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52-405: The turrets are designed to mount a main armament of an autocannon of 25 or 30 mm caliber . The main armament may mount a co-axial machine gun. A variant allows the operator to aim and fire anti-tank guided missiles . The turret is normally operated by a gunner who remains inside the vehicle, using remote optics and remote control. However, in the event of a power failure, the gunner can use

104-541: A NATO country. In the meantime the Swiss Oerlikon-Bürle factory obtained from TRW the license of the TRW-6425 for Europe in 1967 and they started the "KBA series" 25mm cannon project based on it. In the designation KBA , " K " is kanone; " B " is a 25 mm caliber, and " A " is a design model in a given caliber. Several principles were combined in order to refine the project. The early configuration

156-619: A consequence, fighters at the time had cannons added back in external "gun pods", and virtually all fighter aircraft retain autocannons in integral internal mounts to this day. After the Second World War, autocannons continued to serve as a versatile weapon in land, sea, and air applications. Examples of modern autocannons include the 25 mm Oerlikon KBA mounted on the IFV Freccia , the M242 Bushmaster mounted on

208-456: A hatch primarily designed for reloading ammunition to aim and fire the turrets weapons manually. In 2010 Oto Melara licensed Bumar-Labedy , a manufacturer in Poland , to manufacture the turret for Polish Armed Forces . Oto Melara also sells a smaller remotely operated turret, named Hitrole , that mounts smaller weapons, like machine guns and automatic grenade launchers . Oto Melara sells

260-605: A modern autocannon ranges from 90 rounds per minute , in the case of the British RARDEN, to 2,500 rounds per minute with the GIAT 30 . Rotary systems with multiple barrels can achieve over 10,000 rounds per minute (the Russian GSh-6-23 , for example). Such extremely high rates of fire are effectively employed by aircraft in aerial dogfights and close air support on ground targets via strafing attacks, where

312-472: A rate of over 200 rounds a minute: much faster than conventional artillery while possessing a much longer range and more firepower than the infantry rifle . In 1913, Reinhold Becker and his Stahlwerke Becker firm designed the 20mm Becker cannon , addressing the German Empire 's perceived need for heavy-calibre aircraft armament. The Imperial Government's Spandau Arsenal assisted them in perfecting

364-445: A remote control unit or manually in auxiliary mode by means of a hand crank and a trigger pedal. The Oerlikon KBA 25mm cannon has been designed for integration in various types of mounts, small size and low weight offering various integration possibilities such as: The various types of available ammunition combined with the unique Instant Ammunition Selection Device and selectable rates of fire support any type of operational use. At

416-403: A remote controlled SHORAD / multifunctional turret, designed for integration with modern wheeled or tracked armoured fighting vehicles. The MANGART 25 turret is designed to mount a 25mm Rheinmetall KBA (25x137mm) autocannon paired with a high performance electro–optic system (cooled and un-cooled) and a co-axial machine gun provides fire support for the main cannon. The Aselsan STOP System

468-497: A role to which they were suited as tank armour is often lightest on top. The Polish 20 mm 38 Fk auto cannon was expensive to produce, but an exception. Unlike the Oerlikon, it was effective against all the tanks fielded in 1939, largely because it was built as an upgrade to the Oerlikon, Hispano-Suiza, and Madsen. It even proved capable of knocking out early Panzer IIIs and IVs, albeit with great difficulty. Only 55 were produced by

520-540: A short period of time. The development of guided missiles was thought to render cannons unnecessary and a full generation of western fighter aircraft was built without them. In contrast, all Eastern Bloc aircraft kept their guns. During the Vietnam War , however, the United States Air Force realized that cannons were useful for firing warning shots and for attacking targets that did not warrant

572-400: A similar appearing 2 man turret, called simply Hitfist , where the gunner and commander operate the turret, and its weapons, directly. Autocannon An autocannon , automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large- caliber (20 mm/0.79 in or more) armour-piercing , explosive or incendiary shells , as opposed to

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624-407: A single cannon shell with a high-explosive payload could instantly sever essential structural elements, penetrate armour or open up a fuel tank beyond the capacity of self-sealing compounds to counter, even from fairly long range. (Instead of explosives, such shells could carry incendiaries, also highly effective at destroying planes, or a combination of explosives and incendiaries.) Thus by the end of

676-633: A variant allows the operator to aim and fire anti-tank missiles. Current operators includes Italy , Poland and Romania . OTO Melara has also developed the OTO SINGLE 25mm KBA as a stabilized, electric servo-drive assisted weapon station, for naval applications with 252 ready-to-fire rounds made to neutralize targets in the Anti Surface Warfare, particularly in the Asymmetric Warfare or Mine Defence scenarios and thanks to

728-498: Is a 25 mm (25×137mm) autocannon, developed as a close range multipurpose weapon for the mechanised battlefield, originally made by Oerlikon (now Rheinmetall AG ) and currently produced in Rheinmetall Italia S.p.A. facilities. It is a positively locked breech , gas and recoil operated cannon with a rotating bolt head and a dual-belt selective feed system taking a 25mm NATO cartridge. The rate of fire in burst mode

780-500: Is a fully automatic cannon based on the proven gas-operation principle with a rotating bolt head similar to the Mauser M 98 or M16 and double belt feed for the ammunition. The KBA offers a wide range of firing modes: single shot, programmable rapid single shot with a rate of fire programmable from 100 to 175 rds/min and full automatic fire up to 600 rds/min. The cannon functions, such as cocking and firing, are electrically actuated by

832-584: Is a turret system with Oerlikon KBA developed to be used against close and asymmetric threats on warships, coast guard boats, landing ships and other ships in order to contribute to increasing the defense capabilities of modern armies. It is included in a group of the Stabilized Machine Gun Platform (STAMP) System in the family of Stabilized Weapon Systems. The Aselsan NEFER-L is a remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) can be mounted on 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 wheeled or tracked vehicles and

884-472: Is developed primarily for use against armored land targets. In the side of the main cannon a co-axial machine gun like 7,62mm provides fire support to the Oerlikon KBA. OTO Melara (today LEONARDO ) has developed a two-man turret for armored vehicles called HITFIST. The turret is designed to mount a 25mm Oerlikon KBA or 30mm ATK Mk44 autocannon . The main armament may mount a co-axial machine gun,

936-407: Is regarded as the archetypal modern revolver cannon . With multiple chambers and a single barrel, autocannons using the revolver principle can combine a very high rate of fire and high acceleration to its maximum firing rate with low weight, at cost of a reduced sustained rate of fire compared to rotary cannon. They are therefore used mainly in aircraft for AA purposes, in which a target is visible for

988-458: Is typically fed from a belt system to reduce reloading pauses or for a faster rate of fire , but magazines remain an option. Common types of ammunition, among a wide variety, include HEIAP , HEDP and more specialised armour-piercing (AP) munitions, mainly composite rigid ( APCR ) and discarding sabot ( APDS ) rounds. Capable of generating extremely rapid firepower , autocannons overheat quickly if used for sustained fire, and are limited by

1040-556: Is up to 600 rounds per minute but it can be adjusted electronically and reduced to single shot or a selectable range from 100 up to 175 rounds per minute. Due to its firepower, its range of ammunition and its "Instant Ammunition Selection Device" (IASD), which allows the gunner to easily switch between armor-piercing and high-explosive rounds , the KBA cannon can engage lightly armoured vehicles, infantry, anti-tank positions, helicopters, combat aircraft and ships. The Oerlikon KBA 25 mm

1092-581: The M2/M3 Bradley , updated versions of the Bofors 40 mm gun , and the Mauser BK-27 . The 20 mm M61A1 is an example of an electrically powered rotary autocannon. Another role that has come into association with autocannons are that of close-in weapon systems on naval vessels, which are used to destroy anti-ship missiles and low flying aircraft. Oerlikon KBA The Oerlikon KBA

