Loading of guns on US fighter aircraft

[Venomstick121]

How were wing and nose mounted guns and cannons loaded?

A bit off topic but just occurred to me, how were munitions ejected such as a bomb off a pylon? Was it a clip or something else?

 

[cvairwerks]

Wing and fuselage gun loading is highly dependent upon the particular installation. Typically, filled cans were installed and then leader linked belts were attached and fed thru the feed housings to the guns. Some fixed installations, the loose rounds were fed into the magazines by hand or machine. Expended brass was typically shed overboard via discharge chutes. More modern installations do not discard the brass, but have a capture mechanism and it's downloaded during a rearm of the weapons.

Until the advent of the MAU-12 type bomb release, weapons were simply allowed to free fall from the suspension system. Due to airframe configurations, some required the weapon to be hung from a trapeze. When released, that would force the weapon away from the fuselage in an arc, to clear the prop. These would be seen on aircraft used mainly for dive bombing, with center hung ordinance.
The MAU-12 style release units use either explosives or high pressure gas storage to drive a separation piston or pistons against the weapon to force the weapon away from the release unit and into cleaner air, at a nose down angle to enhance separation. These release units came about as release airspeeds routinely passed through about 400 kts.

 

[Venomstick121]

Wing and fuselage gun loading is highly dependent upon the particular installation. Typically, filled cans were installed and then leader linked belts were attached and fed thru the feed housings to the guns. Some fixed installations, the loose rounds were fed into the magazines by hand or machine. Expended brass was typically shed overboard via discharge chutes. More modern installations do not discard the brass, but have a capture mechanism and it's downloaded during a rearm of the weapons.

Until the advent of the MAU-12 type bomb release, weapons were simply allowed to free fall from the suspension system. Due to airframe configurations, some required the weapon to be hung from a trapeze. When released, that would force the weapon away from the fuselage in an arc, to clear the prop. These would be seen on aircraft used mainly for dive bombing, with center hung ordinance.
The MAU-12 style release units use either explosives or high pressure gas storage to drive a separation piston or pistons against the weapon to force the weapon away from the release unit and into cleaner air, at a nose down angle to enhance separation. These release units came about as release airspeeds routinely passed through about 400 kts.

Thank you!! Much appreciated!

 

[GreenKnight121]

P-51 .50 cal ammo loading:

F4U Corsair .50 cal ammo boxes:

P-47 .50 cal ammo belt loading:

 

[Venomstick121]

P-51 .50 cal ammo loading:

View attachment 754629

F4U Corsair .50 cal ammo boxes:

View attachment 754630

P-47 .50 cal ammo belt loading:

View attachment 754633

View attachment 754634

Oh ok, so it was a panel that just flips open. If they were hit with an HE round, tracer, or incendiary, could that ignite the ammo? If so was that common?

 

[GrauGeist]

As mentioned above, some aircraft, dive-bombers in particular, had a "trapeze" device for the centerline bomb, which would swing the bomb down and away from the propeller arc when released.

The most notable dive-bombers that used this device, would be the Ju87, SBD and D3A.

 

[MIflyer]

Here are some shots of a P-38 gun compartment.

 

[Venomstick121]

Here are some shots of a P-38 gun compartment.

View attachment 755198View attachment 755199View attachment 755206

DANG, never really realized the size of the m2

 

[cvairwerks]

This will give you a little better perspective on the size of the M2 in .50 cal. It was also produced as a .30 cal and was smaller.

Browning M2

Page details technical specifications, development, and operational history of the Browning M2 including pictures.

www.militaryfactory.com

 

[GrauGeist]

The AN/M2 used on aircraft was a bit smaller (and lighter) than the M2 used by ground forces.