The M242 25mm Chain gun

A chain gun is a type of machine gun or autocannon that uses an external source of power, rather than recoil, to cycle the weapon. "Chain gun" is a registered trademark of McDonnell Douglas. Image File history File links Line drawing of the M242 25mm Bushmaster Chain gun. ... Image File history File links Line drawing of the M242 25mm Bushmaster Chain gun. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... M242 Bushmaster autocannon on an M2 Bradley. ... The recoil when firing a gun is the backward momentum of a gun, which is equal to the forward momentum of the bullet or shell, due to conservation of momentum. ... DC-10, retired from American Airlines fleet at gate McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ...

The primary advantage of chain-driven weapons over their recoil-actuated counterparts is their reliability. Rather than being dependent upon recoil to actuate the system, a chain gun instead depends on an external motor. The motor drives the chain, which slides the bolt assembly back and forth to load, fire, extract and eject cartridges. Since the speed of the motor controls how fast the weapon fires, another advantage of the chain gun is its ability to accurately control the rate of fire. Some firearms A firearm is a kinetic energy mechanical device that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ... The recoil when firing a gun is the backward momentum of a gun, which is equal to the forward momentum of the bullet or shell, due to conservation of momentum. ... Electric motors of various sizes. ... Rimmed, centerfire . ...

In the case of a round not firing properly, the chain gun continues on, ejecting it along with the spent casings. In a recoil-actuated weapon, a misfire can cause serious problems, especially in the case of fully automatic weapons.

Examples

The most commonly produced and used chain gun is the M242 Bushmaster. Versions of its 25mm action are found on ships (the Mk38), Infantry fighting vehicles (the M2 Bradley), and LAV-25 around the world. Other examples of chain guns include the M230 30mm Cannon, which is standard equipment on the Apache helicopter, as well as the Bushmaster II 30mm, and the Bushmaster III 35/50mm Chain gun. Caliber: 25 mm NATO Firearm action: Chain gun Manufactured by: ATK Barrel Length: 85. ... Caliber: 25 mm NATO Firearm action: Chain gun Manufactured by: ATK Barrel Length: 85. ... A Warrior vehicle with UN markings, during the making of the eponymous film. ... General Characteristics (M2 Bradley) Length: 21 ft 2 in (6. ... Piranha-derived LAV25 in USMC service Piranha-derived 6 wheeled Cougar AVGP, mounting a low-pressure 76mm cannon, in Canadian service Prototype of a Mobile Gun System derivative of the Piranha, mounting a 105mm tank gun Piranha-derived Stryker, clad with a supplementary anti-HEAT slat armour Canadian Forces Piranha... The Hughes M230 Chain Gun is a 30 mm automatic cannon developed and manufactured by Hughes (McDonnell Douglas). ... AGM-114 Hellfire and Hydra 70 The Boeing IDS AH-64 Apache Helicopter is the US Armys principal attack helicopter, the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. ... A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more large horizontal rotors (propellers). ...

It is a common misnomer to refer to Gatling guns (rotary cannons) as chain guns. Certain Gatling guns do use a chain gun mechanism, however all Gatling guns are not inherently chain-powered weapons. Weapons such as the M61 Vulcan, the M197, the M134, and the XM214 are chain-powered Gatling guns. Gatling gun illustrated in an 1885 encyclopedia in Swedish The Gatling gun was the first successful machine gun. ... Mounted Vulcan The 20mm M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically driven, six-barreled, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling gun with an extremely high rate of fire. ... The M197 electric cannon is a three-barreled electric Gatling gun developed primarily for use by US Army helicopter gunships. ... A minigun is a fully-automatic multi-barreled machine gun with a high rate of fire, employing Gatling style rotating barrels to prevent overheating. ...

External links

• U. S. Army TACOM-RI

Sources

• U. S. Army Field Manual 3-22.1