The M197 electric cannon is a three-barreled electric Gatling gun developed primarily for use by US Army helicopter gunships. Gatling gun illustrated in an 1885 encyclopedia in Swedish The Gatling gun was the first successful machine gun. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more large horizontal rotors (propellers). ... The term gunship is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light vessel armed with heavy guns. ...

Development

Development of the M197 began in 1967 after experience in the Vietnam War revealed the inadequacy of the 7.62mm Minigun for gunship use. The M197 is essentially a lightened version of the General Electric M61 Vulcan cannon, with three barrels instead of six. Its maximum rate of fire is one quarter that of the Vulcan, largely to limit its recoil for light aircraft and helicopter use. It shares the Vulcan's M50 and PGU series 20mm ammunition. Image File history File links m197 gattling gun from [www. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from Canadian Golden Centennaires aerobatic team is formed and performs all year to celebrate the Canadian centennial year. ... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and their allies — notably the United States military in support of... A minigun A minigun is a multi-barreled machine gun with a high rate of fire, employing Gatling style rotating barrels. ... Mounted Vulcan The 20 mm M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically driven, six-barreled, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling gun with an extremely high rate of fire. ... Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ...

The M197 went into service on later marks of the AH-1 Cobra, and was also fitted in a ventral turret on the USMC OV-10D Bronco. It is also the basis of the GPU-2 gun pod, which incorporates the cannon, a battery and electric drive motor, and 300 rounds of linkless ammunition. AH-1W SuperCobra of the U.S. Marines The AH-1 Cobra, usually called the Huey Cobra, is an attack helicopter, designed by Bell Helicopter Textron. ... Turret (highlighted) attached to a tower on a baronial building in Scotland In architecture, a turret (from Italian: torretta, little tower; Latin: turris, tower) is a small tower that projects from the wall of a building, such as a medieval castle or baronial house. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is a turboprop-driven light attack and cargo aircraft. ... A gun pod is a detachable external pod or pack allowing one or more machine guns or automatic cannon to be carried by a military aircraft. ... Four double-A (AA) batteries In science and technology, a battery is a device that stores energy and makes it available in an electrical form. ...

In the Cobra, the weapon is supplied with a magazine of 700 linked rounds. It has a cyclic rate of fire of 730 rounds per minute (± 50 rounds). Standard practice is to fire the cannon in 100-round bursts, allowing several minutes of cooling time between bursts.

The M197 remains in use in the latest AH-1W and AH-1Z Cobra gunships. Although the weapon's rotary drive is theoretically quite reliable, its ammunition feed has been anything but: Marine pilots report an alarmingly high jam rate (sometimes greater than 30%). The USMC and the manufacturer are aware of the problem, but no specific fix has been incorporated on the AH-1Z. In the meantime, crews have been trained in techniques intended to minimize the risk of jamming.

The weapon's current contractor is General Dynamics Armament Systems. General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) is a defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures. ...

Specifications

• Type: three-barrel rotary cannon
• Caliber: 20 mm (0.79 in)
• Operation: hydraulically operated, electrically fired
• Length: 83.2 in (2.11 m)
• Weight (complete): 132 lb (60 kg)
• Rate of fire: 300 - 1500 rounds per minute
• Muzzle velocity: 3,400 ft/s (1,036 m/s)
• Projectile weight: 3.5 oz (100 g)

Gatling gun illustrated in an 1885 encyclopedia in Swedish The Gatling gun was the first successful machine gun. ... Hydraulics is a branch of science and engineering concerned with the use of liquids to perform mechanical tasks. ...

External Links

GlobalSecurity.org M197

• Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide