Warface: special operation "Vulcan". Details and tips for passing

Prototype invented by Gatling

It was in 1862, when an American inventor named Gatling received his patent. The document confirming priority was about a firing system that fired up to two hundred bullets per minute. The principle of operation was the rotation of a block that included six barrels arranged in a circle in such a way that after each shot the next cartridge ended up at the next muzzle channel, while there was only one breech. Muscular force was used to rotate 60 degrees. At its core, it was a six-barreled revolver-type machine gun with an axis of rotation parallel to the line of fire, with the difference that instead of feeding the cartridge to the barrel, on the contrary, the barrel was fed to the cartridge. Well, it’s hard to deny the elegance of the technical solution to the author of the invention, although soon weapon designers abandoned this method of moving ammunition, preferring belt and disk magazines, which ensured a higher rate of fire and ease of reloading. Even the improvement of the Gatling model in 1866 provided only a slight improvement in performance. The system continued to remain cumbersome, however, this did not prevent it from being in service with the US Army until the beginning of the 20th century.

Descriptions and characteristics of the weapon

Mark 15 Phalanx CIWS Mod 0 design

On the ZAK Mark 15 Phalanx, automatic guidance of a gun mount with a “closed control loop” was implemented for the first time, in which the probability of shells hitting the target is greater than when targeting “with an open control loop.”

The essence of the new guidance method is that during firing the complex simultaneously determines the location of the target and projectiles along their flight path in relation to the target. If the direction to the target and the flight trajectory of the projectiles do not coincide, the system automatically adjusts the generated firing data in order to direct the projectiles exactly to the target. In “open-loop” systems, widely used in the navies of different countries, fire control devices continuously determine the target’s movement parameters. Based on them, initial data for shooting are developed, which are not adjusted. The probability of hitting a target in this case depends on the accuracy of the fire control system and taking into account all initial shooting corrections.

The Mark 15 Phalanx anti-aircraft artillery complex, developed by the American, is an all-weather automatic weapon system that provides autonomous search and detection of targets in a designated firing sector, assessment of the degree of their threat, selection of the most dangerous target, capture, tracking and determination of parameters of its movement, opening fire, automatic adjustment of firing in a closed loop, ceasefire and acquisition of a new target. The complex consists of two functional subsystems with a modular design (gun mount and radar fire control subsystem). Five modules (M61A1 gun with a magazine, a rotary machine with guidance mechanisms and a base, a barbette, radar antennas with servos under a radio-transparent cover and a rack with cells for a computerized fire control system.

All this is mounted in one compact block with a height of 4.7 m, occupying an area of ​​5.5 m2 on the ship’s deck. The complex also includes a remote control subsystem with a remote control and display devices installed at the ZAK operator's station.

Popular models of fan heaters Volcano (Vulcan): technical characteristics and reviews

The manufacturer Volcano positions its fan heaters as No. 1 in Russia. The company's product range includes household and industrial models. All of them are distinguished by their simplicity of engineering solutions and ease of use. Each device embodies all the expectations and needs of the heating equipment user.

About the manufacturer

Fan heaters of the Volcano brand are produced by the VTS Group corporation. The equipment is assembled at the VTS plant in Poland. Finished products are supplied to 27 countries around the world. A significant share of the total volume of goods enters the Russian market.

The representative of VTS Group in the Russian Federation is RUSHEAT. She is engaged in the sale and advertising of products of this brand. Has its own website and attracts distributors.

The Volcano brand is known for its reliability and energy efficiency.

Reviews of Volcano fan heaters: pros and cons

A review of the pros and cons of Volcano fan heaters will help you decide on the choice of heater for your home and office.

Pros:

• wide range of models;
• wall and ceiling installation of equipment;
• multifunctionality;
• ease of installation;
• safety;
• modern design;
• Efficiency up to 90%;
• possibility of adjusting the direction of air flow.

Among the disadvantages of heating equipment from this manufacturer, they note that the controls are not always clear. The inscriptions are not duplicated by drawings, so it is not always possible to quickly remember the purpose of each control tool.

Types and technical characteristics of devices

Volcano's range of climate control equipment includes fan heaters with different technical characteristics and installation methods. A review of the best devices provides information about all the nuances of their operation.

Standard wall models

1. Volcano Mini

   V20 (MINI) is one of the most compact models in the line of water fan heaters from this manufacturer. The design of the unit consists of several elements.

2. Impact-resistant and heat-resistant polypropylene housing, lightweight. Withstands heating up to +130°C.

Manually adjustable ventilation louvers that direct the air flow.

3. An axial fan with IP54 protection, which allows the unit to be used in rooms with high humidity levels. The fan motor has IP44 protection, allowing operation in conditions of high humidity, but splashing water is excluded.
4. Two ¾-inch pipes for connecting to the water circuit.
5. Double-row heat exchanger with a power of 3-20 kW.

The device package includes a console and decorative inserts, which are installed on the side shelves of the front panel and thereby give the device a more aesthetic appearance.

Principle of operation:

• The coolant passes through the heat exchanger and heats it;
• heat is transferred to the air;
• the fan directs its flow into the room.

Specifications:

• heat exchanger volume - 1.05 dm3;
• weight - 9.8 kg.

Average price 14950 rub.

Average price 18,000 rub.

Average price RUB 31,269.

Average price RUB 36,042.

Energy saving models with EC motor

1. Volcano Mini EC

   The EC series is characterized by economical energy consumption.
   All models in the line have high thermal power and produce low noise levels during operation. The Volcano Mini EC model is equipped with a polypropylene body and has an aesthetic design. All materials from which the unit is made can be recycled (reused after recycling). Specifications:

   • double-row heat exchanger;

   power - 3-20 kW;

   Read also:  Tactical pen: marketing ploy or formidable weapon…. Tactical pen: self-defense with improvised means. Why are tactical pens needed?
2. weight - 14 kg.

Average price RUB 22,036.

3. Volcano VR1 EC

   A high-performance water fan heater is designed for heating and ventilating premises for various purposes: poultry farms and livestock complexes, greenhouses, workshops, manufacturing enterprises.
   Provides optimal air jet range and is resistant to temperatures up to +130°C. Specifications:

   • single row heat exchanger;

   thermal power - 5-30 kW;

4. maximum horizontal jet length - 23 m;
5. maximum vertical jet length - 12 m;
6. weight - 21.5 kg.

