M61A1 (20 mm)

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

General info

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Available ammunition

• Default: HEF-I · API-T · AP-I
• Air targets: HEF-I · HEF-I · API-T · HEF-I · HEF-I · AP-I
• Armored targets: API-T · AP-I · AP-I · AP-I · HEF-I
• Stealth: HEF-I · AP-I · AP-I

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	53	50	39	28	20	14
Air targets	53	50	39	28	20	14
Armored targets	53	50	39	28	20	14
Stealth	53	50	39	28	20	14

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

Cons:

History

The M61A1 is a variant of the M61 Vulcan.

The original M61 was fed by linked 20 mm shells. However, the high rate of fire caused issues with the links that caused malfunctions during the feeding of the gun. The M61 ejection also caused issue as the large number of shell casings and links can present the risk foreign object damage to the fast-moving jet's engine. These issues were resolved with the development of a linkless feeding system, with ammo moved into a conveyer belt that feeds the gun. Some installation of this feeding system can also attach a second conveyer belt moving the spent casings back into the ammo storage area so that they do not need to be ejected. The M61 with this new feeding system was designated the M61A1 and became the primary version of the Vulcan.

The M61 and M61A1 would initially serve as the main gun armament of most of the United States Air Force interceptors such as the F-104, F-105, and F-106. However, as the Vietnam War raged showed the value that a gun armament has on aerial combat, the M61 proliferated and aircraft not originally using the cannon were either modified to accept the M61 cannon in the fuselage or mounted externally in gun pods. Today, many of the "teen-series" of fighter jets in use by the US Air Force and Navy has the M61 or its variants as their main gun armament.

Media

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See also

• M61 (20 mm)
• JM61A1 (20 mm) - Japanese variant

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

References

Citations

Bibliography

• F-16.net. n.d. "M61 A1 Vulcan: 20mm gatling gun system." Accessed January 06, 2022. Website (Archive)
• Pike, John and Robert Sherman. 2000. "GAU-4 20mm Vulcan M61A1/M61A2 20mm Automatic Gun." FAS Military Analysis Network. Last modified April 23, 2000. Webpage (Archive).

Britain aircraft cannons
20 mm	Hispano Mk.I · Hispano Mk.II · Hispano Mk.V · Oerlikon KAD-B
25 mm	ADEN 25
30 mm	ADEN · ADEN Mk.4
40 mm	Rolls-Royce Type BH · Vickers S
47 mm	Vickers P
57 mm	Molins Class M
	Foreign:
20 mm	GI2 (South Africa) · Hispano 404 (France) · M61A1 (USA)
27 mm	Akan m/85 (Sweden) · Mauser BK27 (Germany)
30 mm	M230E-1 (USA)