Fire urchin (2 photos) Bashny.Net

The history of the prototype:
& Quot; ... in 1944. Head Brigade weapons Tupolev AV Nadashkevich and lead engineer S. Saveliev suggested using sub-machine guns at the design G.S.Shpagina ground attack enemy infantry columns. For this purpose, we designed the platform on which secured 88 machines PCA (11 rows of 8 barrels each).
The entire system is called "battery PCA." Each machine had a shop with a 71-caliber cartridges 7 and 62 mm. In a combat situation the battery is rigidly mounted in the bomb bay of the Tu-2. When attacking the pilot opened the shutters bomootseka and with a special sight led heavy fire on the enemy.
To recharge platform SCB dropped down on ropes.



decision to install such systems at two Tu-2C was made at a meeting with the Chief Air Marshal AA Novikov October 10, 1944
Ten days later, Major-General IAS Tupolev appealed to the chief engineer of Air Force Colonel-General IAS A.K.Repinu requested to order the separation plant №156 180 pieces PCA sample in 1941 with the provisions of the amount of disk stores and 15,000 rounds of ammunition to them.
At the beginning of February 1946 Battery PCA received the informal name "fire hedgehog", has passed flight tests at the site. They showed it more effective, however, a powerful barrage of fire was short-lived, and the need to return to base to recharge the machine nullify its advantages. As a result, find it more appropriate to use to destroy enemy personnel bomblets, are placed in cassettes ... & quot;

Battery of 88 PCA (SMG Shpagin) in the bomb bay of the Tu-2S, 1945.