Seven-barrel 30mm cannon GAU-8A Bashny.Net

So how do you trick? At first I thought some sort of joke, photoshop, model. Especially I thought that was on the back of the barrel!



Development 30mm seven-barreled cannon GAU-8A was launched by General Electric in 1971. The gun was designed specifically for the A-10A attack aircraft. In February, 1974 by General Electric started manufacturing pre-production party cannon GAU-8A. In May 1975 it was successfully completed flight test firing a gun GAU-8A. Test results showed that the installation and use of the gun on the A-10A does not adversely affect the controllability of the aircraft. One of the key factors to be checked for compatibility tests with the aircraft gun, the recoil force is the impact of the plane with the shooting. According to calculations of the power of the recoil the gun must have been about 7700 kg, when in fact it is firing tests was approximately 6800 kg.

During the tests, shots were fired from the high and low rate of fire at flight speeds 300-740 km / h at an altitude of between 850 and 3900 m, and up to four aircraft overloads.



During tests carried out on Nellis AFB in Nevada were performed 24 attack aircraft A call-10A 15 types of targets, seven of which were destroyed, and the rest destroyed. Shooting was conducted with the rate in 2000 Venue / min and 4200 Venue / min at a distance of 1800 m. It is worth noting that the data from the American press, and, accordingly, does not exclude the possibility of misinformation. In addition, pilots studied in detail the training ground, tanks were motionless, perfect weather, no counteraction fire or passive (setting smoke screens) Lprotivnik╕ not provided.



The gun GAU-8A is located along the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and is biased to the left side at 0, 3 m. It works on the principle Gatling has a hydraulic drive and an external supply system bezzvenevuyu cartridges. Store drum holds 1350 rounds.

Spent cartridges are going on board the plane in the drum-type container and can be reused. Formed by firing the powder gases must not enter the engine air intake, so the gun placed in the forward fuselage and the engines are moved to the rear. However, during the (March 1974) of flight test firing a gun GAU-8A, installed on the aircraft A-10A, three observed abnormal operation of aircraft engines due to ingress of powder gases from the fire. Representatives of the company believe that the problem is not serious and can be corrected by setting the equalizer on a plane for deflecting powder gases in the direction.



For a more complete combustion of the propellant composition within the barrel (to prevent after-burning propellant gases to the aircraft) is added to it potassium nitrate. This additive is introduced into a propellant composition, or in a separate plastic bag is put into the socket.

The gun GAU-8A is available in two versions: for single and double A-10A aircraft. Compared with single aircraft gun system to store ammunition guns designed for twin, shortened from 492 to 408 mm.

Drive barrel unit and the power supply system is powered by two hydraulic motors that use hydraulic system of the aircraft. Both engines with power output of 77 hp at (57, 4 kW), necessary for shooting at a maximum rate of fire. If one of the motors fails, then the firing is performed at a speed of 2100 Venue / min.



On the constructive perfection of gun GAU-8A can be judged by the value of such an important characteristic, as a percentage of the mass of the mass of the entire projectile gun mount. It reaches 32% (from M61A1 gun is only 19%). This has been achieved through the introduction of aluminum liners for the place of steel and brass. The outfits also have plastic driving bands, the use of which increases the operating shafts.



Power guns manufactured high-explosive and armor-piercing ammunition:
high-explosive shells PGU-13 / B equipped with standard fuses M505, 56 gr. explosive and self-killer oskolkoobrazuyuschim material effective against lightly armored vehicles and fortified settlements; the initial velocity of 1080 m / c, the weight of the cartridge 890 gr., shell weight 363 gr., effective range at ground targets 3000 meters
piercing armor-piercing projectiles PGU-14 / B are made of depleted uranium, the initial velocity of 1250 m / s. Piercing projectiles at a distance of 1200 meters on a normal hit 50-mm armor
Training ammunition PGU-15 / B ballistics reproduce high-explosive shells

Standard ammunition is 1100 mm PF-30 and armor-piercing shells at a ratio of 1: 4. Ie One projectile fragmentation fugany account for 4 shells of depleted uranium. Shells PGU-14 / B are the main weapons in combat.



Depleted uranium is the result of natural uranium, used as fuel in nuclear reactors. Natural uranium consists primarily of a mixture of two isotopes uranium-235 (U235) and 238 (Uran238) in a ratio of 0.7 and 99.3. For reactors requires Uranium-235 thus produced enriched uranium-235 by U-238. Uranium-238 becomes depleted (DU), its radioactivity is 70% of natural uranium. Half-life of DU 4, 5 billion years. Each shell contains about 300 grams. Shelter, the rest is made of titanium.