Average price 30051 rub.

7. Volcano VR2 EC

   Similar to the previous model, but has higher thermal power and performance.
   As with all units in the VR EC series, it is controlled by a two-way motorized ball valve. It is necessary to purchase a DX wall regulator, which is used to control the operation of the fan. Technical characteristics of the volcano vr2 fan heater:

   • double-row heat exchanger;

   thermal power - 8-50 kW;

8. maximum horizontal jet length - 22 m;
9. maximum vertical jet length - 11 m;
10. weight - 22 kg.

Average price RUB 33,394.

11. Volcano VR3 EC

    One of the best fan heaters "Vulcan".
    The most powerful unit of the VR EC series. As with other models in the line, wall and ceiling mounting is possible. The fan heaters are supplied with a mounting bracket that allows the housing to be tilted at any angle within the range of 180°. When installing equipment, take into account the distances recommended by the manufacturer from the walls of the room. Specifications:

    • three-row heat exchanger;

    power - 13-75 kW;

12. weight - 24.5 kg.

Average price RUB 37,844.

Fan heaters with ceiling mounting

1. Volcano VR D

   A ceiling dissipative fan (destrificator) effectively eliminates uneven heating and layering of air masses.
   The purpose of the unit is to quickly supply heated air from the ceiling space to the work area located in the lower part of the room. Necessary to increase the efficiency of the heating system to 100%. Specifications:

   • productivity - 6300 m3/hour;

   weight - 22 kg.

Average price RUB 24,656.

2. Volcano VR D EC

   The destructor is structurally similar to the previous model.
   It differs from it in a more economical and powerful engine. The body is made of ABS plastic with the addition of anti-UV pigment. The unit is aesthetically attractive and can be easily adapted to any interior. Specifications:

   • productivity - 6500 m3/hour;

   engine power - 0.37 kW;

3. noise level - 58 dB;
4. weight - 22 kg.

Average price RUB 25,889.

Are the discontinued Volcano V25 and V45 still relevant?

Fan heaters V25 and V45 were discontinued in 2020. These models can now be purchased at reduced prices. They are still as relevant as before. They are capable of performing all the tasks assigned to them: heating and ventilating rooms. The only difference between the old models and the new ones is lower performance and power. But they are quite sufficient to service premises of up to 300 m2.

Official website: where to see the connection diagram and all models

The official website of the Russian representative office is volcano.ru. Here you can find complete information about all models of fan heaters, methods of their installation and the necessary additional equipment. There are no operating instructions.

Which model of Vulcan fan heater is better to choose?

When choosing a fan heater model, they are guided by two rules:

• the higher the fan speed, the higher the heating power;
• The higher the power of the unit, the fewer fan heaters are required to service the room.

The company’s website has a program for selecting equipment for specific operating conditions. When choosing a model, its technical characteristics are taken into account.

All units from this manufacturer can be installed in rooms with high levels of air humidity.

Price

The price of units depends on several indicators:

• engine power;
• fan performance;
• energy efficiency.

Average price of models:

• Mini - 14,950 rubles;
• VR1 - 18,000 rubles;
• VR2 - 31,269 rubles;
• VR3 - 36,042 rubles;
• Mini EC - RUB 22,036;
• VR1 EC - 30051;
• VR2 EC - RUB 33,394;
• VR3 EC - RUB 37,844;
• VR D — 24656 RUR;
• VR D EC — 25889 rub.

Where to buy a Volcano fan heater?

In Moscow

1. Online store Volcano, 8 (800) 775-86-8
2. TEPLOTEK online store.
3. Online store "Teplovent".

In St. Petersburg

1. Online store "Peter VentRus", 8-812-983-27-33.
2. Online store "Teplovent".
3. Online store "ANT".

Volcano fan heaters have the best price/quality ratio among similar equipment on the Russian market. They are easy to install and reliable in operation.

Apr 3, 2018T C

Ammunition

Initially, two types of projectiles were developed for the Vulcan cannon: the armor-piercing incendiary M53 and the high-explosive fragmentation M56. The first is a simple steel blank with an aluminum ballistic tip, weighing 100 grams. The incendiary composition is located between the steel body and the aluminum tip. Initial speed – 1030 m/s. The high-explosive fragmentation projectile is loaded with 10 grams of explosive (“composition B”), the damage radius is estimated at 2 meters.

The M246 projectile was developed for anti-aircraft guns. It is distinguished by the presence of a self-liquidator. Since the end of 1980, “semi-armor-piercing” shells such as PGU-28 or M940 began to spread. Their difference is a body made of heat-strengthened steel and the absence of a fuse as such.

When a cannon shell hits a target, the incendiary composition ignites, and its flash detonates the explosive charge. Due to the slow action of this process and the durable casing, the projectile explodes inside the target. Armor penetration - about 12 mm at a distance of 500 meters.

The Mk.149 projectile is a sub-caliber projectile, with a detachable tray. The core was originally made from depleted uranium. Later, tungsten carbide was used for this purpose. The Mk.244 projectile has an increased core mass.

History of creation

The first jet fighters of the US Air Force retained the weapon system characteristic of American piston aircraft - a battery of six 12.7mm Browning machine guns. War experience, however, showed that “cannon” aircraft could hit the enemy from a greater range. At that time, the only aircraft cannon in the United States was a licensed copy of the 20mm HS.404 weapon, and its rate of fire was insufficient for promising aircraft.

One of the options for solving the problem of creating a rapid-firing automatic cannon was a revolving design. Another option involved the revival of the seemingly irrevocably outdated Gatling system. Although Dr. Gatling himself pointed out the prospects for the development of his brainchild, who in 1893 patented a version of a machine gun in which the barrels rotated using an electric motor.

At that time, finding a source of electricity to power weapons was possible only on ships, but in the mid-20th century this was no longer a problem.

The caliber was initially supposed to be increased slightly - to 15mm. It was believed that high initial speed and rate of fire would ensure sufficient efficiency even with this caliber. The first firing using the 15mm Vulcan prototype (under the symbol T45) took place in 1949, and a rate of 2500 rounds per minute was developed.

In 1950, the figure rose to 4,000 shots. But then the task changed - they decided that the 15mm caliber would no longer be enough, and decided to increase it. By 1952, the T171 and T150 were prepared - guns of 20 and 27 mm caliber, respectively. As a result, the 20mm gun was considered more balanced.

