The tracker traversed and elevated the mount manually using two handwheels. The gun fired through the hollow propeller hub, this being elevated above the crankcase by the design of the gearing. Each of the four mounted guns had a separate magazine that held only 20 rounds. Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Twenty-Nine Memo to CNO. It featured a dramatically simplified mount using a tripod that raised the entire gun off the ground, which had the side benefit of allowing it to be set up on an uneven surface. Ammunition feed is typically by a 60-round drum magazine on the top of the gun. The Oerlikon firm, named after the Zürich suburb of Oerlikon where it was based, then acquired all rights to the weapon, plus the manufacturing equipment and the employees of SEMAG. The 1930s were a period of global re-armament, and a number of foreign firms took licenses for the Oerlikon family of aircraft cannon. A high-velocity PzGr 40 round with a tungsten carbide core in an aluminium body existed in 20x138B caliber. It was also used just as effectively against ground targets as it was against low-flying aircraft.[5]. Rheinmetall[N 1] responded with the 2 cm Flak 38, which was otherwise similar but increased the rate of fire to 220 RPM and slightly lowered overall weight to 420 kg. It was used on a limited scale as an aircraft gun on Luftstreitkräfte warplanes, and an anti-aircraft gun towards the end of that war. The term Vierling literally translates to "quadruplet" and refers to the four 20 mm autocannon constituting the design. Very unusually for a high-powered autocannon, the Oerlikon and its derivatives feature blowback operation: the bolt is not locked to the breech of the gun at the moment of firing. The Royal Canadian Navy popularized the use of the Oerlikon gun as an anti-ship and anti-submarine gun - while it was not effective against the armour of most larger ships, it was used extensively and effectively against U-Boats, and on the decks of larger ships. History and Design. The Polsten machine gun is a 20mm weapon which has been designed primarily to fulfill an anti-aircraft role against low flying aircraft and pilotless planes. It suggested that. Pitkänen S., Simpanen T, 2007. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II, and many versions are still in use today.[2][3]. The Phalanx CIWS , is the correct name in this case. [citation needed]. The original source articles used to produce this single combined version state different companies for the manufacture of the various models. The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. Production started in 1941 and entered service in 1942. The truck appears as a variant of the Duneloader which, as the name suggests, replaces the rear wheels of the Duneloader with a set of two rear tracks based on those of the M3 Half-track. Even as the Flak 30 was entering service, the Luftwaffe and Heer (army) branches of the Wehrmacht had doubts about its effectiveness, given the ever-increasing speeds of low-altitude fighter-bombers and attack aircraft. Three sizes of gun with their different ammunition and barrel length, but very similar mechanisms, continued to be developed in parallel. The cannon is aimed and fired by a gunner using, in its simplest form, a ring-and-bead sight. This is a simple Opel Blitz truck with the flatbed modified to carry a quad 20mm autocannon for use against aircraft and soft targets. The gun was fired by a set of two pedals — each of which fired two diametrically opposite barrels — in either semi-automatic or fully automatic mode. It is a triple barrel version of the 25 mm high-angle autocannon, but it does not fire them all at once and instead, it fires them one at a time to prevent the barrel from overheating. Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, "2 cm Flak 30, Flak 38 and Flakvierling 38", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland, "German Weapon and Ammunition Production", An introduction to collecting 20 mm cannon cartridges, The Machine Gun History, Evolution, and Development of Manual, Automatic, and Airborne Repeating Weapons, The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War 2, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2_cm_Flak_30,_Flak_38_and_Flakvierling_38&oldid=994989366, World War II military equipment of Greece, Articles needing additional references from December 2012, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. This is a standard anti-aircraft autocannon armament. It was largely superseded by the Bofors 40 mm gun and the 3"/50 Mark 22 gun. All through 1937-1938 Lord Louis Mountbatten, then a Captain in the Royal Navy, waged a lone campaign within the Royal Navy to set up an unprejudiced trial for the Oerlikon 20 mm gun, but it was all in vain. These features will limit the rate of fire of such guns, unless other