what plane has the biggest gun

Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [66] The first gunship to enter the Battle of Khafji helped stop a southbound Iraqi armored column on 29 January 1991. The sole operator is the United States Air Force, which uses the AC-130U Spooky and AC-130W Stinger II[9] variants for close air support, air interdiction, and force protection, with the upgraded AC-130J Ghostrider entering service. AC-130s took part in Operation Assured Response in Liberia in 1996 and in Operation Silver Wake in 1997, the evacuation of American non-combatants from Albania. Also, schedule considerations drove the decision, he said. Obviously, World War II was the golden age of gun armament, with modern fighters using missiles as primary armament. @media(min-width:0px){#div-gpt-ad-historyandheadlines_com-medrectangle-3-0-asloaded{max-width:320px!important;max-height:50px!important;}}var cid = '3673160832'; Suspects Russia Used a Microwave Weapon Against Americans. The AC-130U employs technologies developed in the 1990s, which allow it to attack two targets simultaneously. Gunships also were part of the buildup of US forces in 1998 to compel Iraq to allow UNSCOM weapons inspections. This 13-hour mission with two in-flight refuelings from KC-135 tankers proved the validity of flying long-range missions outside the contiguous United States to attack targets then return to home base without intermediate stops. To be fair, "More powerful" is something of a misnomer as the guns were designed for different purposes. Guidance is provided by a GPS receiver with antispoofing software and four distributed-aperture semiactive laser seeker apertures adapted from the WGU-59/B APKWS for terminal guidance. 1. container.style.maxHeight = container.style.minHeight + 'px'; ins.id = slotId + '-asloaded'; Top 10 Aircraft Machine Guns With Highest Rate Of Fire The Buzz 302K subscribers Subscribe 54K views 2 years ago #military #thebuzz Machine guns were mounted in aircraft for the first time in. Yamato and Musashi were the largest battleships ever to sail. History Short: What was the Largest Impact on Earth in Recorded History? The weapons in this list are some of the biggest guns in the worldwith the biggest bullets. [28], The AC-130J Ghostrider came from a 2011 initiative that sought to acquire 16 new gunships based on newly built MC-130J Combat Shadow II special-operations tankers outfitted with a "precision strike package" to give them an attack capability, requesting $1.6billion from fiscal years 2011 through 2015. The attacks were part of an intensification of the US-led military intervention against ISIL called Operation Tidal Wave II (named after the original Operation Tidal Wave during World War II, a failed attempt to raid German oil fields that resulted in heavy aircraft and aircrew loss) in an attempt to cut off oil smuggling as a source of funding for the group. History Short: Has any Human Died in Outer Space? [13] The AC-130 was later supplemented by the AC-119 Shadow (Project Gunship III), which later proved to be underpowered. The AC-130U is equipped with the AN/APQ-180, a synthetic aperture radar, for long-range target detection and identification. [40][41] AFSOC was to initially use the Raytheon Coyote small UAV for the TOBS mission, as it is an off-the-shelf design with a one-hour endurance, but plans to fulfill the role with a new drone capable of a four-hour endurance by 2019. During the Gulf War of 199091 (Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm), Regular Air Force and Air Force Reserve AC-130s provided close air support and force protection (air base defense) for ground forces, and battlefield interdiction. The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zars students. If i remeber correctly there is an german aircraft tier 3 that is equipped with an 100mm. February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite! The 37mm shell destroyed everything below the crew deck and barely missed striking two crew members. US Special Operations Forces used the AC-130 to support its operations. The AC-130 has all the latest sensors to see the enemy in the dark and in poor visibility or through camouflage and represents the highest achievement in gunship technology so far. At Guam, AC-130H crews developed communications-out/lights-out refueling procedures for later employment by trial-and-error. The big gun is now a popular tourist attraction outside the Kremlin arsenal. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId, 'stat_source_id', 44); FV4005 easily has the largest cannon in ground forces. Spectre was still needed and active in the region, supporting operations in Laos and Cambodia. The bullets are about six times the size of a standard 9-millimeter round, but the weight of the gun makes the recoil manageable. The PGM-38/U enhanced 25mm high-explosive incendiary round was created to expand the AC-130U gunships' mission in standoff range and survivability for its 25mm GAU-12/U gun. AC-130s took part in the NATO missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo during the 1990s. Think of this bomber as the big brother of the B-17, and it earned its name by boasting a maximum of 12 X .50 caliber machine guns and 1 X 20mm cannon. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. [17] In the summer of 1971, Surprise Package AC-130s were converted to the Pave Pronto configuration and assumed the new nickname of "Thor". AC-130: 105-mm. Seeing a need for offensive fire, forward-firing weapons were devised. Modern military technology is impressive. The Pe-8 is a rank III Soviet heavy bomber with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB/RB) and 5.3 (SB). The B-36 needed all that power to carry up to 86,000 pounds of bombs and sport a devastating self-defense battery of 16 X 20mm cannons! Fair warning though the damage model is very weak on the XA-38 and you'll be pretty badly damaged fairly quickly. [32] The first AC-130J Ghostrider was delivered to AFSOC on 29 July 2015. [90][91], A second aircraft, AF serial no. The 20mm guns were forward firing, and the .50 caliber guns were mounted in a dorsal turret with 360 degree coverage. Project HARP, short for High Altitude Research Project, was a joint venture of the United States Department of Defense and Canada's Department of National Defence created with the goal of studying ballistics of re-entry vehicles and collecting upper atmospheric data for research. The Russian Air Force, while plane-for-plane older than many air forces, has numbers, the ubiquity of the largest country by size on Earth, a modernization plan and nuclear weapons. On 28 January 1973, the Vietnam peace accord went into effect, marking the end of Spectre operations in Vietnam. A high. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Close air support was the main mission of the AC-130 in Iraq. Table of Contents: A History of the World, A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators, Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive, Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles, 10 Weird and Wonderful Facts About Canada. It was introduced in Update 1.69 "Regia Aeronautica". [23], In 2010, the Air Force awarded L-3 Communications a $61million contract to add precision strike packages to eight MC-130W Combat Spear special-mission aircraft[24] to give them a gunship-like attack capability; such-equipped MC-130Ws are known as Dragon Spears. Note the centerline blister used to accommodate the cannon's autoloader (Imperial War Museum) The DH Mosquito was one of the most capable planes of WWII. The big daddy of the gunships, the AC-130 is of course an adaptation of the C-130 Hercules cargo plane, powered by 4 X turbo-prop engines. @media(min-width:0px){#div-gpt-ad-historyandheadlines_com-large-leaderboard-2-0-asloaded{max-width:300px!important;max-height:250px!important;}}if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyandheadlines_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_8',143,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyandheadlines_com-large-leaderboard-2-0'); This speedy ground attack twin engine light bomber could be armed with an 8 X .50 caliber machine gun solid nose, another 8 X .50 caliber machine guns under the wings, 2 X .50 caliber guns in a ventral turret and another 2 X .50 calibers in a dorsal turret, giving the Invader as many as 20 X .50 caliber machine guns, each pouring out 850 rounds per minute. ins.style.height = container.attributes.ezah.value + 'px'; Not to be confused with previous 30mm ammunition, these rounds zip along at 3324 feet per second, faster than an M-16 round (3250 fps max) or even a .300 WinMag (3260 fps max). [48] Dynetics was awarded a contract to deliver an initial batch of 70 SGMs in June 2017, with plans to buy up to 1,000. Both guns were broken up at the end of WWII. AC-130A serial no. Named Gustav and Dora, after Krupp and his wife, each 1,350-ton cannon required its own train to move it and took three days to assemble. The largest calibre guns ever mounted on a ship were the nine 45.7 cm (18 inch) guns installed on the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi. The military has used AC-130 gunships during the humanitarian operations in Somalia (Operation Restore Hope and Operation United Shield) in 199293 and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in 1994. Wow! The use of AC-130s in places like Fallujah, urban settings where insurgents were among crowded populations of non-combatants, was criticized by human rights groups. He created a record-breaking .950-caliber cartridge with bullets weighing about eight ounces apiece. You might not think of a lightweight single engine fighter as a heavyweight gunship, but the F-104 was the first fighter to come armed with the M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon, which launched 6000 rounds per minute, much more firepower than previous planes armed with 4 normal single barrel 20mm cannons that fired only about 450 to a max of about 1000 rounds per minute. Others are pure demonstrations of extreme gunsmithing. [45][46][47] Approval for fielding occurred in early 2017. 