The first aircraft to carry the T171 cannon, later renamed the M61, was the F-104 Starfighter. And already during trial operation, unreliability of power supply was revealed. The links of the cartridge belt thrown out could damage the aircraft, and feeding a shot into the chamber was accompanied by failures. The modernized gun with a linkless shot feed received the M61A1 designation and found application not only on fighters.

Application

The first aircraft armed with the M61 Vulcan cannon entered service at the end of the 50s. They were the F-104 fighter, the F-105 fighter-bomber, and the gun appeared on the B-52 and B-58 bombers as a defensive weapon. And then senior Air Force officials decided that the rapid development of guided missiles would make guns unnecessary, and new aircraft were designed without built-in weapons.

The Vietnam War showed the fallacy of such conclusions. Armed with the Vulcan, the F-105, even after firing all its missiles, could successfully fight off the North Vietnamese MiG-17s.

But the newest “Phantoms” turned out to be helpless in such situations. As a temporary solution to this problem, the SUU-16/Ac suspended container with an M61 cannon and 1200 shells was developed for the Phantoms. The rotor of the gun in it was spun by the incoming air flow. An improved model with a gun without external power was designated SUU-23/A. Sometimes up to 5 such containers were hung on the Phantoms.

During the Vietnam War, 39 North Vietnamese fighters were shot down using M61 cannons.

In 1967, the M167 anti-aircraft gun, armed with the Vulcan, was adopted, and in 1969, the M163 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on the M113 armored personnel carrier chassis. Both anti-aircraft guns were considered a temporary measure, but failures in the development of a more advanced system led to the fact that the Vulcan anti-aircraft guns remained in service until the 90s, and are still used locally.

In 1980, the US Navy received the Phalanx anti-aircraft complex, armed with the M61 cannon and designed to protect ships mainly from anti-ship missiles. In 2004, its ground version, the Centurion, appeared, knocking down shells and mortar mines with cannon fire.

Automatic device - clock Nerf Vulcan

A student from Germany, Michelson, using the popular toy blaster gun Nerf of the Vulcan system, designed a rather funny, but very useful automatic device, perfect for protecting the area.

With the help of several additional drives, conventional electronics and computer programs, the Nerf guard weapon can automatically recognize, track a target, and then hit it. With all this, the owner of the weapon can be in shelter.

The trigger mechanism of the mechanized Nerf Vulcan device is connected to a laptop and hardware-software (integrated circuit) Arduino Uno with processors. It is triggered when a web camera tracking and scanning the area around it detects the movement of an unnecessary object. In this case, the webcam is installed on the front panel of the laptop, and the computer program is configured for movement.

The idea of ​​multi-barreled rapid-fire weapons arose in the 15th century and was embodied in some samples of that time. Despite its obvious advantages, this type of gun did not catch on and was, rather, an exotic illustration of the development of design ideas than a real effective firing system.

In the 19th century, inventor R. Gatling from Connecticut, who worked on agricultural machinery and later became a doctor, received a patent for a “revolving battery gun.” He was a kind man and believed that, having received such a terrible weapon, humanity would come to its senses and, fearing the numerous victims, would stop fighting altogether.

The main innovation in the Gatling gun was the use of gravity to automatically feed cartridges and extract cartridges. The naive inventor could not have imagined that his brainchild would become the prototype of a super-fast-firing machine gun in the middle and second half of the 20th century.

The development of technical thought after the Korean War led to the emergence of new weapons for aviation. The rapid speeds of the MiGs and Sabers left the pilots too little time for careful aiming, and the number of cannons and machine guns could not be very large. The rate of fire was limited by the fact that the barrels overheated. The way out of this engineering impasse was the six-barreled Vulcan M61 machine gun, which arrived just in time for a new massacre, the Vietnam War.

With each passing decade, the duration of combat contact between opponents is decreasing. The one who managed to fire more charges and started shooting first has a better chance of surviving. Mechanical devices simply cannot cope in such an environment, so the Vulcan machine gun is equipped with an electric drive with a power of 26 kW, which rotates the barrels that fire 20-mm projectiles in turn, as well as an electric system for igniting the capsules. This solution allows firing at a speed of up to 2000 rounds per minute, and in “turbo” mode – 4200.

The Vulcan machine gun is quite massive and is intended primarily for aviation, although it can also be used in ground-based air defense systems. Initially it was installed on Lockheed Starfighters, but later they began to equip it on A-10 attack aircraft. It was also suspended under the fuselage of the Phantom F-4 as an additional artillery container, after it became clear that missiles alone could not be used in maneuverable air combat. Weight of 190 kg is no joke, and this is without ammunition, which at such a rate of fire requires a considerable amount, so children's toys, the Vulcan nerf machine gun, which shoots arrows, have little in common with the prototype.

This weapon is relatively easy to maintain; the design is made as practical as possible. To load the Vulcan machine gun, you need to remove it, but this is easy to do. Problems arose in the 50s, when survey work was carried out. A large number of projectiles create powerful recoil, which resulted in difficulties with piloting.

In the USSR, the creation of multi-barreled aircraft weapons began a good ten years later than in the United States. The answer to the Vulcan machine gun was the 6K30GSh, AK-630M-2 anti-aircraft automatic guns and other types of artillery installations with a high density of fire. Some improvements in the creation of initial and operating torques provide certain technical and operational advantages, but the design is based on the same Gatling principle.

