Revolver cannon
Encyclopedia
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses a cylinder with multiple chambers, like those of a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, to further speed the loading process, but this is by no means universal. A revolver cannon differs from a Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
in having only a single barrel, so the spun weight is lower and lends itself to gas operation. Automatic revolver cannons have been produced by many different European manufacturers, whereas the U.S., and to a lesser extent Russia, generally favor the Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
.
History
The archetypal revolver cannon is the Mauser MK 213, from which almost all current weapons are derived. In the immediate post-war era, Mauser engineers spread out from Germany and developed similar weapons around the world; both the British and French made outright copies of the 30 mm versions of the MK 213 as the ADENADEN cannon
The Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30 mm revolver cannon used on many military aircraft, particularly those of the British Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm...
and DEFA
DEFA cannon
The DEFA cannon is a family of widely used French-made aircraft revolver cannons firing the standard 30 mm caliber NATO rounds.-Design history:...
, respectively, Switzerland produced the Oerlikon KCA, while the U.S. used the 20 mm version, re-chambered for a slightly longer 102 mm cartridge intermediate between the 213's 82 mm and Hispano-Suiza HS.404
Hispano-Suiza HS.404
The Hispano-Suiza HS.404 was an autocannon widely used as both an aircraft and land weapon in the 20th century by British, American, French, and numerous other military services. The cannon is also referred to as Birkigt type 404, after its designer. Firing a 20 mm caliber projectile, it delivered...
's 110 mm. A number of larger experimental weapons were also developed, like the 42 mm Oerlikon RK 421, but did not see service.
Several generations of the basic ADEN/DEFA weapons followed, remaining largely unchanged into the 1970s. At that point a new generation of weapons developed, either for the proposed NATO 25 mm standard, or based on the Mauser 27 mm round; the leading current example is arguably the Mauser BK-27
Mauser BK-27
The BK 27 is a caliber revolver cannon manufactured by Mauser of Germany...
. The Rheinmetall Millennium 35 mm Naval Gun System
Oerlikon Millennium 35 mm Naval Revolver Gun System
The Oerlikon Millennium 35mm Naval Gun System is a Close-in weapon system designed by Oerlikon for mounting on ships. It is based on the new Oerlikon 35 mm revolver cannon land based Air defense system, and uses AHEAD ammunition...
is the largest to see service. The French GIAT 30
GIAT 30
The GIAT 30 is a series of 30 mm cannon developed to replace the DEFA 550 series weapons on French military aircraft.Introduced in the late 1980s, the GIAT 30 is a revolver cannon with electric ignition and automatic recocking...
is a newer generation power-driven revolver cannon, and the Rheinmetall RMK30
Rheinmetall RMK30
The RMK 30 is a recoilless 30 mm caliber autocannon firing caseless 30 x 250 mm ammunition cartridges...
modifies the GIAT system further by venting the gas to the rear to eliminate recoil.
The Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon of the late 19th century was not a revolver cannon in the modern sense, being of a Gatling type. Arguably, a forerunner was the Puckle gun
Puckle gun
The Puckle gun was invented in 1718 by James Puckle an English inventor, lawyer and writer.-Design and patent:...
, which was a manual revolver cannon, as opposed to an automatic one.
Characteristics
Automatic revolver cannons generally have a lower maximum sustained rate of fire than Gatling guns, as all the rounds are fired through a single barrel, which suffers from much higher heating loads. Cannon-calibre Gatling guns have a rate of fire of up to 10,000 rounds per minute (Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23
The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23 is a powerful, fast-firing six-barreled 23 mm Gatling gun used by some modern Soviet/Russian military aircraft....
), while revolver cannon typically have less than 2,000. On the other hand, revolver cannon generally have a high initial firing rate due to the lower moving mass involved – only the chambers are being spun. Gatling type guns spin the whole multiple barrel and breech assembly which in equal calibre versions can weigh hundreds of kilograms. Also, the external power source of US gatling guns provides less power in a burst than the gas-operation
Gas-operated reloading
Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to extract the spent case and chamber a new cartridge. Energy from the gas is harnessed...
of a revolver cannon, so that about half a second of spin-up time is required until the maximum rate of fire is reached. As it avoids the additional weight of multiple barrels, a revolver cannon can fire a larger calibre projectile than a Gatling gun of the same weight.
See also
- ShVAK cannonShVAK cannonThe ShVAK was a 20 mm autocannon used by the Soviet Union during World War II. It was designed by Boris Shpitalniy and Semyon Vladimirov and entered production in 1936...
- ShKAS machine gunShKAS machine gunThe ShKAS is a 7.62 mm machine gun widely used by Soviet aircraft in the 1930s and during World War II...
- Mauser MK 213
- MANTISNächstbereichschutzsystem MANTISNächstbereichschutzsystem MANTIS , formerly titled as NBS-C-RAM , is the latest very short-range protection system of the German Army intended for base-protection, particularly in Afghanistan, produced by Rheinmetall Air Defence Nächstbereichschutzsystem MANTIS (Modular, Automatic and Network...
- The German ArmyGerman ArmyThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
's new very short range protection system - SkyshieldSkyshieldSkyshield is the name for two different products: one is the Skyshield advanced Airborne Support Jammer system developed by Rafael LTD. in Israel. The other is the Skyshield Short Range Air Defence system developed by the Swiss corporation Oerlikon Contraves...
- Rheinmetall RMK30Rheinmetall RMK30The RMK 30 is a recoilless 30 mm caliber autocannon firing caseless 30 x 250 mm ammunition cartridges...
- ADEN cannonADEN cannonThe Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30 mm revolver cannon used on many military aircraft, particularly those of the British Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm...
- DEFA cannonDEFA cannonThe DEFA cannon is a family of widely used French-made aircraft revolver cannons firing the standard 30 mm caliber NATO rounds.-Design history:...
- M39 cannonM39 cannonThe M39 cannon was a 20 mm caliber single-barreled revolver cannon developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s. It was used on a number of fighter aircraft from the early 1950s through the 1980s.-Development:...
- GIAT 30GIAT 30The GIAT 30 is a series of 30 mm cannon developed to replace the DEFA 550 series weapons on French military aircraft.Introduced in the late 1980s, the GIAT 30 is a revolver cannon with electric ignition and automatic recocking...