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1144-578: The Messerschmitt 410 Hornisse (Hornet) bomber destroyer. 300 examples of the BK 5 cannon were built, more than all other versions. The PaK 40 semi-automatic 7.5 cm calibre anti-tank gun was the basis for the BK 7,5 in the Junkers Ju 88 P-1 heavy fighter and Henschel Hs 129 B-3 twin engined ground attack aircraft. The German Mauser MK 213 was developed at the end of the Second World War and

1196-586: The Oerlikon 20 mm , the Bofors 40 mm and various German Rheinmetall autocannons would see widespread use by both sides during the Second World War; not only in an anti-aircraft role, but as a weapon for use against ground targets as well. Heavier anti-aircraft cannon had difficulty tracking fast-moving aircraft and were unable to accurately judge altitude or distance, while machine guns possessed insufficient range and firepower to bring down aircraft consistently. Continued ineffectiveness against aircraft despite

1248-409: The 25mm project were that the gun had to be fully automatic and actively locked, be operated by gas and with a rotating bolt head, and use a dual-belt selective feed system allowing a quick and easy switch between different ammunition types. In parallel Oerlikon-Bührle assumed responsibility for developing the new 25x137mm ammunition and the interior ballistics of the TRW-6425. The first prototype

1300-589: The American company TRW (Thomson, Ramo-Wooldridge Inc.) soon to become TRW Inc. developed the experimental 25x137mm gun as part of the Bushmaster project. The new TRW project was to design an automatic cannon around the experimental 25mm cartridge under the company internal designation of "TRW-6425". The project leader was engineer Eugene Stoner , the designer of the famous ArmaLite AR-10 , AR-15 , and M16A1 family of assault rifles. TRW's requirements for

1352-502: The Bushmaster project—full name U.S. Army Vehicle Rapid Fire Weapons System (Bushmaster)—was restarted, the PFB-25 (Philco-Ford Bushmaster 25mm) was selected as one of the self-powered gun candidates. Since then, Philco-Ford has further developed the PFB-25. During the trials, however, the original American PFB-25 prototypes displayed a number of basic functional deficiencies. This prompted Oerlikon to undertake further development work on

1404-409: The KBA. The resulting system modifications added functional reliability that allowed the trials to be completed successfully in 1970. When the first prototype KBA cannons became available, suitable gun turrets had also to be provided. Oerlikon extensively reworked the original American TRW 6425 design. Perhaps the only remaining elements of the original design in the KBA were the 25x137 mm cartridge and

1456-517: The amount of ammunition that can be carried by the weapons systems mounting them. Both the US 25 mm M242 Bushmaster and the British 30 mm RARDEN have relatively slow rates of fire so as not to deplete ammunition too quickly. The Oerlikon KBA 25 mm has a relatively mid-high rate of fire 650 rounds per minute but can be electronically programmed to 175-200 rounds per minute. The rate of fire of

1508-655: The autocannon for the Army's new IFV. Within the framework of the product support service Oerlikon improves the product and adapts it regularly to the latest requirements. An important step forward was made in 1982/83 when the ammunition penetration performance range of the 25 mm APDS-T (sub-caliber) round was increased 150% from 1000 to 2500 m. A wide range of ammunition has been developed for this weapon specifically developed to engage and defeat both ground and air targets. The ammunition complies with all handling and operational safety requirements according to MIL-STD's, and

1560-526: The company into the same buildings previously used by TRW Inc. and hired many of their former employees. At least six models of the TRW-6425 automatic cannons were built. Following the closure of the TRW Jet and Ordnance Division, the Philco-Ford company's Aeronutronic Division became interested in the TRW-6425 cannon project, bought the rights to the project and began work on the weapon. When

1612-568: The earlier phases of the war, the Japanese aircraft they dealt with were not only unusually lightly built but went without either armour plate or self-sealing tanks in order to reduce their weight. Nevertheless, the U.S. also adopted planes fitted with autocannon, such as the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, despite experiencing technical difficulties with developing and manufacturing these large-calibre automatic guns. Weapons such as