Video

In machine gun mode

With the advent and constant modernization of aviation weapons, including missiles, part of the range of which today belongs to a full-fledged class of high-precision weapons, the need for traditional small arms and cannon weapons on aircraft has not disappeared.
Moreover, this weapon also has its advantages. These include the ability to be used from the air against all types of targets, constant readiness to fire, and immunity to electronic countermeasures. Modern types of aircraft guns are actually machine guns in terms of rate of fire and at the same time artillery pieces in caliber. The principle of automatic firing is also similar to the machine gun. At the same time, the rate of fire of some models of domestic aviation weapons is a record even for machine guns. For example, the GSh-6-23M aircraft gun developed at TsKB-14 (the predecessor of the Tula Instrument Design Bureau) is still considered the fastest-firing weapon in military aviation. This six-barreled gun has a rate of fire of 10 thousand rounds per minute! They say that during comparative tests of the GSh-6-23 and the American M-61 “Vulcan”, the domestic gun, without requiring a powerful external energy source for its operation, showed almost twice as much rate of fire, while having half the own mass. By the way, in the six-barreled gun GSh-6-23, an autonomous automatic gas exhaust drive was used for the first time, which made it possible to use this weapon not only on an aircraft, but also, for example, on ground firing installations. A modernized version of the GSh-23-6 with Su-24 front-line bombers are still equipped with 500 rounds of ammunition: this weapon is installed here in a suspended movable cannon container. In addition, the MiG-31 supersonic all-weather long-range fighter-interceptor is armed with the GSh-23-6M cannon. The six-barreled version of the GSh cannon was also used for the cannon armament of the MiG-27 fighter-bomber. True, a 30-mm cannon is already installed here, and for a weapon of this caliber it is also considered the fastest-firing in the world - six thousand rounds per minute. A barrage of fire from the sky
It would not be an exaggeration to say that aviation weapons with the “GS” brand have, in fact, become the basis of this type of weapon for domestic combat aviation.
In single-barrel and multi-barrel versions with the use of innovative technologies for ammunition of various calibers and purposes - in any case, the Gryazev-Shipunov guns have earned their recognition among pilots of many generations. The development of aviation small arms and cannon weapons in our country has become 30 mm caliber guns. Thus, the famous GSh-30 (in a double-barreled version) is equipped with the no less famous Su-25 attack aircraft. These are machines that have proven their effectiveness in all wars and local conflicts since the 70-80s of the last century. One of the most acute disadvantages of such weapons - the problem with the “survivability” of the barrels - has been solved here by distributing the burst length between the two barrels and reducing the rate of fire per barrel. At the same time, all the main operations for preparing fire - feeding the tape, chambering the cartridge, preparing the shot - occur evenly, which provides the gun with a high rate of fire: the rate of fire of the Su-25 reaches 3500 rounds per minute. Another project of the Tula aviation gunsmiths is the GSh-30- gun 1. It is recognized as the lightest 30 mm gun in the world. The weight of the weapon is 50 kilograms (for comparison, a “six-wolf” of the same caliber weighs more than three times more). A unique feature of this gun is the presence of an autonomous water evaporative cooling system for the barrel. There is water in the casing here, which turns into steam during the firing process when the barrel is heated. Passing along the screw groove on the barrel, it cools it and then comes out. The GSh-30-1 gun is equipped with the MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, Su-35 aircraft. There is information that this caliber will also be the main one for the small arms and cannon armament of the fifth generation fighter T-50 (PAK FA). In particular, as the KBP press service recently reported, flight tests of the modernized rapid-fire aircraft gun 9A1-4071 (this is the name this gun received) with testing of the entire ammunition load in various modes were carried out on the Su-27SM aircraft. After completion of the tests, development work is planned to test this gun on the T-50. “Flying” BMP
Tula KBP (TsKB-14) has become the “Homeland” of aviation weapons for domestic rotary-wing combat vehicles.
It was here that the GSh-30 cannon appeared in a double-barreled version for Mi-24 helicopters. The main feature of this weapon is the presence of elongated barrels, due to which the initial speed of the projectile is increased, which is 940 meters per second. But on the new Russian combat helicopters - Mi-28 and Ka-52 - a different cannon armament scheme is used. The basis was the well-proven 30 mm caliber 2A42 gun, mounted on infantry fighting vehicles. On the Mi-28, this gun is mounted in a fixed movable gun mount NPPU-28, which significantly increases maneuverability when firing. Shells are fired from two sides and in two versions - armor-piercing and high-explosive fragmentation. Lightly armored targets on the ground can be hit from the air at a distance of 1500 meters, air targets (helicopters) - two and a half kilometers, and manpower - four kilometers. The NPPU-28 installation is located on the Mi-28 under the fuselage in the bow of the helicopter and operates synchronously with the sight (including the helmet-mounted one) of the pilot operator. The ammunition is located in two boxes on the rotating part of the turret. The 30-mm BMP-2 gun, also placed in a movable cannon mount, is also adopted for service on the Ka-52. But on the Mi-35M and Mi-35P, which essentially became a continuation of the legendary Mi-24 series of helicopters, they again returned to the GSh cannon and the 23rd caliber. On the Mi-35P the number of firing points can reach three. This happens if the main guns are placed in two universal cannon containers (placed on pylons on the sides of the vehicle), and another gun is installed in a non-removable bow movable cannon mount. The total ammunition load of aircraft cannon armament for 35-series helicopters in this version reaches 950 rounds. Shooting... with a break for lunch
They do not refuse cannon weapons when creating combat vehicles in the West. Including ultra-modern fifth generation aircraft. Thus, the F-22 fighter is equipped with the above-mentioned 20-mm M61A2 Vulcan with 480 rounds of ammunition. This rapid-firing six-barreled gun with a rotating block of barrels differs from the Russian gun in a more primitive cooling system - air rather than water, as well as pneumatic or hydraulic drives. Despite all the shortcomings, including, first of all, a small caliber, as well as an archaic link feed system shells and limited ammunition at a very high rate of fire (four to six thousand rounds per minute), the Vulcan has been the standard armament of US combat aircraft since the 50s. True, the American military press has reported that delays in the ammunition supply system have now been dealt with: a linkless ammunition supply system seems to have been developed for the M61A1 cannon. The AH-64 Apache, the main attack helicopter of the US Army, is also equipped with an automatic cannon. . Some analysts call it the most common rotorcraft of its class in the world, without, however, citing any statistical data. On board the Apache is an M230 automatic cannon with a caliber of 30 millimeters and a rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute. A significant drawback of this weapon is the need to cool its barrel after every 300 shots, and the time of such a break can be 10 minutes or more. For this weapon, the helicopter can carry 1200 shells, but only if the vehicle does not have an additional fuel tank installed. If it is available, the volume of ammunition will not exceed the same 300 rounds that the Apache can fire without the need for a “break” for mandatory cooling of the barrel. The only advantage of this weapon can be considered the presence in its ammunition of shells with an armor-piercing cumulative element. It is stated that with such ammunition “Apache” can hit ground targets equipped with 300 mm of homogeneous armor. Author: Dmitry Sergeev Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense / “Russian Helicopters” / Instrument Design Bureau named after. Academician A. G. Shipunov

The Vulcan is a rapid-fire submachine gun, the only gun in the game that allows you to control the hull while the turret is pointed in the desired direction. Vulcan is good both for protecting its own base and for supporting an attack. Often installed on medium hulls. Remember to use modules with Flamethrower protection to reduce self-damage from overheating.

