A-10 30mm gun test footage video

I read a thread before here about the Gau-8/a rotary cannon. Anyway here is some test footage of it :

208.53.131.81...

That is just friggin' devastating! very nice find!

What does a weapon like that do to an armored vehicle anyway?

Source:www.fas.org...

The AN/GAU-8 30mm Avenger seven-barrel gatling gun, mounted only on the A-10 attack jet, is a 30mm, 7 barrel gattling gun used primarily in the air to ground role as a soft target killer and tank buster. This aircraft is used for close-air support in attacking ground threats such as armored tanks and vehicles, and also serves as a forward air control observer for sighting ground threats and directing air strikes against enemy targets. The gun, mounted in the fuselage nose of the A/OA-10 Thunderbolt, is produced by [ex General Electric] Martin Marietta Armament Systems.
According to some sources, the GAU-8 fires 1,800 rounds per minute, with the higher 4200 rd/min rate having been deleted in the 1980s. However, the A-10 can only fire in high rate, which is 3900 rounds per minute. Low rate went out with the use of the batelle gas diverting device, and although the A-10 no longer uses the batelle device, the limit on high rate only has remained, since it made no tactical sense to fire in low rate and have to spend that much more time on final to get the same number of rounds on target.


The gun fires a mix of both high explosive incendiary (HEI) and armored piercing incendiary (API) ammunition. The PGU-13/B HEI High Explosive Incendiary round employs a standard M505 fuze and explosive mixture with a body of naturally fragmenting material that is effective against lighter vehicle and material targets. The PGU-14/B API Armor Piercing Incendiary round has a lightweight body which contains a sub-calibre high density penetrator of Depleted Uranium (DU). In addition to its penetrating capability DU is a natural pyrophoric material which enhances the incendiary effects. The PGU-15/B TP Target Practice projectile simulates the exterior ballistics and provides a ballistic match to the HEI round and is used for pilot training.

The GAU-8 is a sweet cannon made for a sweet plane,the A-10 thunderbolt II.The GAU-8 is unique in that it can only be equipped to the A-10 and no other planes.

Yeah since it's too heavy, it couldn't be fitted on any aircraft unless the ballance was drastically adjusted I reckon...

I just can't seem to fathom that this gun can pierce armor, how much armor can it pierce? what is the RHAe rating?

The gun is as big as a Volkswagen Bettle,and twice its size if you consider the barrel.And armor penetration?Even a 23mm gun from a F-16 could penetrate armor,let alone a 30mm shell from the gattling cannon of the A-10.

Didn't the M61A1 use 20mm ammo?

Yeah you are right though, esspecially at this rate of fire...devastating...

I remember seeing something on tv about A-10's. A pilot said the plane carries enough ammo that gun could fire for 18 seconds straight, and then, all ammo would be depleted. He then added, it's a good thing that all the ammo would be gone, because 18 seconds of nonstop firing would melt the gun.

That's a big gun, it's be bad if it got into the wrong hands (militia groups & terrorist cells).
Does a lot of damage, a few seconds (mayeb 10) could get through most Russian tanks, not sure about the Abrams though...

That's pretty impressive, but the video really doesn't capture the full effect. I haven't seen anything exactly like this, but I did see "Puff, the Magic Dragon" in Vietnam on many occasions and the firepower coming from those gatling guns was staggering. It was just awe-inspiring to consider that for every tracer, there were four rounds you could not see and the tracers formed what appeared to be a huge beam of orange light. The sound alone was worth the price of admission and I must admit, I have never heard anything like it since.

It's interesting to consider that a gun invented in 1861 which was rendered obsolete just nine years later by the gas-operated and blowback operated machine guns, would be resurrected in the latter part of the twentieth century to provide the most awesome firepower in history.

Which is not to take anything away from the designs of John Browning which, in principle, date from the late nineteenth century and are still in wide usage today. The M-1911 is still the platform for some of the most advanced firearms available today.



[edit on 04/12/1 by GradyPhilpott]

Yes. The video could have been improved by showing us a platser wall, shooting 1 bullet through it to show the main affect, then shooting the wall apart with a large volley...

A few DU shells should rip apart a tank easily,10 seconds or firing,thats like 800 shells The explosive effect of the shell should make it rip apart most tanks easily,not sure about the Abrams,but i'll bet an AGM-65 Malverick would take care of that easily.

Good video.

Couldn't really see much damage being done but you just knew whatever was being hit was being blown apart.

FAS says that the armour penetration is Armor

69mm at 500 meters
38mm at 1000 meters

As for the accuracy of the Avenger "80% of rounds fired at 4,000ft hit within a 20ft radius" - Nice when you used feet to measure instead of cm or inches.

It truly is a massive gun. Wow. 6.4m long!

video clip of a strafing run. Although its short the sound is awesome!

I imagine the gun could take out an Abrams from the top, where the armor is weaker. It is mounted on a plane after all.

Aim the gun just below the tracks and you'd mess up the tracks after a few seconds of shots, then you'd be able to capture a veyr powerful tank!

thats rather disturbing.

I dont think anyone would want to be on the wrong end of that little thing.

how old is the video, do you know?

Here's one nice feature of it:

Average Recoil Force 10,000 Pounds (44.5 kN)
www.gdatp.com...

So better mount it really well before test.

Originally posted by Catfish
thats rather disturbing.

I dont think anyone would want to be on the wrong end of that little thing.

how old is the video, do you know?

I'm not too sure. However I would assume that it was a pre production test in the 1970's.

Yeah, the A-10 is a beast...

I have heard from flight crews in the air force that if the 30mm is fired while flying straight and level, it's so powerful, the kickback can literally stall the plane. They have to be at a specific angle come in firing at tanks in order to keep up enough acceleration to pull back, or else the gun would literally make them crash.

The A-10 was built for the gun, not the gun for the PLane. As far as i know it is the only aircraft built around a single gun platform. They took a big risk, but it paid off.