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1664-412: The end of 1915 , almost entirely replaced wood and fabric biplanes . At the same time as they began to be made from stronger materials, the machines also increased in speed, streamlining, power and size, and it began to be apparent that correspondingly more powerful weapons would be needed to counter them. Conversely, they were becoming much better able to carry exactly such larger and more powerful guns;

1716-470: The expenditure of a (much more expensive) missile, and, more importantly, as an additional weapon if the aircraft had expended all its missiles or enemy aircraft were inside of the missiles' minimum target acquisition range in a high-G close range engagement. This was particularly important with the lower reliability of early air-to-air missile technology, such as that employed during the Vietnam War. As

1768-546: The functional reliability, durability and firing precision of the KBA autocannon. In 1971 sufficient progress had been made for the weapon system to fulfill the strict specifications laid down and for large-scale deliveries to the Netherlands to begin. In 1977, due to an internal decision, the US Army selected the externally-powered Hughes M242 from Hughes Helicopters Ordnance Division as the Bushmaster. The M242 became

1820-591: The fuselage or wings. The 37 mm BK 3,7 cannon, based on the German Army's 3.7 cm FlaK 43 anti-aircraft autocannon was mounted in pairs in underwing gun pods on a small number of specialized Stuka Panzerknacker (tank buster) aircraft. The BK 5 cm cannon , based on the 5 cm KwK 39 cannon of the Panzer III , was installed in Ju 88P bomber destroyers , which also used other Bordkanone models, and in

1872-491: The guns in aircraft failed, as the weight severely limited both speed and altitude, thus making successful interception impossible. The more effective QF 2 pounder naval gun would be developed during the war to serve as an anti-aircraft and close range defensive weapon for naval vessels. Autocannons would serve to a much greater extent and effect during the Second World War . The German Panzer II light tank, which

1924-427: The introduction of self sealing fuel tanks provided reliable protection against these small projectiles. These new defenses, synergistically with the general robustness of new aircraft designs and of course their sheer speed, which made simply shooting them accurately in the first place far more difficult, entailed that it took a lot of such bullets and a fair amount of luck to cause them critical damage; but potentially

1976-470: The large numbers installed during the second World War led, in the West, to the removal of almost all shipboard anti-aircraft weapons in the early post-war period. This was only reversed with the introduction of computer-controlled systems. The German Luftwaffe deployed small numbers of the experimental Bordkanone series of heavy aircraft cannon in 37, 50 and 75 mm calibres, mounted in gun pods under

2028-430: The method of blocking the chamber by turning the bolt (a novelty for Oerlikon development; earlier Oerlikon systems had sliding bolts with locking lugs). Eugene Stoner's classic TRW-6425 cannon automatic gas valve drive was also comprehensively changed. The complete system—cannon, hand-driven turret and ammunition—underwent detailed firing trials between 1969 and 1971. Oerlikon devoted huge development efforts to improve

2080-589: The ordnance. Although only about 500+ examples of the original Becker design were made during World War I, the design's patent was acquired by the Swiss Oerlikon Contraves firm in 1924, with the Third Reich's Ikaria-Werke firm of Berlin using Oerlikon design patents in creating the MG FF wingmount cannon ordnance. The Imperial Japanese Navy 's Type 99 cannon , adopted and produced in 1939,

2132-432: The smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles ( bullets ) fired by a machine gun . Autocannons have a longer effective range and greater terminal performance than machine guns, due to the use of larger/heavier munitions (most often in the range of 20–60 mm (0.79–2.36 in), but bigger calibers also exist), but are usually smaller than tank guns , howitzers , field guns , or other artillery . When used on its own,

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2184-564: The target dwell time is short and weapons are typically operated in brief bursts. The first modern autocannon was the British QF 1-pounder , also known as the "pom-pom". This was essentially an enlarged version of the Maxim gun , which was the first successful fully automatic machine gun, requiring no outside stimulus in its firing cycle other than holding the trigger. The pom-pom fired 1 pound (0.45 kg) gunpowder-filled explosive shells at

