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Common Questions and Answers (view source)
Revision as of 01:27, 14 March 2022
, 01:27, 14 March 2022→How many rounds did planes carry?/How long could the guns fire?: Add Foonotes, References & Footnotes with Reference
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== Specifications == | == Specifications == | ||
=== How many rounds did planes carry?/How long could the guns fire? === | === How many rounds did planes carry?/How long could the guns fire? === | ||
The most common gun used on American aircraft during World War II was the Browning AN/M2 .50 caliber machine gun. It had a fire rate of 750 to 850 rounds per minute. The number of rounds carried varied based on the type of aircraft and mounting. The P-51D, for example, carried 400 rounds on each of the inboard guns and 270 rounds for each of the center and outboard guns. So a P-51D pilot had a maximum firing time of 30 seconds (400 rpg / [800 rpm / 60 s]) – although four of the six guns would only last just over 20 seconds. | The most common gun used on American aircraft during World War II was the Browning AN/M2 .50 caliber machine gun. It had a fire rate of 750 to 850 rounds per minute.{{efn|The AN/M3 that entered service at the end of the war in 1945 increased this rate of fire to 1,250 rounds per minute.<ref>{{cite web |title=M3 .50 Caliber Machine Gun |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/systems/m3.htm |website=GlobalSecurity.org |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Davidson |first1=Jeff |title=Browning Machine Gun .50 Caliber M2 History |url=http://www.pt103.com/Browning_50_Cal_M2_History.html |website=PT103.com |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> There are three different versions of the M2 (basic, heavy barrel, water cooled for aircraft, antiaircraft, and anti-armor use respectively) and each has a different rate of fire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chinn |first1=George M. |title=The Machine Gun |date=1951 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=8, 335 |chapter-url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/MG/III/MG-V3.pdf |access-date=14 March 2022 |chapter=Volume III, Parts VIII and IX}}</ref> Be aware that some authors may have confused them and as a result report different rates of fire for the P-51s machine guns.}} The number of rounds carried varied based on the type of aircraft and mounting.{{efn|For comparison, the P-51B, with only four guns, carried 350 rounds on each inboard gun and 280 rounds on each outboard gun.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Ethell |editor1-first=Jeffery L. |editor2-last=Watanabe |editor2-first=Rikyu |title=The Great Book of World War II Airplanes |date=1984 |publisher=Bonanza Books |location=New York |page=71}}</ref>}} The P-51D, for example, carried 400 rounds on each of the inboard guns and 270 rounds for each of the center and outboard guns.<ref>{{cite book |title=Pilot Training Manual for the Mustang |page=40}}</ref>{{efn|Postwar, F-51s were apparently modified to carry an additional 100 rounds for each inboard gun, bringing the total to 500 rounds per gun.<ref>{{cite book |title=F-51D Mustang Handbook |date=1973 |publisher=Flying Enterprise Publications |location=Dallas, Texas |page=58}}</ref>}} So a P-51D pilot had a maximum firing time of 30 seconds (400 rpg / [800 rpm / 60 s]) – although four of the six guns would only last just over 20 seconds. | ||
In the Pacific, pilots complained when the new “-4” variant of the F4F was introduced. Compared to the “-3” variant it added two additional guns, bringing the total to six. The additional guns reduced the total number of rounds per gun, and therefore the total firing time. Noted pilot Jimmy Thatch argued that, “the pilot who will miss with four .50-caliber guns won't be able to hit with eight.” | In the Pacific, pilots complained when the new “-4” variant of the F4F was introduced. Compared to the “-3” variant it added two additional guns, bringing the total to six. The additional guns reduced the total number of rounds per gun, and therefore the total firing time.<ref>{{cite report |last1=Buckminster |first1=E. |title=Report of Action for June 4, 1942 and June 6, 1942 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/logs/CV/cv5-Midway.html |access-date=14 March 2022 |date=18 June 1942}}</ref> Noted pilot Jimmy Thatch argued that, “the pilot who will miss with four .50-caliber guns won't be able to hit with eight.”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Symonds |first1=Craig L. |title=The Battle of Midway |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |page=58}}</ref> | ||
== Other Questions == | == Other Questions == | ||