter Typhoon

There were four different firms from the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Germany, working together in order to create the Eurofighter Typhoon. It has been awarded several prizes for its great features and capabilities in the battlefield. It makes use of a complex integrated system of defense called Praetorian that is perfect to keep an eye on air-to-air and surface-to-air perils and gives the pilot the chance to respond to several threats simultaneously.
3. Su-27

The Su-27 is more famous as the Russian flying monster amongst pilots. It is actually a really easy-to-pilot jet fighter plane that has the capability of destroying everything at a distance of 3,530 kilometers. The Su-27 was created to provide genuine interception and the best air-performance during military operations. The plane has a privileged position in the fourth generation fighter planes list.
2. F/A-18 Hornet

This fighter plane includes some of the best aerodynamic features and perfect high angle of attack capability. The F/A-18 Hornet is a plane that can be used for several missions at the same time and it was especially designed to be a strategic plane to safeguard the United States air space. It was one of the first planes to have ever used digital multiplex avionics bus together with a multi-task display that gives pilots the chance to have more flexibility during a fast battle scenario.
1. F-22 Raptor

This is the most powerful fighter plane in the whole world and one of the most important planes the United States Air Force uses. The F-22 Raptor is the fifth batch of fighter planes that are recognized to a large extent for being incredibly agile, for their sensor fusion, amazing speed and deadly capabilities at the moment of attacking from a very high altitude.

The Most Devastating Artillery Ever Produced

Picatinny Arsenal was tasked to create a nuclear capable artillery piece in 1949. Robert Schwartz, the engineer who created the preliminary designs, essentially scaled up the 240mm shell (then the maximum in the arsenal) and used the German K5 railroad gun as a point of departure for the carriage. (The name "Atomic Annie" likely derives from the nickname "Anzio Annie" given to a German K5 gun which was employed against the American landings in Italy.) The design was approved by the Pentagon, largely through the intervention of Samuel Feltman, Chief of the Ballistics Section of the Ordnance Department’s Research and Development Division. A three-year developmental effort was begun. The project proceeded quickly enough to produce a demonstration model to participate in Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural parade in January 1953.
The cannon was transported by two specially designed tractors, both capable of independent steering in the manner of some extra-long fire engines. Each of the tractors was rated at 375 hp, and the somewhat awkward combination could achieve speeds of 35 miles an hour and negotiate right angle turns on 28 ft wide, paved or packed roads. The artillery piece could be unlimbered in 15 minutes, then returned to traveling configuration in another 15 minutes.
On May 25, 1953 at 8:30am, the Atomic Cannon was tested at Nevada Test Site (specifically Frenchman Flat) as part of the Upshot-Knothole series of nuclear tests. The test—codenamed Grable--was attended by then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Arthur W. Radford and Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson; it resulted in the successful detonation of a 15 kt shell (W9 warhead) at a range of 7 miles. This was the first and only nuclear shell to be fired from a cannon (the Little Feller 1 test shot of an M388 used a Davy Crockett Weapon System which was a recoilless rifle firing the warhead mounted on the end of a spigot inserted in the barrel of the weapon.)

 

1958 deployment in Korea

After the successful test, there were at least 20 of the cannons manufactured at Watervliet and Watertown Arsenals, at a cost of $800,000 each. They were deployed overseas to Europe and Korea, often continuously shifted around to avoid being detected and targeted by opposing forces. Due to the size of the apparatus, their limited range, the development of nuclear shells compatible with existing artillery pieces (the W48 for the 155mm and the W33 for the 203mm), and the development of rocket and missile based nuclear artillery, the M65 was effectively obsolete soon after it was deployed. However, it remained a prestige weapon and was not retired until 1963.

The Gustav Gun

For sheer firepower, it's hard to imagine anything outgunning the planet-killing Death Star from the "Star Wars" movies. Not for lack of trying, though. Since the first catapults and cannons took aim, the search has been on for guns that can shoot farther, faster, and deliver more deadly results. Yet there are also those who've foreseen the opportunity to put these weapons to peaceful purposes.

It's difficult to imagine the shock waves that reverberated through Paris on the morning of March 21, 1918, when shells began raining down on the city. They had been fired from the railway-mounted Paris Gun tucked away in the forest of Coucy-Auffrique, 70 miles away. The 264-pound projectiles soared 25 miles into the stratosphere, reaching their target in 170 seconds.

Formally known as the Kaiser Wilhelm Geschutz Long-Range Guns, the weapons were produced by the dreaded Friedrich Krupp A.G. munitions firm. The guns used bored-out, 380mm naval cannons, each fitted with barrels that were 131 ft. long. Seven were produced, though never more than three operated at any time.

Firing a Paris Gun was a logistical nightmare. Each shell required a 400-pound powder charge. The shock was so intense, each succeeding shell needed to be slightly wider. The gun's lining had to be rebored every 20 shots.

Only 367 shells were fired by August of that year, and the gun's aim was often wild. Barely half the shells hit the city. Even so, the Paris Gun caused 256 deaths, a third of those when a shell struck the church of St. Sepulchre during Good Friday services.

Though the Paris Gun had little impact on the outcome of World War I, it was a high-priority target for Allied troops. Yet none of the guns were ever found, even after the armistice.



The Biggest Gun
The Treaty of Versailles created, at best, a tenuous truce. Hoping to ward off another assault, France erected a seemingly impregnable network of forts along the German frontier. Determined to overcome this obstacle, Adolf Hitler issued orders that specified "a gun able to pierce a meter of steel, seven meters of concrete, or thirty meters of dense earth."

Krupp quickly complied, presenting Hitler the Gustav Gun—named in honor of family patriarch Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. The biggest gun ever built, it weighed a crushing 1344 tons, including its railway carriage. With its breech block, the entire machine stood 4 stories tall, 20 ft. wide and 140 ft. long. Moving, positioning, loading and maintaining this monster required a 500-man crew commanded by a major general.

The Gustav's 800mm bore accepted two giant projectiles: a 10,584-pound high-explosive shell and a 16,540-pound concrete-piercing shell. Though it didn't deliver the range of the Paris Gun, the Gustav could strike targets up to 29 miles away.

As often happens in war, the original mission evaporated when German troops outflanked the Maginot line, quickly forcing France to surrender. Plans to use the Gustav against the British at Gibraltar were also scrapped, but eventually Gustav found a suitable target.

In April 1942, the Soviet city of Sevastopol fell under assault. One shot inadvertently destroyed a Russian ammo dump hidden 100 ft. below the Sevemaya military base. In quick succession, the gun crumbled the forts that were vainly defending the city.

In all, the Gustav fired 300 shells on Sevastopol, and another 30 during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. It was never used again. Unlike the mysterious Paris Gun, the gun met a final—if ignoble—end. It was captured by U.S. troops and cut up for scrap. A duplicate gun, named for the chief engineer's wife, Dora, saw action only briefly and was destroyed to prevent its capture by the Russian army.

Reaching For The Moon
In his classic From The Earth To The Moon, Jules Verne envisioned a gun powerful enough to launch a hollowed-out shell to the moon, with a team of adventurers inside.

Though such a gun would produce g-forces no human could survive, the concept resonated with Canadian weapons expert Gerald Bull. In the 1960s, he began work on a supergun, welding together two 16-in. battleship gun barrels. The gun was to have two possible purposes: It could shoot finned arrow shells to record distances, or launch a projectile into space.

Bull's High Altitude Research Project (HARP) was run by McGill University in Montreal. Also known as the Barbados Gun, for the island where its remains now rust, HARP launched a series of rocket-powered space probes before the U.S. government withdrew funding to Bull.

Determined to keep his concept alive, Bull made a series of bad business decisions. One landed him in U.S. prison for illegal arms trading. He then accepted an offer to build a supergun for Saddam Hussein, though many feared it might be used to lob weapons of mass destruction onto Israel.

In 1990, as he was about to enter his Brussels apartment, Bull was murdered. Five shots were fired into the back of his neck by an unknown assassin, who many suspect represented Israel's Mossad. Bull's last gun, Project Babylon, died with him. Allied troops found and destroyed the unfinished gun during Desert Storm.