CANNON..The Second World War Aircraft Gun

having found out the molins 57mm cannon had serious reloading issues, due to air passing down the barrel, causing jamming, and unable to fire more than 2-3 rounds? did not the luftwaffe suffer anything similar? when using cannons?

 

Who/ what used the molins 57mm? Seems like an odd number.Used for anti ship? Personnel ?... Air pressure causing problems with jamming? Interesting. I'd like to read up on that. I can see G's causing problems.

 

Ray yes there were feeding problems no so much with the 2cm cannons but with the Mk 108 at first, but also the 3.7 and 5cm cannon used in the bomber destroyer versions in the Bf 110G and Me 410 variants as examples.

 

the mosquito molins, poppy...see my "mossie day out" thread ..ray.
WWII Mossie open day, many pilots attended, location, salisbury hall, london colney... ( 1 2)
sniper1946

 

were the principles of reloading similar then! or very different to the molins rack loading version, Erich..

 

rack and roll - belt fed and then, terrible to point out that jams had of course to be manned by hand if possible. in twin engine units the radio op/rear gunner did this, though most likely it was just left and the pilot used the forward 2cm cannons repairs so to speak could then be done by the black men on the ground

 

could the same be done in the mossie, enough room I mean..but then time is of the essence I suppose..

 

not sure really,, ,,,, ..... would imagine in the combat experience time would not be allowed nor the ease and patience to "kick the gun" into motion by a secondary crew-member.

 

time would'nt allow for unjamming in the heat of battle, and the machine guns would be getting pretty active I would think..I bet the expletives index went up a bit? lol..

 

The 57mm was the British 6-pdr Antitank gun. Great for anti-shipping and bunkers.

 

apart from reloading issues gromit..

 

I think the fairest comparison with the Molins would be the 75mm mounted in the nose of some B-25s, and possibly the 50mm in one or two Me262s....

The Molins feed was gravity-assisted and Des Curtis' book on 618 Squadron describes the clamking and grinding noises after firing, as the machinery re-loaded for the next shot ( very low-tech ! ). Wasn't aware of the air-pressure issues, I must admit.

I think that most WWII aircraft cannon suffered from feed problems at some stage ( certainly the British Hispano in the Battle of Britain did, the pilots reverted to .303s at their own request ). When you think of the cramped conditions in those aircraft, it's amazing that the armaments designers achieved what they did......

 

thanks for that extra info, martin. apreciated, ray..

 

I looked at the full pic of the Molins and wondered about that feed mechanism. How many rounds would it hold? Maybe a large spring could have helped feed ammo....To hear anyone would request a .303 rather than an explosive cannon round says a lot.

 

I doubt that it would ahve made any difference poppy, with that amount of pressure forced thro the barrel...
#21 (permalink)
June 27th, 2010, 10:58 AM
sniper1946
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Re: WWII Mossie open day, many pilots attended, location, salisbury hall, london colney...

 

Interesting cannon, Here is an impressiv view onto the nose of an B25 with a 75mm cannon. Picture taken from: Waffen Revue Nr. 46.

Regards

Ulrich

 

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZZGaEEi8Ek[/YOUTUBE]

 

My request is for someone to dissect the various kinds of Cannon Shells / Incendiary Shells / Bullets produced during WW2
and describe the purpose of these designs versus the various types of bullets used in air to air and air to ground warfare.

RAF pilots complained at length about the poor effect of bullets during the early stages of the war, while waxing lyrical about the effectiveness of cannon in dealing with thin skinned aircraft.
- noting particularly their claims of Luftwaffe superiority in this technology.

_______________

Artillery Cannons (with higher muzzle projectile velocity resulting from 20 calibers barrel lengths) have superior range than howitzers
- but its lower maximum elevation and flatter trajectory restricts its use to unobstructed terrain.

 

You mean something like this: The WWII Fighter Gun Debate: Gun Tables

 

First class response! txn Takao!
I have Google Searched for decades, worn out my welcome at the local Library Help Desk looking for this. Terrific!

PS:
The "Like" and "Salute" Buttons seem to have disappeared today - replaced by the "Add to this person's Reputation" which I have not noticed / seen for years...
So saluted you the best I could!

Mosquito Cannon, Gun camera and Rocket Projectile footage.
Man those 6 pounder Cannon shells were just massive!

[video=youtube;QndLmfp6Y5w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QndLmfp6Y5w[/video]