69-6575, named "Wicked Wanda" is on display at the Hurlburt Field, FL airpark. At first 20mm cannons provided an upgrade, but for bomber busting, more gun was needed. Boeing B-29 Superfortress (1944-1960). North American B-25 Mitchell (1941-1979). Thank you! If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId, 'adsensetype', 1); [67] The loss of Spirit 03 did however result in the US DoD joining the development of the AN/AAQ-24 Directed Infrared Countermeasures System which, in its updated laser-based form, is now a common fit across large US military aircraft. AC-130s from both the 4th and 16th Special Operations Squadrons have been deployed in nearly every conflict in which the United States has been involved, officially and unofficially, since the end of the Vietnam War. Aviation International News. The ground commander quickly assessed the accurate fire and capabilities of this weapons system and called for fire on his own perimeter when the Viet Cong attempted to bridge the wire on the west side of his position. Type above and press Enter to search. The P.108A serie 2 is your normal P.108, but with a 102 mm anti-shipping gun containing 50 rounds. Conversion of C-130Es into AC-130Es for the "PAVE Spectre" project followed. We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary. The AC-130 is a heavily armed, long-endurance aircraft carrying an array of weapons against ground targets that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, navigation, and fire-control systems. 87-0128, named "Big Daddy" is on display at the Hurlburt Field, FL airpark. ins.style.width = '100%'; The US has used gunships with deployments to the War in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Freedom's Sentinel) (20012021), and Iraq War (Operation Iraqi Freedom) (20032011). A German Ju-88 heavy fighter variant of the Ju-88 bomber was armed with 4 X forward firing 20mm cannons, 2 X rear firing .51 caliber machine guns, and 2 X 20mm cannon firing up and forward to shoot down unsuspecting enemy planes from below. The justices will hear the Biden administration's . Lasers", "AFSOC Wants to Research Adding Laser Weapons to AC-130", "AFSOC developing tactics for '2020' AC-130 gunship laser weapon", "Air Force Wants a Laser Weapon on AC-130J Gunship", "AFSOC Leveraging Lessons from Navy for AC-130J Laser", "AC-130 To Get Laser Guns & Air-Launched Drones: Heithold", AFSOC favours side-mounted laser for gunship, "AFSOC envisions its gunship armed with lasers, other high-tech weapons", "US special forces seek tube-launched glide bombs", Dynetics unveils new glide bomb with 16kg warhead, Dynetics Looks to Fit Niche With Small Glide Munition, Dynetics Awarded USSOCOM Small Glide Munition Contract, Dynetics awarded $470 million for increased production of glide bomb, US special operators add new munition to air-launched arsenal, Commandos Buying Thousands of Small Missiles That Pack A Bigger Punch Than Hellfires, "Air Force Commandos Will Have Fewer Aircraft, More Firepower", "THE AC-130 GUNSHIP AND ITS VARIANTS Research from 10/2010", "C-130.net - The ultimate C-130 Hercules reference", "Pentagon official: US attacks al Qaeda suspects in Somalia", "US Gives Its Air Power Expansive Role in Libya", "AFSOC's new weapon: Portable unmanned aircraft bases", US A-10 Attack Planes Hit ISIS Oil Convoy to Crimp Terror Funding, "Congressman questions if Army Special Forces denied rescue force, fire support", "CENTCOM: AC-130 'absolutely did fire' in Marjah battle against Taliban", "Death Toll in Airstrike on Doctors Without Borders Hospital May Rise, Group Says", "U.S. Role in Afghanistan Turns to Combat Again, With a Tragic Error", "Pentagon Details Chain of Errors in Strike on Afghan Hospital", AC-130U 'Spooky' Gunship Completes its Final Combat Deployment, AFSOC's 'Ultimate Battle Plane' Now Operating in Afghanistan, "New AC-130J completes first test flight", https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joe-allen-0216a051_today-marks-the-end-of-an-era-for-the-gunship-activity-6953121103183552512-XLOJ?trk=public_profile_like_view, "Spec Ops Profile: 1st Special Operations Wing", "ATK's GAU-23 30mm Automatic Cannon Receives Type Classification for Use on U.S. Air Force AC-130W Gunships", "Ghostrider's Big Gun: AC-130J Gets 105 ASAP; Laser Later", "The AC-130J Ghostrider Will Get A Big Ass Gun Afterall", "The USAF Finally Gives Its AC-130W Gunship the Big Gun It Desperately Needs", "Aircraft Procurement, vol 2 part 2, FY05", "ALQ-172 (EW Integrated Self Protection System)", "AN/AAQ Airborne Infrared Multipurpose/Special Equipment", "Contemporary Historical Evaluation of Combat Operations: Fixed Wing Gunships in Southeast Asia", "Powerful Gunships Prowl Iraq, and Limits Show", (1977) T.O. Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. The largest plane in the world when it was introduced, this transcontinental bomber had 6 radial piston engines driving 6 pusher type propellers and an additional 4 turbojet engines, giving it a total of 10 engines! On 25 October 1971, the first "Cadillac" gunship, the AC-130E, arrived in Vietnam. [35], The Air Force decided to add a 105mm cannon to the AC-130J in addition to the 30mm cannon and smart bombs, the shells being more accurate and cheaper than dropping SDBs. Hitler ordered two. The Obusier de 520 modle 1916 fired a 520mm round weighing over 3600 pounds to a range of over 8 miles. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, hostage situation at the US Embassy in Iran, National Museum of the United States Air Force, List of accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, List of active United States military aircraft, "Air Commandos retire final AC-130H Spectre gunship", "Special ops airmen get fewer new gunships than promised", "Afghan forces requested airstrike on hospital", "Air Force gets first upgraded 'Ghostrider' gunship", "A Spookier Spooky, 30mm at a Time? This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. The General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger is a 30 mm hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling-style autocannon that is primarily mounted in the United States Air Force's Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II.Designed to destroy a wide variety of ground targets, the Avenger delivers very powerful rounds at a high rate of fire.The GAU-8/A is also used in the Goalkeeper CIWS ship weapon system . Called the Flying Fortress because of its unprecedented heavy armament of 12 (later13) .50 caliber machine guns, this mighty bomber would be eclipsed by other planes in future years. The guns weigh 80 pounds or more depending on the options, so they are fired only from a rest or bipod. (Heavy Gustav Railway Gun.) Check This Out: The 240-Year Evolution of the Army Sidearm. [33] The first AC-130J gunships achieved initial operational capability (IOC) on 30 September 2017. Four of the nose guns could be replaced by a 75mm cannon, giving the B-25 the ability to sink a ship by gunfire alone. - Quora. To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles. Gun, Mk II, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_aircraft_weapons&oldid=1148025965, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking sources from November 2014, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, Semi Automatique Moteur Canon d'aviation (37mm) (France), HGK (Hassas Gudum Kiti - Precision Guidance Kit), This page was last edited on 3 April 2023, at 16:37. Friday, May 6, 2022 What 'Top Gun' Didn't Tell You About Naval Aviation By Danielle DeSimone When the U.S. Navy purchased its first airplane on May 8, 1911, the world - and aviation - looked very different than it does today. The P. 108A serie 2 is a rank II Italian strike aircraft with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB), 2.3 (RB), and 3.0 (SB). [11] The squadrons are part of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a component of the United States Special Operations Command. mohammed_mc 1 yr. ago. (No significance to the order listed.) The gauge of a shotgun goes down as the caliber goes up. I believe the single largest gun ever mounted aboard an airplane is the 105-mm M102 Howitzer cannon fitted to the AC-130 gunship variant of the C-130 Hercules transport plane. It would have weighed 200 tons and theoretically could hit anywhere on the planetor launch projectiles into orbit. Six AC-130s and 52 air crew members were lost during the war. Unlike conventional space launching methods that rely on rockets, HARP instead used very large guns to fire . Flight testing of the prototype was performed primarily at Eglin Air Force Base, followed by further testing and modifications. New time aloft and nonstop distance records were subsequently set by a 16th SOS two-ship AC-130H formation flight that departed Hurlburt Field on 13 November 1979 and landed on 15 November at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, a distance of 7,200 nautical miles (13,300km) and 29 hours 43 minutes nonstop, refueling four times in-flight. At $40 a shot, firing a .950 JDJ is an expensive hobby, but will draw a crowd. 6. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement. Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (1977-Present). [62][63] Refueling support for the Guam deployment was provided by KC-135 crews from the 305th Air Refueling Wing from Grissom AFB, Indiana. Its 35-inch bore could fire about 1,800 pounds of stone grapeshot, earning it the nickname, the Russian Shotgun. It was never fired in anger and seems to have been intended mainly for display. Edit: it's called "Hs 129 B-3". [89] In 1975, after the conclusion of US involvement in the Vietnam war, it was transferred to the Air Force Reserve, where it served with the 711th Special Operations Squadron of the 919th Special Operations Wing. The largest currently around is the Eryx shoulder-launched missile by European company MBDA, with a 135-millimeter (5.3-inch) warhead. Ukraine has consistently called for long-range missiles to help with its war effort, and was offered such weapons by the UK last month. Eryx is a guided missile with a range of over 600 yards. [7], The airframe is manufactured by Lockheed Martin, while Boeing is responsible for the conversion into a gunship and for aircraft support. The Davy Crockett had a range of 2-1/2 miles, with a yield equal to about 18 tons of high explosives. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the Historical Evidence sections of articles. 541626, the original prototype AC-130 named "Gunship II" is on display at the outdoor Air Park at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. var ffid = 2; In late 1969, under code name "Surprise Package", 56-0490 arrived with solid-state, laser-illuminated, low light-level TV with a companion YAG laser designator, an improved forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor, video recording for TV and FLIR, an inertial navigation system, and a prototype digital fire-control computer. Press Esc to cancel. On 22 February 1973, American offensive operations in Laos ended and the gunships became totally committed to operations in the Cambodian conflict. It features a 102 mm cannon in its fuselage, one of the largest armament ever fitted onto an aircraft.Nov 30, 2021 How good is KV-2? Napoleon wanted to take the Tsar Cannon back to France when he captured Moscow in 1812, but left without it. [1], On 15 November 2015, two days after the attacks in Paris by ISIL, AC-130s and A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft destroyed a convoy of over 100 ISIL-operated oil tanker trucks in Syria. Many twin engine bombers were configured with heavy armament during World War II to attack enemy bombers, but few purpose built heavy fighters were fielded, one of the most effective and heavily armed being the Black Widow night fighter. [16] The Surprise Package upgrade included the latest 20mm rotary autocannons and 40 mm Bofors cannon, but no 7.62mm close-support armament. Here we list 10 of the Most Heavily Armed Warplanes, meaning armed with machine guns and cannons. 541623, c/n 3010, named "Ghost Rider" served in Southeast Asia and later conflicts until being retired in 1997 to Dobbins AFB, Georgia. The Shooting Komet A prototype of the Me-163 Komet. var slotId = 'div-gpt-ad-historyandheadlines_com-medrectangle-3-0_1'; Obviously, World War II was the golden age of gun armament, with modern fighters using missiles as primary armament. ins.style.minWidth = container.attributes.ezaw.value + 'px'; [27] CLTs are able to fire other small munitions able to fit inside the 6-inch (15cm)-diameter, 48-inch (1.2m)-long tubes. Lake, Jon. don't remember Germany has any thing bigger than 75mm, i don't remember the name of the plane but some people call it the "Duck" and it's at BR 2.3. Their specially converted aircraft can stay in the skies for 12 hours at a time and is the largest airborne gun in the world. Punt gunning proved so effective at killing flocks of birds that many states outlawed it by 1860. Since then, the challenge has been to make such weapons as small as possible. Subsequent inquiries led to punishment of 16 military personnel and cited "human error" as the root cause. Because its large profile and low operating altitudes around 7,000feet (2,100 m) make it an easy target, its close air support missions are usually flown at night. The upgraded AC-130U Spooky has a single 25 mm GAU-12 Equalizer cannon in place of the Spectre's two 20 mm cannons, an improved fire-control system, and increased ammunition capacity. (An alternative armament was 10 X Browning AN/M2 .30 caliber machine guns, with 1500 rounds per minute each, for a theoretical 15,000 rounds per minute onto the enemy, though in practice this arrangement was not as effective as the mini-guns.) The shells weighed 1,452 kg (3,200 lb) and could be fired 43.5 km (27 miles). Abrams tanks, which are in service with the US Army, have an armour that is fortified with depleted uranium! In five separate runs, the gunship struck the hospital, that was erroneously identified as the source of attacks on coalition members. The AC-130 aircrew earned the Lieutenant General William H. Tunner Award for the mission. Crews flew undercover missions from Honduras and attacked guerrilla camps and concentrations.[65]. When the biggest existing caliber is not big enough, you have to make your ownand thats exactly what J.D. ins.className = 'adsbygoogle ezasloaded'; The previously mentioned Hawker Tempest fired at a rate of 6.5 kilos per second with its 4 X 20mm cannon. Still, some modern planes have impressive guns nonetheless. 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).
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