What is an M39 cannon?

What is an M39 cannon?

The M39 cannon is a 20 mm caliber single-barreled revolver cannon developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s. It was used on a number of fighter aircraft from the early 1950s through the 1980s.

What aircraft use the M39A2?

The M39 was also used on the B-57B tactical bomber. Current models of the F-5 Tiger II still use the M39A2 version of this weapon. The M39A2 was introduced in 1964. The weapon is gas operated and consists of a five–chamber magazine running parallel to the barrel.

How many M39s were made?

Some 35,000 were produced before being superseded by the M61 cannon which outperformed the M39 in almost every way. The only US aircraft still flying with the M39 is the Northrop F-5, an aircraft now only used for training.

What is the M39 used for in China?

The M39 served as the basis for the T-75 autocannon developed by the Republic of China (Taiwan), as a more-powerful partial replacement for the M2HB machine gun onboard naval vessels and the HMMWV tactical vehicle, with its latest use being within the XTR-101 and XTR-102 weapon stations.

When did the M39 come out?

The M39 was developed in 1951 by the Springfield Armory. The cannon was put into service in 1952 and initially designated the T160.

How does an aircraft cannon work?

The cannon is mounted on the longitudinal axis of an aircraft on a cradle unit made of welded steel with mounting points at the barrel and rear of the cradle. The weapon may be fed from the left or right hand side and has a rate of fire of 1500 rounds per minute.

What planes have the M39 carbine?

After the introduction of the weapon on the F-86 Sabre, the M39 was subsequently used as the main armament on various other aircraft, including the North American F-100 Super Sabre, McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Northrop F-5 and experimentally on some Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters.