M61 Vulcan
From the Metal Gear Wiki
| M61 Vulcan | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name | M61 Vulcan |
| Origin |  United States
|
| Manufacturer | General Dynamics |
| Appearances | MGS1 (Vulcan Raven only) |
| Weight | 248 lb (112 kg) (excluding feed system) |
| Length | 73.8 in (1.88 m) |
| Caliber | 20 mm (0.787 in) |
| Barrels | 6 |
| Action | Hydraulically operated, electrically fired, Gatling |
| Muzzle Velocity | 3,450 ft/s (1,050 m/s) (with PGU-28/B round) |
| Feed System | Belt or linkless feed system |
The M61 Vulcan is a 20 mm hydraulically or pneumatically driven, six-barreled, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style cannon with an extremely high rate of fire. It has been the principal cannon armament of United States military aircraft for five decades. The M61 was originally produced by General Electric, and after several mergers and acquisitions is currently produced by General Dynamics.
[edit] Devolopment
At the end of World War II, the United States Army began to consider new directions for future military aircraft guns. The higher speeds of jet-engined fighter aircraft meant that achieving an effective number of hits would be extremely difficult without a much higher volume of fire. While captured German designs (principally the Mauser MG213C) showed the potential of the single-barrel revolver cannon, the practical rate of fire of such a design was still limited by ammunition feed and barrel wear concerns. The Army wanted something better, combining extremely high rate of fire with exceptional reliability.
In response to this requirement, General Electric Armament Division resurrected an old idea: the multi-barrel Gatling gun. The original Gatling gun had fallen out of favor because of the need for an external power source to rotate the barrel assembly, but the new generation of turbojet-powered fighters offered sufficient electrical power to operate the gun, and electric operation offered superior reliability to a gas operated weapon. With multiple barrels, the rate of fire per barrel could be lower than a single-barrel revolver cannon while still giving a superior total rate of fire.
The M61 Vulcan Raven used as his weapon of choice in the video game Metal Gear Solid was the M61A1 with a customized mounting that let Raven carry it as a personal weapon. The presented fact he was capable of lifting the heavy, 248-pound gun, power supply, and heavy ammo drum (which all in all should weigh as much as a car) by himself and can withstand the recoil which should be like a jackhammer is an incredible testament to his strength.