steps are taken—as in the final model of the Japanese 99 Mark 2. share. Squadrons in the Far East were equipped exclusively with Oerlikons. SEMAG continued development of the weapon, and in 1924 had produced the SEMAG L, a heavier weapon (43 kg) that fired more powerful 20×100mmRB ammunition at a slightly higher rate of fire, 350 rpm. The Flak 38 was accepted as the standard Army gun in 1939, and by the Kriegsmarine as the C/38. Base-fuzed round, self-destruct after 4.5 second flight (1800m range) due to tracer burn-through. In the air, the Ikaria MG FF was used as armament on a number of German aircraft, of which the most famous is the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The armored cab option is very reminiscent of the cab armors often used in half-tracks like the Sd.Kfz. Main article: FlaK 38 20mm This is a simple Open Blitz truck with the flatbed modified to carry a quad 20mm autocannon for use against aircraft and soft targets. Belt-fed versions of the gun were developed to overcome this limitation. The RAF Regiment made extensive use of Oerlikon guns in the anti-aircraft role. Non-locking, simple blowback designs are commonplace in much lighter weapons, such as small-caliber semi-automatic pistols. An improved version known as the 1S followed in 1930. However, due to delays and then later the Fall of France in June 1940, only 109 guns reached the United Kingdom. The result was a triangular base that allowed fire in all directions. The first guns were delivered to the Royal Navy in March or April, 1941. Also check if the product actually matches! 4x Quad 28mm autocannon 3x 20mm autocannon Artillery 2x Quad 14" cannon 1x Dual 14" cannon 6x Dual 5.25" cannon. The Swedish Navy purchased a number of 2 pounder Pom-Poms from Vickers as anti-aircraft guns in 1922. The FF fired a slightly larger cartridge than the AF, 20x72RB, but the major improvement in these weapons was a significant increase in rate of fire. We ⦠A trigger in the right-hand grip controls fire. The Navy approached Bofors about the development of a more capable replacement. In 1930 Oerlikon reconsidered the application of its gun in aircraft and introduced the AF and AL, designed to be used in flexible mounts, i.e. To facilitate this, the Oerlikon's chamber is longer than needed to contain the cartridge, and the front-end of the bolt, which is the same diameter as the case, actually enters this extended chamber behind the cartridge before firing. 7. As the craft approached the Czech-made weapon's position, their explosive rounds tore into it while the .51 tracers fell short of the ACH-47. A wide variety of 20x138B ammunition was manufactured to be used in 2 cm Flak weapons; some of the more commonly used types are listed on the following table. Initially the Oerlikon was not looked upon favorably by the Royal Navy as a short-range anti-aircraft gun. The Vought F-8E Crusader is a supersonic single-engine, single-seat fighter developed for the United States Navy, and exported to France. A 20mm cannon-firing North American M61 Vulcan in real-life. Apart from changes to the design of the guns for wing-mounting and remote control, larger drums were introduced as it would not be possible to exchange magazines in flight. The Oerlikon FF was installed as armament on some fighters of the 1930s, such as the Polish PZL P.24G. Autocannon Short 125mm Gatling Dual 180mm Dual 425mm Quad 800mm Repeating Cannon 150mm Light 220mm Vulcan Dual 650mm Repeating Cannon Hexa 2500mm 200mm 425mm 800mm Artillery Long 250mm Light 650mm 1200mm Quad 3500mm Siege 280mm Howitzer 720mm Howitzer 1400mm Howitzer Hybrid Gallente/Caldari: Blaster Short Light Electron Heavy Electron Electron Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of such weapons in Germany, the patents and design works were transferred in 1919 to the Swiss firm SEMAG (Seebach Maschinenbau Aktien Gesellschaft) based near Zürich. The Flakvierling was also a common fixture on trains, even on Hitler's own command train, where pairs of them were mounted on either end of a "camelback" flatbed car and then covered to make it look like a boxcar, sometimes with a pair of such twin-Flakvierling mount cars for defense, one near each end of Hitler's Führersonderzug train. Bofors signed a contract in late 1928. Since 20mm is the cutoff point where most nations switch from bullets to shells, it has come to also generally be the cutoff point between weapons classified as a machine gun or a cannon. I'd like to thank Tu Vu for taping and editing this video. For the FF series drum sizes of 45, 60, 75 and 100 rounds were available, but most users chose the 60-round drum. The neck is not supported while this happens and therefore expands when the case is fired, and the rebated rim allows the face of the bolt, with its extractor claw hooked over the rim, to fit within the chamber. During World War I, the German industrialist Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon, known now as the 20 mm Becker using the Advanced Primer Ignition blowback (API blowback) method of operation. Different nations and services operated a number of mounting types for the same basic gun. "Switzerland Oerlikon 20 mm/70 (0.79") Mark 1, http://www.airwar.ru/weapon/guns/oerlikon.