2236-451: The technology of which was in the meantime also developing, providing significantly improved rates of fire and reliability. When the Second World War did break out, it was swiftly realised that the power of contemporary aircraft allowed armour plate to be fitted to protect the pilot and other vulnerable areas. This innovation proved highly effective against rifle-calibre machine gun rounds, which tended to ricochet off harmlessly. Similarly

2288-636: The time of the Polish Defensive War. However it was in the air war that these weapons played their most important part in the conflict. During the First World War, rifle-calibre machine guns became the standard weapons of military aircraft. In the Second, several factors brought about their replacement by autocannon. During the inter-war years, aircraft underwent extensive evolution and the all-metal monoplane , pioneered as far back as

2340-582: The turn of 1964-65, the US Army started the ambitious Bushmaster project as an offshoot of the MICV-65 program to replace the M113 armored personnel carrier with a new infantry fighting vehicle. The Bushmaster project aimed to create small-caliber cannon for the US Army . The Bushmaster project were intended to meet the requirements for the armament of infantry fighting vehicles of the 80's and 90's: In 1960,

2392-674: The war, the fighter aircraft of almost all the belligerents mounted cannon of some sort, the only exception being the United States which in most cases favoured the Browning AN/M2 "light-barrel" .50 calibre heavy machine gun . A fighter equipped with these intermediate weapons in sufficient numbers was adequately armed to fulfill most of the Americans' combat needs aloft, as they tended to confront enemy fighters and other small planes far more often than large bombers; and as, in

2444-667: The word "autocannon" typically indicates a non-rotary weapon with a single barrel . When multiple rotating barrels are involved, such a weapon is referred to as a "rotary autocannon" or occasionally " rotary cannon ", for short (particularly on aircraft). Autocannons are heavy weapons that are unsuitable for use by infantry . Due to the heavy weight and recoil , they are typically installed on fixed mounts , wheeled carriages , ground combat vehicles , aircraft , or watercraft , and are almost always crew-served , or even remote-operated with automatic target recognition / acquisition (e.g. sentry guns and naval CIWS ). As such, ammunition

2496-745: Was also based on the Becker/Oerlikon design's principles. During the First World War , autocannons were mostly used in the trenches as anti-aircraft guns . The British used pom-pom guns as part of their air defences to counter the German Zeppelin airships that made regular bombing raids on London . However, they were of little value, as their shells neither ignited the hydrogen of the Zeppelins nor caused sufficient loss of gas (and hence lift) to bring them down. Attempts to use

2548-588: Was one of the most numerous in German service during the invasion of Poland and the campaign in France , used a 20 mm autocannon as its main armament. Although ineffective against tank armour even during the early years of the war, the cannon was effective against light-skinned vehicles as well as infantry and was also used by armoured cars . Larger examples, such as the 40 mm Vickers S , were mounted in ground attack aircraft to serve as an anti-tank weapon,

2600-469: Was produced in 22 months and began test firing in November 1965 from an Ml 14 vehicle. In December the prototype was fired from an Austrian Armored Personnel Carrier. An early version was tested by a number of countries including Great Britain and France. At the beginning of 1967, technical tests and firing trials were carried out with two TRW-6425 prototype cannons followed by the first demonstrations for

2652-400: Was subjected to intensive trials by NATO member countries prior to its introduction and standardization as NATO 25mmx137 ammunition. The current 25x137mm ammunition family consists in different combat (air - ground) and training rounds types as follow: These are the characteristics of the best-known KBA autocannon weapons stations in use and presently in production: VALHALLA MANGART 25 is

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2704-576: Was tested several times at Aberdeen Proving Ground , included was a Military Potential Test from March 1968 to March 1969. Before the U.S. tests were completed the US Army paused the new IFV project due to the Vietnam War situation. At the end of 1969 TRW ceased work on the TRW 6425 cannon. In 1970 the Jet and Ordnance Division of TRW Inc. was closed and Stoner, together with Robert Bihun, launched ARES Inc. As ARES Inc. quickly outgrew Stoner's garage, they moved

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