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Viper 30mm Gatling gun



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johnqhitman
PostPosted: Oct 28, 2005 - 04:37 AM Reply with quote Back to top
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I read in a magazine that there was a Version of the Falcon that carried a smaller version of the A-10s GAU-8, but was never implemented. What happened?
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Guysmiley
PostPosted: Oct 28, 2005 - 05:33 AM Reply with quote Back to top
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See this link: http://www.f-16.net/index.php?module=Pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=2&pid=18

It was a failure for multiple reasons.
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falconfixer1
PostPosted: Mar 23, 2006 - 02:14 PM Reply with quote Back to top
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The 30mm gatlin was on the aggressors they were going to replace the A-10s with them but the gun created so much heat that some of the avionics beside the gun were getting fried so they just stuck with the 20mm.
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ViperDude
PostPosted: Mar 23, 2006 - 03:26 PM Reply with quote Back to top
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falconfixer1 wrote:
The 30mm gatlin was on the aggressors they were going to replace the A-10s with them but the gun created so much heat that some of the avionics beside the gun were getting fried so they just stuck with the 20mm.


All the 30MM guns were purchased by the Navy back in the late 90's and installed on their Hovercraft.

Cheers,

ViperDude
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mark
PostPosted: Mar 23, 2006 - 04:01 PM Reply with quote Back to top
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The 30mm gun pod was installed on the centerline station of the aircraft, it was NOT an internal installation. Like guy said, it failed for many reasons. One reason was the severe beating the airframe took when the gun was fired. A maintenace chief from syracuse that I talked to said they had rivets breaking in the intake!

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falconloader
PostPosted: Mar 27, 2006 - 04:08 AM Reply with quote Back to top
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We flew the 30 mm gun pod for a while in Tucson and my recollection of it wasn't so much that it damaged jets, but it wasn't that accurate, and it was non-jettisonable. Astronauts would always ask if there was a way they could get rid of it. Also it didn't hold a lot of rounds.
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MILITIS
PostPosted: Apr 28, 2006 - 03:49 AM Reply with quote Back to top
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Falconloader is right. The 30 mm used an iron type pipper which made it very inaccurate. Also the rounds move slower than the 20 mm that the M61 uses which caused even more inaccuracy.
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medicdwpa
PostPosted: Sep 21, 2011 - 08:20 PM Reply with quote Back to top
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30mm gun pod was tried as a possible A-10 replacement known as the : F/A-16A-B with not so impresive results. As anyone knows, that has loaded armament, weapons pylons are not the most ridged of things. The pod was center mounted but much like the SUU-23 pod of F-4 days it shakes "alot"! Not like the A-10 gun that is hard mounted to the airframe. This made it very inaccuret not much better than a cluster bomb. some stats: four barrel version of the GAU-8. lower rate of fire. only 300 rnd in the pod.
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launcherman
PostPosted: Sep 23, 2011 - 06:49 PM Reply with quote Back to top
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Just one more thing someone tried to get the F-16 to do that it was not designed to do. The reason the A-10 is still around.

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