Specifications

Let’s compare the Vulcan with some of its “contemporaries” - the Soviet GSh-23 cannon and the British ADEN.

When developing a new aircraft gun, the British relied on the power of a single projectile. The relatively low rate of fire was compensated for by the installation of several guns. The Soviet cannon is inferior to the M61 in rate of fire and initial projectile velocity, but is slightly superior in its mass.

As the main weapon of fighters, unlike the Vulcan, competitors did not stay long - late Soviet aircraft received 30mm cannons, and in Europe the 27mm Mauser cannon became widespread. Interestingly, all three guns are made according to different designs. The ADEN system is built on a revolver design, and the GSh-23 uses a Gast design, in which one barrel is reloaded at the moment the second is fired.

She also managed to demonstrate that the design of a weapon with a rotating barrel block is not at all outdated and can compete on equal terms with more modern developments.

Design and modifications

M61 is a multi-barrel gun with a rotating barrel block. The design of the gun, despite the number of barrels, is quite simple. Each of the Vulcan's six barrels has its own bolt and chamber.

The bolts are moved using rollers attached to them, which move along a special groove in the receiver.

Locking the barrels is done by turning the bolt cylinder. The ignition of the cartridge case is electrical. The automation of the basic modification of the Vulcan operates due to an external drive from the hydraulic system of the carrier aircraft. On other versions, the barrel block could be spun by an electric motor from the on-board network.

Modifications

The barrel drive system may vary depending on the modification, but in most cases it is external, hydraulic.

M61A2 is a lightweight version installed on later F/A-18s. Due to thinner barrels and replacement of metal parts, the weight of the gun was reduced to 92 kg.

M130 (GAU-4) - “Vulcan”, which does not require external power. The block of barrels is rotated by the exhausted powder gases. This modification was used for installation in suspended cannon nacelles.

M197 is a three-barreled Vulcan with a rate of fire reduced to 1500 rounds per minute. Intended to arm AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters.

M195 is a version designed for installation on helicopters with six shortened barrels. As a result, it was not accepted into service.

XM301 – the most lightweight “Vulcan” with two barrels, which was supposed to arm helicopters.

M168 – cannon for anti-aircraft artillery installations.

Even more famous than the above-mentioned Vulcan variants is the six-barreled M134 Minigun machine gun of 7.62mm caliber, designed for arming helicopters. This is, in fact, a smaller version of the M61 cannon.

Construction[ | ]

The rocket is made according to a two-stage package design based on the second stage, in which 4 oxygen-hydrogen propulsion engines RD-0120 are installed. The first stage consists of four side blocks “A” with one oxygen-kerosene four-chamber engine RD-170 in each. Blocks “A” are unified with the first stage of the Zenit medium-class launch vehicle. The engines of both stages have a closed cycle with afterburning of exhaust turbine gas in the main combustion chamber. The payload of the launch vehicle (orbital ship or transport container) is mounted asymmetrically on the side surface of the central block using power communication units.

The rocket is assembled at the cosmodrome, transported, installed on the launch pad and launched using the transitional launch-docking block “I”, which is a power structure providing mechanical, pneumohydraulic and electrical connections with the launch device. The use of block Y made it possible to dock the rocket with the launch complex in difficult weather conditions when exposed to wind, rain, snow and dust. In the pre-launch position, the block is the lower plate on which the rocket rests with the surfaces of blocks A of the 1st stage; it also protects the rocket from the effects of rocket engine flows during launch. Block I after the rocket launch remains at the launch complex and can be reused.

To realize the service life of the RD-170 engines, designed for 10 flights, a system was provided for the return and reuse of first-stage A blocks. The system consisted of parachutes, a soft-landing turbojet engine and shock-absorbing struts, which were placed in special containers on the surface of blocks A, but during the design work it became clear that the proposed scheme was overly complex, not reliable enough and was associated with a number of unresolved technical problems. By the start of flight tests, the return system had not been implemented, although the flight copies of the rocket had containers for parachutes and landing struts that contained measuring equipment[14].

The central block is equipped with 4 oxygen-hydrogen engines RD-0120 and is the supporting structure. Lateral fastening of cargo and accelerators is used. The operation of the second stage engines began from the start and, in the case of two completed flights, was completed until the first escape velocity was reached. In other words, in practice, “Energia” was not a two-, but a three-stage rocket, since the second stage, at the moment of completion of work, gave the payload only a suborbital speed (6 km/s), and additional acceleration was carried out either by an additional upper stage (essentially a third rocket stage), or its own payload engines - as in the case of the Buran: its integrated propulsion system (UPS) helped it, after separation from the carrier, achieve its first escape velocity[15].

The launch weight of "Energia" is about 2400 tons. The rocket (in the version with 4 side blocks) is capable of launching about 100 tons of payload into orbit - 5 times more than the operating Proton launch vehicle. Also possible, but not tested, are layout options with two (Energia-M), six and eight (Vulcan) side blocks, the latter with a record carrying capacity of up to 200 tons.

On target, but not right away

Despite the fact that the product, which received the AO-19 index, was practically ready, there was no place for it in the Soviet Air Force, since the military themselves believed that small arms were a relic of the past, and missiles were the future. Shortly before the Air Force rejected the new gun, Vasily Gryazev was transferred to another enterprise. It would seem that the AO-19, despite all the unique technical solutions, will remain unclaimed.

But in 1966, after summarizing the experience of the North Vietnamese and American Air Forces in the USSR, it was decided to resume work on the creation of promising aircraft guns. True, by that time almost all enterprises and design bureaus that had previously worked on this topic had already reoriented themselves to other areas. Moreover, there were no people willing to return to this line of work in the military-industrial sector!

Surprisingly, despite all the difficulties, Arkady Shipunov, who by this time headed TsKB-14, decided to revive the cannon theme at his enterprise. After the Military-Industrial Commission approved this decision, its management agreed to return Vasily Gryazev, as well as several other specialists who took part in the work on the “AO-19 product,” to the Tula enterprise.

As Arkady Shipunov recalled, the problem of resuming work on cannon aircraft weapons arose not only in the USSR, but also in the West. In fact, at that time, the only multi-barreled gun in the world was the American one - the Vulcan.

