How the USAF reloads the largest combat jet gun in the planet

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Ns1

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
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lol that pic next to the beetle is classic.

GAU-8_meets_VW_Type_1.jpg


and I've read the wiki on the GAU-8 more than once - badass.
 
RPD

RPD

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
5,042
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How many rounds does the airplane carry, which would answer me next question, how long can it fire the flying gun for?
 
Ns1

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
RPD said:
How many rounds does the airplane carry, which would answer me next question, how long can it fire the flying gun for?
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II#Weapons

Although the A-10 can carry considerable disposable stores, its primary built-in weapon is the 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling-type cannon. One of the most powerful aircraft cannon ever flown, it fires large depleted uranium armor-piercing shells. In the original design, the pilot could switch between two rates of fire: 2,100 or 4,200 rounds per minute;[62] this was changed to a fixed rate of 3,900 rounds per minute.[63] The cannon takes about half a second to come up to speed, so 50 rounds are fired during the first second, 65 or 70 rounds per second thereafter. The gun is accurate enough to place 80 percent of its shots within a 40-foot (12.4 m) diameter circle from 4,000 feet (1,220 m) while in flight.[64] The GAU-8 is optimized for a slant range of 4,000 feet (1,220 m) with the A-10 in a 30-degree dive.[65]

The fuselage of the aircraft is built around the cannon. The GAU-8/A is mounted slightly to the port side; the barrel in the firing location is on the starboard side at the 9 o'clock position so it is aligned with the aircraft's centerline. The gun's 5-foot, 11.5-inch (1.816 m) ammunition drum can hold up to 1,350 rounds of 30 mm ammunition,[51] but generally holds 1,174 rounds.[65] To prevent enemy fire from causing the GAU-8/A rounds to fire prematurely, armor plates of differing thicknesses between the aircraft skin and the drum are designed to detonate incoming shells.[51][56] A final armor layer around the drum protects it from fragmentation damage. The gun is loaded by Syn-Tech's linked tube carrier GFU-7/E 30 mm ammunition loading assembly cart.
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Z

zanemoseley

Senior member
Feb 27, 2011
530
23
81
Pretty amazing they can hit targets at 4000 feet while compensating for the huge recoil generated by those rounds on a flying aircraft. Not what you wanna see coming if you're a tank operator.
 
John Connor

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,757
617
121
The A-10 is so freaking awesome! I guess people don't like its looks, but I like the way it looks.
 
OutHouse

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
1989 i was on the Nellis AFB flightline and we got a call over the radio that a A-10 was inbound with a hung bomb. not a uncommon call out normally it justmeans the hooks didnt release and the plane was landing with live muntions which is not advised. But this call was not the norm. As the plane got in the downwind pattern we were looking at it with our binocs as it entered downwind pattern. we saw that the front hook released but the rear hook did not.

the bomb nose had drooped 12 inches or so which pulled the arming wire which allows the propeller to spin arming the firing pin. not good. that pilot sat that plane down so gentle and with such skill that it still amazes me. the plane stopped, cockpit canopy opens, ladder drops down and the pilot climbs out. he takes one look at the bomb and HAULS ASS running to us. that plane sat out there for hours until EOD got a game plan.



another incident i remember is it was a friday night and a crew chief on a A-10 noticed that there was live round stuck in the 30mm cannon. big safty issue since the flight line was packed with 150 or so aircraft of all types. NOBODY was stepping forward to get a tug to move it. then they start calling pilots to fire it up and move it. nope, its friday night in vegas they are all shitfaced. so some brave TSgt got in a tug, hooked it up, and moved it to the end of the ramp and pointed it at Sunrise Mountain. it stayed that way until monday. lol.
 
MongGrel

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,466
3,067
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Warthogs were on the cutting board not long ago to do things like the F35.

Depleted Uranium shells really mess a tank up. Well TOW missiles also, well about anything pylon mounted, and pretty amazing in ways some have even stayed in the air after major structural damage, too...

Of course it is a jet.
 
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JoeBleed

JoeBleed

Golden Member
Jun 27, 2000
1,408
30
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OutHouse said:
the plane stopped, cockpit canopy opens, ladder drops down and the pilot climbs out. he takes one look at the bomb and HAULS ASS running to us.
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I want to imagine that pilot making a Homer Simpson scream just as he sees the bomb and just before he starts to run away.
 
John Connor

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,757
617
121
NesuD said:
Turbofans are in fact a type of jet engine.
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Indeed.

The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the turbo portion refers to a gas turbine engine which takes mechanical energy from combustion,[1] and the fan, a ducted fan that uses the mechanical energy from the gas turbine to accelerate air rearwards.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbofan
 
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