The M61 Vulcan is a Gatling Gun on Steroids

the m61

vulcan

is a

gatling

gun on

steroids

, it is not possible with the human eye to see a bullet when it leaves the muzzle of a gun, but in the case of the general dynamics 20 millimeter rotary barrel m61 it is not just a bullet that does not can be seen, but literally hundreds per second with a rate of fire that exceeds 6,600 shots per minute, that is, more than 100 shots coming out of the cannons every second. The key to this is the six cannons that are electrically powered. Allowing both ultra-fast cyclic speed and helping to prevent barrels from overheating, this also increases the chances of multiple hits compared to a single barrel. the

vulcan

war was born, although this may seem like cutting-edge 21st century technology, the original m61 was developed after the world.

War II by General Electric and was first introduced in 1956, but the concept of using multiple cannons dates back a century earlier. It is based on the Gatling principle, which allows a high rate of fire while reducing barrel heat and erosion. The M61 Vulcan is the deadly weapon of the Civil War-era Gatling gun developed by inventor John Gatling, who was not looking for a more effective killing machine, but rather developed his rapid-fire weapon as a response to the carnage he witnessed. during the American Civil War. Gatling saw how many more soldiers died from disease than from gunshots and sought to develop a weapon that could replace the need for large armies and believed that deaths from disease would decrease.

General Electric took on the Vulcan project in 1946 to develop the 20-millimeter rotary cannon that could be capable of firing. 7,200 rounds per minute The use of multiple barrels minimized barrel erosion and heat generation, extending weapon life in modern aircraft The M61 was designed to be hydraulically driven and electrically primed It was also developed to use a system linkless ammunition feed a new

gatling

gun with the development of jet aircraft, united states army air force engineers determined that a higher rate of fire would be necessary and determined that single revolver barrels cannon would not be up to the task, instead, designers at General Electric's armament division considered the 19th century concept of using multiple cannons instead of General Dynamics which acquired General Electric's armament division. currently produces the improved M61A1 and M61A2 versions, the latter being 20 percent lighter and intended for applications where weapon system weight reduction is critical for most aircraft versions of the M61 are hydraulically powered and primed. electrically, the gun rotor barrel assembly and ammunition feeding system are rotated by a hydraulic drive motor through a flexible drive shaft system, the bullet is fired by an electrical priming system where an electric current A firing LED passes through the firing pin to the primer as each bullet rotates to the firing position.

A lighter version of the Vulcan developed for use in the F-22 Raptor designated M61A2 is mechanically the same as the M61A1 but with barrels. The rotor and housing have also been modified to eliminate any metal parts that are not absolutely necessary for operation and replace some metal components with lighter materials. The F a 18e F Super Hornet also uses this version. The Vulcan's rate of fire is typically 6,000 rounds per minute, although some versions, such as the f-106 delta dart, are limited to a lower rate and others, the a7 corsair has a selectable rate of fire of 4,000 or 6,000.

Shots per minute, the lighter barrel of the M61A2 allows for a slightly higher rate of fire, up to 6,600 rounds per minute. Detailed Applications and First Use in Combat The Vulcan first entered air combat on April 4, 1965, when four MiG-17s of the North Vietnamese Air Force attacked a force of 10 North American F-100 Super Saber escorts. and 48 F-105 Thunder Chiefs armed and loaded with bombs. shooting down two of the latter, the first confirmed Vulcan firearm kill occurred on June 29, 1966, when Major Fred Tracy, flying his F-105 Thunder Chief with the 421st Fighter Squadron, fired 200 rounds. of 20 millimeters against a Mig-17 that had just fired a 23. -a millimeter projectile went through one side of its cabin and came out the other side when the mig-17 flew in front of it after passing by, Major Tracy opened fire Against it, the Vulcan was later installed in the weapons bay of some Convair F-106 Delta Dart and General Dynamics models F-111 Aardvark was also adopted as standard on the Teen Series air superiority fighters F-14 Tomcat F- 15 Eagle F-16Fighting Falcon and F-A-18 Hornet Other aircraft include the AMX ground attack and the F-22 Raptor, it was installed in a side-firing installation on the Fairchild AC-119 and some brands of the Lockheed AC-130 gunships and It was used on the tail turrets of both the Convair B-58 Hustler and the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bombers.

The M-61 is also the basis of the US Navy's Mark 15 Phalanx short-range weapons system.