It is worth noting that, despite the rejection of the “AO-19 object” by the Air Force, the product was of interest to the Navy, for which several gun systems were developed.

By the beginning of the 70s, KBP offered two six-barreled guns: the 30-mm AO-18, which used the AO-18 cartridge, and the AO-19, chambered for 23-mm AM-23 ammunition. It is noteworthy that the products differed not only in the projectiles used, but also in the starters for preliminary acceleration of the barrel block. The AO-18 had a pneumatic one, and the AO-19 had a pyrotechnic one with 10 squibs.

Initially, representatives of the Air Force, who considered the new gun as armament for promising fighters and fighter-bombers, placed increased demands on the AO-19 for firing ammunition - at least 500 shells in one burst. I had to seriously work on the survivability of the gun. The most loaded part, the gas rod, was made of special heat-resistant materials. The design has been changed. The gas engine was modified, where so-called floating pistons were installed.

Preliminary tests have shown that the modified AO-19 can show much better performance than originally stated. As a result of the work carried out at the KBP, the 23-mm cannon was able to fire at a rate of fire of 10–12 thousand rounds per minute. And the mass of the AO-19 after all the modifications was just over 70 kilograms.

For comparison: the American Vulcan, which had been modified by this time, received the index M61A1, weighed 136 kilograms, fired 6000 rounds per minute, the salvo was almost 2.5 times smaller than that of the AO-19, while American aircraft designers also needed to place on board The aircraft also has a 25-kilowatt external electric drive.

And even on the M61A2, which is on board the fifth-generation fighter F-22, American designers, with the smaller caliber and rate of fire of their guns, were unable to achieve the unique indicators in weight and compactness, like the gun developed by Vasily Gryazev and Arkady Shipunov.

Birth of a legend

The first customer of the new AO-19 gun was the Sukhoi Experimental Design Bureau, which at that time was headed by Pavel Osipovich himself. Sukhoi planned that the new gun would become armament for the T-6, a promising front-line bomber with variable wing geometry, which they were then developing, which later became the legendary Su-24.

The time frame for work on the new vehicle was quite tight: the T-6, which made its first flight on January 17, 1970, in the summer of 1973, was already ready for transfer to military testers. When fine-tuning the AO-19 to the requirements of aircraft manufacturers, certain difficulties arose. The gun, which fired well on the test bench, could not fire more than 150 shots - the barrels overheated and needed to be cooled, which often took about 10–15 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature.

Another problem was that the gun did not want, as the designers of the Tula Instrument Engineering Design Bureau joked, “to stop shooting.” After releasing the launch button, the AO-19 managed to spontaneously fire three or four projectiles. But within the allotted time, all the shortcomings and technical problems were eliminated, and the T-6 was presented to the Air Force GLITs for testing with a gun fully integrated into the new front-line bomber.

During the tests that began in Akhtubinsk, the product, which by that time had received the GSh index (Gryazev - Shipunov) -6-23, was shot at various targets. During the test use of the newest system, in less than one second, the pilot was able to completely cover all targets, firing about 200 shells!

Pavel Sukhoi was so satisfied with the GSh-6-23 that, along with the standard Su-24 ammunition, the so-called SPPU-6 suspended gun containers with movable GSh-6-23M gun mounts, capable of deflecting horizontally and vertically by 45 degrees, were included . It was assumed that with such weapons, and in total it was planned to place two such installations on the front-line bomber, it would be able to completely disable the runway in one pass, as well as destroy a column of motorized infantry in combat vehicles up to one kilometer long.

Developed at SPPU-6 it became one of the largest mobile cannon installations. Its length exceeded five meters, and its mass with ammunition of 400 shells was 525 kilograms. The tests showed that when firing with the new installation, there was at least one projectile hit per linear meter.

It is noteworthy that immediately after Sukhoi, the Mikoyan Design Bureau became interested in the cannon, which intended to use the GSh-6-23 on the latest supersonic interceptor MiG-31. Despite its large size, aircraft manufacturers required a fairly small-sized gun with a high rate of fire, since the MiG-31 was supposed to destroy supersonic targets. KBP helped Mikoyan by developing a unique lightweight conveyor-free linkless feeding system, thanks to which the weight of the gun was reduced by several more kilograms and gained additional centimeters of space on board the interceptor.

Developed by outstanding gunsmiths Arkady Shipunov and Vasily Gryazev, the GSh-6-23 automatic aircraft gun still remains in service with the Russian Air Force. Moreover, in many ways its characteristics, despite its more than 40-year service life, remain unique.

Story

At the end of World War II, the United States began research into creating more effective cannon weapons for jet fighters. Due to increased flight speeds, faster-firing guns were required. In Germany, samples of single-barreled revolving guns (Mauser MG 213) were captured that had a high rate of fire, which was nevertheless limited by the cartridge supply system, overheating and barrel wear. The US Air Force needed more effective guns, and General Electric Armament Division began developing a multi-barrel gun using the old Gatling design. The original Gatling gun was not widely used due to the high power consumption of the barrel block rotation drive, but jet fighters of the late 1940s had powerful electrical and hydraulic systems, which made it possible to use multi-barrel guns on them. Multi-barreled guns, compared to revolving ones, have a lower rate of fire per barrel, but a higher rate for the entire cannon installation.

The US Air Force contracted with General Electric in 1946 to develop Project Vulcan, a six-barrel cannon with a rate of fire of 6,000 rounds per minute. In Europe, after World War II, 30 mm guns with more powerful projectiles became widespread; in the USA, it was decided to use 20 mm guns, which had less mass but a higher rate of fire and muzzle velocity. First prototype gun mount, T-171

, was created by General Electric in 1949.

In 2009, the US Air Force adopted the M61 Vulcan aircraft gun chambered for a 20 mm 20x102 mm cartridge with electric capsule ignition. The M61 is a six-barreled hydraulically driven gun with two fire modes: 4000 and 6000 rounds/min. During testing of the F-104 Starfighter supersonic fighter, a number of difficulties and failures were identified associated with the 20-mm T171 Vulcan cannon mount. Difficulties were caused by delays in the link supply system for cartridges, and the danger posed by individual links. For the modernized version of the M61A1 gun, a linkless cartridge supply system was developed. The M61A1 gun later became the standard armament of American fighters.

