M61 Vulcan
Sign in to saveAlso known as Vulcan, T171, M61, General Electric M61 Vulcan, General Electric Vulcan
20 mm gatling type rotary cannon
Key facts
- Type
- Rotary cannon
- Place of origin
- United States
- In service
- 1959–present
- Used by
- United States, some NATO members, Japan , South Korea , Saudi Arabia , and others
- Wars
- Vietnam War Iran–Iraq War Gulf War War in Afghanistan Iraq War War in Iraq (2013–2017) Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate Russo-Ukrainian War
- Designer
- General Electric
- Manufacturer
- General Dynamics , Sumitomo Heavy Industries , SNT Dynamics
- Variants
- See below
- Mass
- M61A1: 248 lb (112 kg) M61A2: 202 lb (92 kg) (light barrel), 228 lb (103 kg) (heavy barrel)
- Length
- 71.93 in (1.827 m)
- Barrel length
- 59.8 in (1.52 m)
- Cartridge
- 20×102mm Vulcan
- Caliber
- 20 mm (0.8 in)
- Barrels
- 6-barrel (progressive RH parabolic twist, 9 grooves)
- Action
- Hydraulically operated , electrically fired, rotary cannon
- Rate of fire
- 6,000 rounds per minute
- Muzzle velocity
- 3,450 ft/s (1,050 m/s) with PGU-28/B round
- Effective firing range
- About 9,842 ft (3,000 m)
via Wikipedia infobox
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm caliber rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute). The M61 and its derivatives have been the principal cannon armament of United States military fixed-wing aircraft for over forty years, as of the turn of century.
Designed in 1946 by General Electric, the Vulcan entered service with the U.S. military in 1959. As of 2000, it was produced by General Dynamics. It is also manufactured under license in Japan by Sumitomo Heavy Industries for Japan's Self-Defense Force and by SNT Dynamics in South Korea.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “M61 Vulcan” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.