During "Operation Desert Storm" attack aircraft A-10 US Air Force used the shells PGU-14 / B. 148 aircraft based in Saudi Arabia, carried out 8077 sorties. It spent 783,514 projectile PGU-14 / B. Based on the fact that each shell contains about 300 grams. depleted uranium, the US Air Force scattered over the Gulf about 259 tons of DU.

Loading bezzvenvyh ammunition - the function of a specialized ground-based ALS (Ammunition Loading System). ALS resembles a drum store and supply system GAU-8 cannon. Loading and unloading of new shells used is carried out simultaneously. Recharge time composes about 13 minutes.

Shooting Mode GAU-8A at the maximum rate - ten two-second bursts with a minute cooling (air) between bursts.



When operating the aircraft A-10A has been found that when shooting from a gun powder gases are sucked into the engine and dogorevshie powder particles are deposited on the blades of the fan and compressor motor. Accumulation of unburned particles after every 1000 shots reduces engine power by 1%. The total reduction in thrust from nastrelom reached 10%, which increases the probability of failure flow compressor blades and engines.

To the engine is not stalled by firing a gun in the engines of the aircraft A-10A in 1981 were integrated ignition device ignites the powder particles pedogorevshih. As a result of the accumulation of the particles of powder are largely prevented. Electric circuit ignition device is activated at the same time by pressing the shooting and remains on for 30 seconds after the cessation of the firing. After the introduction of the ignition device of the engine in the aircraft operational and test flights are not glohli (shot about 400 thousand. Shots).

To reduce the likelihood of disruption to the flow of compressor blades during training flights of aircraft A-10A were introduced following limitations:
Shooting a gun is permitted only in short bursts and only the low (2100 rds. / min) rate of
mandatory flushing the engine after every 2600-3000 shots with soapy water to remove soot from the blades of the fan and compressor





• For the first time the United States used shells with depleted uranium during the "Gulf War" in 1991. Defending Kuwait by Iraqi troops, the Americans generously land of the Middle East highly toxic uranium cores. Then we say that in the sands of Kuwait and Iraq rested more than 300 tons of uranium cores. Many experts, this fact seemed strange because the American army in the first Iraq war has produced more than 14 thousand. Projectiles of 105-mm and 120-mm tank guns, and dropped to the ground nearly a million 30-mm aircraft shells.

• It is known that uranium shells used primarily against enemy armored vehicles (mainly heavy), but such an impressive amount of ammunition could destroy multiple armored vehicles throughout the Middle East, and not only of Iraq. Why was this necessary?

• A number of astute experts suggested that the task of the US military was only to dispose of uranium waste, burying them in the desert far from the US local deserts. Therefore, most of the shells flew issued not some specific goal and past.



• Some researchers believe that the syndrome of the Gulf War, which consists in a mass disease of American and British soldiers who took part in "Operation Desert Storm" in 1991, associated with radiation exposure. Thousands of American and British soldiers, past the first Iraq war, after his discharge from the army began to have serious health problems. And not only them.

• Researchers detect various defects in children of veterans of the Persian Gulf War of 1991 and make judgments about what leukemia, genetic, reproductive and neurological adverse effects could be caused by constant exposure of their parents. Themselves veterans of the war in the Persian Gulf directly link their health problems, and they know the problems with co-workers stay far away from the areas of the use of weapons with depleted uranium. However, all claims cases US and British governments have rejected. The courts referred to the fact that there is no scientifically proven link between depleted uranium and the illness or otherwise.

• Since the beginning of the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the US and its allies in the North Atlantic Alliance once again began to actively use the bombs with uranium cores. NATO commanders have been forced to admit the use of uranium-bearing warheads in 2000 alone. Hide the evidence was impossible: if NATO troops involved in the war in the Balkans, in droves developed cancer, and the locals living in the area bombing, significantly increased mortality and increased the number of congenital diseases in children.



A scandal erupted. Fragments of uranium cores taken from the then Yugoslavia in Russia and found a terrible discovery: In addition to depleted uranium have been a radioactive weapon - plutonium and elements such as U-236, U-234, U-232. In other words, NATO deliberately exposed to radiation civilians in a country that did not attack them.

• Scaring evil tyrants the world, ready to use weapons of mass destruction against his people, the Americans actually do use these weapons against civilians in other countries. Over the past 20 years, the US organizing wars around the world and using them as a universal excuse for his subsequent intervention disposed of thousands of kilometers from their territories (in Kuwait, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Libya), according to official data, at least 400 tons of nuclear waste production. Although it is likely to be much longer.

• The use of DU weapons has affected the health of people living in the Gulf and the Balkans. In Serbia, Iraq and Afghanistan has long been the extremely high incidence and genetic disorders. Today, the birth of apparently healthy child, for example in Iraq, is considered a great happiness. Sick children are born in the families of the US military, swallowed this deadly dust in the wars they waged against other nations. Now, Libyans and their descendants will divide the tragic fate of Iraqi civilians and Serbs.