M39 cannon

The M39 cannon was a 20 mm caliber single-barreled revolver cannon developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s. It was used on a number of fighter aircraft from the early 1950s through the 1980s.

Development

The M39 was developed by the Springfield Armory, based on the World War II–era design of the German Mauser MG 213, a 20 mm (and 30 mm) cannon developed for the Luftwaffe, which did not see combat use. The same design inspired the British ADEN cannon and the French DEFA, but American designers chose a smaller 20 mm round to increase the weapon's rate of fire and muzzle velocity at the expense of hitting power. The 20x102mm round was later chosen by France for the M621 cannon.

Initially designated the T-160, the new gun was installed for combat testing on a number of F-86 Sabre aircraft under the "GunVal" program in late 1952, and used in action over Korea in early 1953. It was subsequently adopted as standard armament of the F-86H fighter-bomber, F-100 Super Sabre, F-101A and F-101C Voodoo, and the F-5 Freedom Fighter. Current models of the F-5 Tiger II still use the M39A2 version of this weapon. The M39A2 was introduced in 1964

SCREENSHOOT

SPECIFICATION
Type Single-barrel Autocannon
Place of origin  United States
Service history
In service 1952 - Present
Production history
Designer Ford Motor Company
Designed 1951
Manufacturer Pontiac, Ford, and others
Number built 35,500+
Variants M39, M39A1, M39A2, M39A3
Specifications
Weight 80.9 kg (178.5 lb)
Length 1.83 m

Caliber 20 mm (0.787 in) × 102 mm
Action five-chamber revolver
Rate of fire 1,500 rpm
Muzzle velocity 1,030 m/s (3,300 ft/s)

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