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 in use today. Copies and derivatives of these designs were used by the Germans, French, British and Japanese weapon manufacturers. American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... The design of the Oerlikon 20mm cannon, by Reinhold Becker dates back to 1914, and is still in use today, after having been used extensively during the Second World War. ... M242 Bushmaster autocannon on an M2 Bradley. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

American versions such as the Mk 4, Mk 10, and Mk 24, were used extensively from the World War II era to the of Vietnam era. Originally used as anti-aircraft weapons by the U.S. Navy, they were frequently the last line of defense against kamikaze attacks. Most combat ships from aircraft carriers to PT boats were equipped with Oerlikon guns. In Vietnam they were widely employed by riverine forces as anti-personnel weapons. They remained in service until the 1970s when they were replaced by the Mk 16 20 mm cannon. Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Navy Kamikaze pilot with the rank of Lieutenant (Chui) receives orders, pilots stand at attention in formation. ... Two aircraft carriers, USS (left), and HMS Illustrious (right), showing the difference in size between a supercarrier and a light V/STOL aircraft carrier. ... PT boats in line A PT boat was a motor torpedo boat (hull classification symbol PT), a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. ... Riverboat of the U.S. brownwater navy deploying napalm during the Vietnam War Brown water navy is a term in American naval jargon referring to actions in near shore and riverine environments. ... An anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to injure or kill people. ...

Oerlikon was established in 1906 in Switzerland in the machine tool industry. In 1923 it acquired a factory in Germany. It entered the anti-aircraft defence field in 1924. In 1936 it founded a purely anti-aircraft development company called Contraves (Latin for against birds). 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Nowadays the company is known as Oerlikon-Contraves and employs 2,100 worldwide with a yearly turnover of 522 million Swiss francs. Oerlikon is now a subsidiary of Rheinmetall-DeTec AG, the big German armament manufacturer. ISO 4217 Code CHF User(s) Switzerland, Liechtenstein Inflation rate 1. ... Rheinmetall is a German defense company with factories in Düsseldorf and Unterlüß. It has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces, such as the WW2 88 mm gun. ...

External link

• Official site (redirects to Rheinmetall)
• Official site (Canada, North America)
• Rheinmetall-DeTec, parent company