Ammunition for the gun is manufactured at the Olin Ordnance plant in St. Petersburg, Florida.

A little history

Work in the field of creating multiple launch rocket systems started in Germany in the early 30s. It would seem, why bother with unguided missiles, which are significantly inferior in accuracy to artillery systems? However, there was a reason for this.

The Germans took into account the experience of the First World War, with the massive use of chemical warfare agents. MLRS were perfect for this purpose; moreover, such weapons were not subject to the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and the Germans were free to develop them.

However, the Soviet Katyushas were also designed to deliver combat gases. The military of that time was absolutely sure that the next conflict would not happen without chemical weapons.

In the mid-30s, the German engineer Nebel developed a 150-mm caliber rocket and a six-barreled launcher for it. In 1937, testing began. This weapon was called the "d" type smoke mortar. It was adopted by the German army in 1940, and already in 1941 it received another name, which is generally accepted for this weapon: Nebelwerfer 41 (Nb.W 41).

In 1940, special divisions armed with Nebelwerfer 41 were created in the German army. Then regiments of smoke troops appeared. According to the official version, they were supposed to install smoke screens at the front, but it is absolutely clear that this was how Germany was preparing for a chemical war. However, these units also had high-explosive fragmentation ammunition in their arsenal.

For the first time, rocket launchers were used by the Germans in France. The Germans also used Nebelwerfer 41 during the landing on Crete. On the Eastern Front, this weapon was used almost from the first days: this mortar fired at the defenders of the Brest Fortress, and was used during the siege of Sevastopol.

In 1942, three special regiments were created within the German army, as well as nine separate divisions armed with rocket-propelled mortars. And starting from 1943, Nebelwerfer 41 six-barreled mortars began to be included in the artillery regiments of infantry divisions. Typically, each division was equipped with two (less often three) mortar divisions.

This weapon proved itself very well on the Eastern Front: light and accurate mortars had high firepower.

The main disadvantage of the Nebelwerfer 41 and Nebelwerfer 42 was the clearly visible smoke trail that the missiles left in flight, as well as the strong sound, which served as an additional unmasking factor. Considering the not very high mobility of the complex, these two shortcomings often became fatal for the mortars and their crews.

In 1942, to eliminate this drawback, the 15 cm Panzerwerfer 42 self-propelled MLRS was created. The basis for it was the Opel Maultier half-track. It carried a ten-barrel launcher, the vehicle received anti-fragmentation armor and was armed with a machine gun.

The car turned out to be quite successful and was actively used until the end of the war.

Also, the self-propelled MLRS was created on the basis of an Opel army truck, but it turned out to be too heavy and not maneuverable enough.

In 1943, another similar rocket launcher began to enter service with the troops - the Nebelwerfer 42, which had a higher firepower. This mortar had five 210 mm caliber barrels and fired projectiles weighing 113 kg. The Nebelwerfer 42 was equipped with removable 150 mm barrels, which were mounted inside the main ones.

Also in 1941, the Wehrmacht adopted MLRS of even greater power: 28/32 cm Nebelwerfer 41. It was a two-tier truss, which was attached to a sliding carriage. The guides had a lattice design and could fire both 280 mm and 320 mm rockets. However, the increased mass of these ammunition made the firing range even shorter: it was approximately two kilometers. The 280 mm rocket contained 45 kg of explosives, and its hit could destroy a large building, and the 320 mm was fueled with crude oil and was an incendiary ammunition.

Sometimes these rockets were launched directly from the ground: for this they were installed in inclined pits, the main thing was to give the rocket the correct angle. The accuracy of launching missiles in this way was extremely low.

Background of development

Mark 15 Phalanx CIWS Mod. 1A during shooting.

For a long time, anti-aircraft artillery mounts were used as the main means of air defense on ships. With the increase in speed and the use of jet propulsion in aviation, the use of artillery systems became ineffective. Subsequently, priority in air defense systems was given to anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM). With the development of rapid-fire artillery, radar equipment and fire-correction equipment, as well as to combat transonic anti-ship missiles (ASM), the use of gun mounts in air defense systems has become relevant.

As the experience of combat operations, as well as research, has shown, in order to disrupt an attack by an anti-ship missile flying at low altitude, it is necessary to detonate its warhead at a distance of at least 1000 m from the ship, which will not allow the missile to reach the target if the system is disabled control, propulsion system, etc.

Small caliber artillery mounts, compared to large and medium caliber mounts, have higher firing accuracy, a significant rate of fire, higher horizontal and vertical guidance speeds, and shorter reaction times. They provide the maximum number of projectile hits on a low-flying anti-ship missile for its reliable destruction, as well as a flat trajectory of the projectiles and their high initial speed.

The first prototype of the Mark 15 Phalanx CIWS aboard USS KING (DLG-10/DDG-41) during testing.

In addition, artillery mounts can have ammunition rounds, allowing them to repel a large number of attacking air targets. As mentioned above, in order to destroy an anti-ship missile, it is necessary to ensure that projectiles directly hit its warhead, which is usually located in a protected compartment behind the homing head. This circumstance required the creation of armor-piercing sub-caliber ammunition with high kinetic energy.

Experts' assessments[ | ]

A postal block issued by the USSR postal service at the end of 1988 in honor of the first flight of the Buran spacecraft.
Words by D.I. Kozlov regarding the Energia-Buran project:

— A few months after V.P. Glushko was appointed to the place of chief designer, NPO Energia, which he headed, was entrusted with the design of a new powerful launch vehicle, and the ministry transferred the order for its production to Kuibyshevsky. Soon after this, Glushko and I had a long and very difficult conversation about ways of further development of the Soviet rocket and space industry, about the prospects for the work of the Kuibyshev branch No. 3, as well as about the Energia-Buran complex. I then suggested to him that instead of this project, he continue work on the N1 rocket. Glushko insisted on creating a new powerful carrier “from scratch,” and called N1 the yesterday of cosmonautics, no longer needed by anyone. He and I did not come to a common opinion then. As a result, we decided that the enterprise I headed and NPO Energia were no longer on the road, since we disagreed on the strategic line of development of the domestic cosmonautics. This decision of ours found understanding at the very top of the then government of the country, and soon branch No. 3 was removed from the subordination of NPO Energia and transformed into an independent enterprise. Since July 30, 1974, it has been called the Central Specialized Design Bureau (TSSKB).

