The MG FF was a drum-fed 20 mm aircraft cannon developed in 1936 by Oerlikon and license-produced in Germany. The MG FF was designed for use at fixed or flexible mountings in Luftwaffe aircraft during World War II.
It had some seriouse disadvantages like low RoF and muzzle velocity as well as being drum-fed. Wing installation on Bf 109 and Fw 190 was not easy as the drum needed lots of space thus limiting the ammo storage to ~60 shots. The current knowledge is that a better drum with a 90-round nominal capacity was developed for Fw190A-5 and retrofitted to some earlier variants. There were also experiments with belt feed.
The MG FF was improved to fire a high explosive mine shot (Minengeschoß) with thinner walls but carried more explosives. This projectile was lighter and generated less recoil than earlier projectiles requiring the cannon was modified to the MG FF/M in Summer 1940.
The MG FF and FF/M saw widespread use in fighters like Bf 109E, early Bf 109F, Bf 110 C to F and Fw 190A-2 to A-5 as well as in some bombers like Do 217, He 111 and many other aircraft. It was often replaced with the 20 mm Mg 151/20 during 1943 but saw a come-back as primary Schräge Musik gun in the Bf 110 night fighters as it perfectly fits into the rear cockpit. A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage ????? Cannon also refers to a large, smooth-bored, muzzle-loading gun used before the advent of breech-loading, rifled guns firing explosive shells. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Oerlikon is a Swiss anti-aircraft artillery manufacturer made famous by its Oerlikon 20 mm autocannon design of 1914, used in the First and Second World Wars, and still today. ... The Luftwaffe â–¶(?) (German: air force, IPA: [luftvafÉ™]) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest... The Dornier Do 217 was a World War II medium bomber designed from scratch as a replacement for the venerable Dornier Do 17. ... The Heinkel He 111 was the primary Luftwaffe medium bomber during the early stages of World War II, and is perhaps the most obvious symbol of the German side of the Battle of Britain. ... The MG 151 (MG 151/15) was a 15 mm cannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser starting in 1940. ... Schräge Musik installation in Ju 88G Schräge Musik, derived from the German propaganda word for Jazz Music (literally, slanting music, in the context it means something like immoral or dubious music), was the name given to installations of upward-firing cannons mounted in night fighters by the Luftwaffe... The Messerschmitt Bf 110 (later Me 110) was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Later in the war it was changed to fighter-bomber and night fighter operations, and it became the major night fighter type of the Luftwaffe. ...

Technical Data

• Weight : 26.3 kg
• Length : 1.37 m
• Muzzle Velocity : 575 to 700 m/s [1]
• Rate of Fire : 520 to 540 rounds per minute [1]
• Round types: armor piercing (AP), high explosive (HE)
  • HE(M) high explosive mine shot (only MG FF/M)

[1] depending on ammo type used

More detailed info can be found here http://prodocs.netfirms.com/ under "WEAPONS INFO (type,speed,filling)"

See Also:

• List of firearms
• List of common WW2 weapons