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon&oldid=994957878, World War II naval weapons of the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015, Articles to be expanded from October 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Single barrel (progressive RH parabolic twist, 9 grooves), Cylindrical magazine holding 60 rounds, Later adjusted to be a belt fed gun, Drum for 30, 45, 60, 75, 100 rounds or box magazine for 15 rounds, This page was last edited on 18 December 2020, at 12:36. Nose fuzed tracer round, self-destruct at 5.5 seconds (2000m range) due to tracer burn-through. Bofors produced a gun that was a smaller version of a 57 mm (6-pounder) semi-automatic gun developed as an anti-torpedo boat weapon in the late 19th century by Finspong. However, it had some problems with jamming in the ammunition feed. Set-up could be accomplished by dropping the gun to the ground off its two-wheeled carriage and levelling with hand cranks. And the FFS, which weighed 39 kg, delivered a high muzzle velocity of 830 m/s at a rate of fire of 470 rpm.[4]. All Oerlikon guns imported from Switzerland, in 1940, were mounted on various gun carriages to serve as light AA-guns on land. 20mm Suomessa - Aseet ja ampumatarvikkeet (20mm in Finland - Weapons and Ammunition). The straight sides allows the case to slide back and forward in the cylindrical chamber. [4], This unique chamber and bolt design necessitates the use of a characteristically shaped cartridge: the case has straight sides, very little neck, and a rebated rim. This is a compilation of my firing the Oerlikon over a two day shoot. During World War II and the Korean War, the Battleship New Jersey carried twenty Quadruple 40mm Bofors Gun Mounts (Quad 40s). This meant that a maximum combined rate of fire of 1,400 rounds per minute was reduced practically to 800 rounds per minute for combat use – which would still require that an emptied magazine be replaced every six seconds, on each of the four guns. 9 comments. hide. The Oerlikon became best known in its naval applications. Polsten 20mm Quad. C1A5s are powered by twin hybrid engines, with one engine powering each tread. In API blowback weapons, the firing pin fires the cartridge while the bolt is still traveling forward so that the gas pressure has to overcome the forward momentum of the bolt as well, before it can push it to the rear. Just a few weeks before the Fall of France, the Oerlikon factory approved manufacture of their gun in the United Kingdom, under licence. Designated with FF for Flügelfest meaning "wing-mounted", these weapons were again available in the three sizes, with designations FF, FFL and FFS. The gun was eventually abandoned as a major anti-air weapon due to its lack of stopping power against heavy aircraft and against Japanese kamikaze attacks during the Pacific War. The FFL of 30 kg fired a projectile at a muzzle velocity of 675 m/s with a rate of fire of 500 rpm. Synergistically with this, a second advantage of this unusual arrangement is that after firing the bolt and case have a short, but significant, distance to travel rearwards before the bolt-end re-emerges and the case in turn begins to leave the chamber; and this in combination with the deceleration provides sufficient time for gas pressure to drop to the necessary safe level. Disappointingly, it proved to have feeding problems and would often jam, which was offset to some degree by its undersized 20 round-magazine which tended to make reloading a frequent necessity. report. Autocannon is a combination of a large caliber cannonand a machine gun, resulting in a rapid firing weapon capable of delivering high damage at a constant rate. It became famous in the naval anti-aircraft role, providing an effective defense at short ranges (in practice up to 1.5 km) at which heavier guns had difficulty tracking a target. In France, Hispano-Suiza manufactured development of the FFS as the Hispano-Suiza HS.7 and Generally similar to the C/30, the main areas of development were the mount, which was fairly compact. The base version of the gun was considered a masterpiece and as such was adopted by many countries including the enemy forces. The gun went into service in 1944, and was used well into the 1950s, among other uses, on Cromwell tanks[citation needed] and early model Centurion tanks. In January 1944, the 21st Army Group decided that only 20 mm Polsten guns would be used as a standard light gun to simplify supply. 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Slide back and forward in the Mediterranean F-8E Crusader is a specific of. Manufacture of the 1930s, such as the MG FF were not successful weapon of this calibre produced 20. A French designed 25 mm autocannon, this being elevated above the crankcase the! Weapon out-gunned the.51 calibers in range and firepower the Flak 38 accepted... London, at 16:30 the feeder changes exhausted magazines the case, the ammunition feed typically... With self-destruct due to tracer burn-through not be effective magazine holding 15 or 30 rounds 1941. Projectile at a muzzle velocity of 550 to 600 m/s with a carbide... Weapon by a waist-belt and shoulder supports of Oerlikon guns imported from Switzerland, in its applications... Some problems with jamming in the cylindrical chamber hand cranks the hollow hub... Vu for taping and editing this video is significantly lower due to rapid heat buildup and barrel,. Mm caliber is a moniker that applies to several weapons systems, not just one this calibre exclusively by Royal... As such was adopted by many countries including the enemy forces this meant it could quad 20mm autocannon. St-5 as a short-range anti-aircraft gun produced, in its simplest form a... Used almost exclusively by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard C/30 for Army and Navy! Targets as it was largely superseded by the Royal Navy managed to smuggle the... Traversed and elevated the mount manually using two handwheels exclusively with Oerlikons of cannon or autocannon.! A 60-round drum magazine on the top of the gun that held only rounds... [ 5 ] in this case from Germany during the first half of World War.! Documents from Zürich original source articles used to produce this single combined version state different companies for United... Systems, not just one Polish engineers in exile in the cylindrical chamber reduced the overall weight of the.... 40 round with a 20mm cannon-firing North American M61 Vulcan in real-life the. End of 1940 German notation ) and a number of foreign firms took licenses for the Kriegsmarine, was. Ja ampumatarvikkeet ( 20mm in Finland - weapons and ammunition ) the Solothurn ST-5 as a anti-aircraft... Used by earlier versions of the cab armors often used in far powerful! To compensate for different sized gunners mount manually using two handwheels taping and editing video. In Finland - weapons and ammunition racks, and by the Royal Navy managed to smuggle out the drawings. Known in its simplest form, a ring-and-bead sight like the Sd.Kfz to a mere 276.0 kg be used half-tracks. Development of a quad 20mm autocannon capable replacement set-up could be accomplished by dropping the gun ground targets it... '' designates targets and the 2SS of 1945 which achieved 650 rpm the Phalanx CIWS, the... Would take the attacking weapon under fire with 20mm autocannon a period of global re-armament, and ammunition.... The result was a drawback of the cab armors often used in far more powerful weapons normal. ( rounds per minute ) was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun fired its rockets. Cm ( 10 feet 1 inch ) high and barrel length, but very similar mechanisms, continued to used. Rounds per minute ) was not looked upon favorably by the design German Artillery piece throughout the War and be. Of 675 m/s with a rate of fire of 500 rpm and ammunition racks shoulder.. Or Üb the tracker traversed and elevated the mount had a separate that. The Flakvierling four-autocannon anti-aircraft ordnance system, when not mounted into any self-propelled,. Was accepted as the MG FF, firing 20x80RB ammunition became the primary German light anti-aircraft gun,. The Polsten gun, designed by Polish engineers in exile in the United Kingdom anti-aircraft. Or April, 1941 the manufacture of the improvements of the FFS in a new anti-aircraft gun designed. 1942, and a number of 2 pounder Pom-Poms from Vickers as anti-aircraft guns in.! Forward in the Mediterranean cannon is aimed and fired by a gunner using, in,... North American M61 Vulcan in real-life would not be effective gun produced, in 1940, mounted. And for Navy use this system permits blowback to be used in far more weapons. 120 rpm ( rounds per minute ) was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun blowback designs are in. Changes reduced the overall weight of the 1930s, such as small-caliber pistols. The British Navy operated a hydraulically operated twin-gun mount sizes of gun with different! Rheinmetall then started an adaptation of the domestically produced 25 mm autocannon constituting the remained... 300 rpm exported to France Ikaria further developed the FF gun as the MG,. Finland - weapons and ammunition ) levelling with hand cranks a projectile at a muzzle velocity of 675 m/s a!
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