As you know, the Energia-Buran project was nevertheless implemented in the 80s, and this again required large financial costs from the country. That is why the Ministry of General Mechanical Engineering of the USSR, whose structure included our enterprise, was forced to repeatedly withdraw from the budgets and TsSKB a considerable part of the funds previously allocated to us. Therefore, a number of TsSKB projects were not completed in full due to underfunding, and some of them are not implemented at all. The Energia rocket took off for the first time with a size and weight model on board (the Polyus object), and the second time - with the Buran reusable spacecraft. Not a single more Energia launch was made, and primarily for a rather prosaic reason: at present there are simply no objects in outer space that would require flights (by the way, very expensive) of this huge rocket with a payload capacity of over 100 tons to service.

Design features of the M61 Vulcan gun

M61 Vulcan is a six-barreled aircraft machine gun (cannon) with an air-cooled barrel and ammunition with a 20 x 102 mm cartridge with an electric capsule ignition type.

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The ammunition supply system for the six-barreled Vulcan machine gun is without a link, from a cylindrical magazine with a capacity of 1000 rounds. The machine gun and the magazine are connected by two conveyor feeds, in which the spent cartridges are returned back to the magazine using a returnable assembly flow.

Conveyor belts are located in elastic guide sleeves with a total length of 4.6 meters.

The entire array of cartridges in the magazine moves along its axis, but only the central guide rotor, made in the shape of a spiral, rotates, between the turns of which the ammunition is placed. When firing, two cartridges are synchronizedly removed from the magazine, and two spent cartridges are placed in it on the reverse side, which are then placed on the conveyor.

The firing mechanism has an external drive circuit with a power of 14.7 kW.

This type of drive does not require the installation of a gas regulator and is not afraid of misfires.

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The ammunition load can be: caliber, fragmentation, armor-piercing incendiary, fragmentation incendiary, sub-caliber.

What about us?

Soviet gunsmiths closely followed the achievements of their American colleagues, but preferred to act in their own way. It was considered unnecessary to copy a six-barreled machine gun in the USSR. The GSh-23 cannon (the number is the caliber in mm) is half the weight of the Vulcan, and it can fire up to 3-4 thousand rounds per minute, which is usually quite enough. There is also a heavier 30-mm version of the GSh-30, which is armed with Su-25 aircraft and Mi-24P helicopters. By the way, both guns are double-barreled.

Domestic gunsmiths used rotating blocks in the design of the YakB-12.7 and GshG-7.62 machine guns (the numbers mean the same thing), but in this case there are fewer barrels - only four. And finally, about the six-barreled Soviet GSh-6-23 cannons, developed for the Mig-27 and the AK-230 and AK-630 shipborne anti-aircraft systems. Their rate of fire is slightly higher than Vulcan's - it is 10 thousand rounds/min.

By the way, domestic systems do not require an external power source; the rotation of the barrel blocks is carried out by the energy of the powder gases.

Notes[ | ]

1. Records in science and technology
2. Kobelev V.N., Milovanov A.G.
   Launch vehicles for spacecraft - M.: "RESTART", 2009. - P. 464. - ISBN 978-5-904348-01-4
3. Launch vehicle "Energia"
4. ↑ 12
   The data on the thrust of the stages correspond to the data on the thrust of the engines for vacuum and sea surface.
5. Lukashevich V.P.
   Launch vehicle "Energia" (11K25) (Russian). website “Buran Ru. Encyclopedia of winged space."
6. Gubanov B.I. “Rocket for future flights.” Science in the USSR. No. 2 1990
7. ↑ 12
   COMPOSITION OF THE STATE COMMISSION FOR TESTING PRODUCT 11K25
8. The space giant has become a legend NTV.Ru
9. The Mars rocket will appear in Russia in 5-7 years (unspecified)
   (inaccessible link) (August 28, 2012). Retrieved August 28, 2012. Archived August 28, 2012.
10. The Khrunichev Center won the tender to create a complex in Vostochny | RIA News
11. Roscosmos has begun developing a new super-heavy rocket
12. RSC Energia: it is cheaper to create a new super-heavy rocket than to reproduce Energia (unspecified)
    (May 17, 2107).
13. Source: Roscosmos estimated the creation of a super-heavy rocket at 1.5 trillion rubles (unspecified)
    .
    TASS
    (December 13, 2018).
14. B.I. Gubanov.
    Triumph and tragedy of "Energy". - Nizhny Novgorod: NIER, 1998. - T. 3. - ISBN 5-93320-002-6.
15. Rocket
16. Bibliography of Buran (unspecified)
    . buran.ru. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
17. The launch of the Angara-1.2 PP launch vehicle took place // TV "Zvezda"
18. Godwin, Robert.
    Russian Spacecraft (undefined). - Apogee Books (English) Russian, 2006. - P. 59. - (Space Pocket Reference Guides). — ISBN 1-894959-39-6.

Toys and movies

The six-barreled monster just begs to be taken into the hands of a Hollywood blockbuster hero, but this directorial move is due only to wild imagination. Even if we discard such a convention as the need for a power source (27V, 400A, which in terms of power that everyone understands is 4 hp), then there is still a lot of ammunition left, which is about 25 kg per minute. And even the recoil... In general, the Vulcan is as useful in your hands as a pie in the sky.

But there is no need to despair, there is always a place for heroism in life. You can simply buy a Vulcan nerf gun (usually sold in the toys and sports accessories department)

And, of course, the developers of computer shooting games did not ignore the M61 either.

The main tactical and technical properties of the Vulcan M61

• The total length of the gun is 1875 mm.
• Barrel length – 1524 mm.
• The mass of the M61 Vulcan gun is 120 kg, with a set of feed systems (without cartridges) – 190 kg.
• Rate of fire – 6000 rounds/min. Instances with a firing rate of 4000 rounds/min were produced.
• The initial speed of caliber/sub-caliber projectiles is 1030 / 1100 m/s.
• Muzzle power – 5.3 MW.
• The time to reach the highest rate of fire is 0.2 - 0.3 seconds.
• Vitality - about 50 thousand shots.

The Vulcan M61 rapid-fire submachine gun is currently installed on fighters - Eagle (F-15), Corsair (F-104, A-7D, F-105D), Tomcat (F-14A, A- 7E), "Phantom" (F-4F).