guachi Posted March 28, 2000 Share Posted March 28, 2000 Yes, 13mm aircraft guns (MG131)were used by ground troops as were 15mm guns (MG151/15). Typically, they were pedastal mounted and used in AA defense. Pedestal mounting allowed the weapon to be fired while standing. The firing characteristics (high ROF and electrically fired) made these weapons a poor choice for ground applications. The 151/15 (15mm) and 151/20 (20mm) aircraft guns were also mounted on the SdKfz 251 halftrack (designation: 251/20) mostly because there were guns with no aircraft in which to put them. 387 of these vehicles were produced late in the war. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARCHANGEL Posted March 28, 2000 Share Posted March 28, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Snark: For what its worth. US AA 20m weapon (towed, or track mouted on an APC) was called in the Viet Nam era a Vulcan. After some modifications renamed an Excaliber. Fire rate of 3,000 RPM HE, AP, TP, and tracer rounds Fired in bursts, rate set by gunner 100rnd bust max. And a 'Low no burst' rate of fire too. A 100 round burst of HE would demolish 3 cars stacked on top of each other leaving no piece larger that 1 sq.ft. AP could penetrate Tanks (So we were told) This is the gun that was mounted in "Puff" in Vietnam. One round per sq. ft., I recall them saying, was "Puffs" delivery rate w/ two Vulcans mounted on the plane. I personally wouldn't want one fireing at me. My experiance was with the Vulcans in the early '70s.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Right on target Snark. I saw the old track mounted Vulcan used in RVN for ground defense. As I recall, there weren't many ADA units there, but they were sometimes put to good use against ground attacks. I also saw track mounted twin 40mms (called "Dusters") used that way as well. Puff, Spooky and the early Spectre has the Vulcans as well as (later on) the 7.62 mini-guns. I actually had them in fire support in combat...they were beyond amazing and extremely welcome. Later in the war(post 1970),105 cannons were mounted in Chinooks, which were used at AnLoc quite abit...I am pretty sure Spectre had a 105mm in it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted March 28, 2000 Share Posted March 28, 2000 Yeah, don't mess with Spooky, he'll put the fear of God into you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
von Lucke Posted March 29, 2000 Share Posted March 29, 2000 They didn't nick-name the M16 (the quad-.50 mounted on an M3 half-track) the "Meat Grinder" fer nuthin'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mostro Posted March 29, 2000 Share Posted March 29, 2000 The weapon that appears in SavingPR doesn't look like an AA weapon. Its mount ressembles that of very old heavy WWI MGs, with little wheels and a front plate. It's possible that it is an aircraft 20mm gun in an old fashion MG mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snark Posted March 29, 2000 Share Posted March 29, 2000 Archangel Yep your right on. The only AD role I heard of in Nam for the Vulcan was one shooting down a Rusky Helicopter in the rain/fog. The crew never did see it but picked it up on the tracking radar. As you said the rest was in ground support. Range BTW was 7 miles indirect fire. I dont know the actual stats but I always envisiond those 20mm HE rounds as mini hand granades. A hundred round burst of them in your hootch and even all the roaches are killed. I wish Id seen the upgraded Excaliber. I understand it had a MG mounted on it as well as some sort of rocket launcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted March 29, 2000 Share Posted March 29, 2000 Mostro, The weapon in SPR was intended to be a 20mm AAA gun. These things were pretty primitive. However, they were effective. The Russians basically copied it (albeit with 23mm calibre) in their ZU-23 which was used all the way through Vietnam and beyond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KwazyDog Posted March 30, 2000 Share Posted March 30, 2000 I didnt know what Fionn, interesting In CM the 20mm sure is a good light vehcile killer, priests beware Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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