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Gunship

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This article is about a kind of military aircraft. For the video game, seeGunship (video game).For the synthwave band, seeGunship (band).For small armed watercraft, seegunboat.
AnAC-130Hgunship from the16th Special Operations Squadron

Agunshipis amilitary aircraftarmed withheavy aircraft guns,primarily intended for attacking ground targets either asairstrikeor asclose air support.[1]

In modern usage the term "gunship" refers tofixed-wing aircrafthavinglaterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets.[2][3]These gunships are configured to circle the target instead of performingstrafingruns. Such aircraft have their armament on one side harmonized to fire at the apex of an imaginary cone formed by the aircraft and the ground when performing apylon turn(banking turn).[2][3]The term "gunship" originated in the mid-19th century as a synonym forgunboatand also referred to the heavily armedironcladsteamshipsused during theAmerican Civil War.[4]

The termhelicopter gunshipis commonly used to describearmed helicopters.

World War II aviation

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Bomber escort

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TheB-25 bomberwas heavily armed with75mmand.50 caliber machine guns.

During 1942 and 1943, the lack of a usableescort fighterfor theUnited States Army Air Forcesin theEuropean Theatre of Operationsled to experiments in dramatically increasing the armament of a standardBoeing B-17F Flying Fortress,and later a singleConsolidated B-24D Liberator,to each have 14 to 16Browning AN/M2.50 cal machine gunsas theBoeing YB-40 Flying FortressandConsolidated XB-41 Liberatorrespectively. These were to accompany regularheavy bomberformations over occupied Europe onstrategic bombingraids for long-range escort duties as "flying destroyer gunships".[5]The YB-40 was sometimes described as a gunship,[6]and a small 25-aircraft batch of the B-17-derived gunships were built, with a dozen of these deployed to Europe; the XB-41 had problems with stability and did not progress.

Attack aircraft

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DuringWorld War II,the urgent need for hard-hittingattack aircraftled to the development of the heavily armed gunship versions of theNorth American B-25 Mitchell.For use against shipping in the Pacific 405 B-25Gs were armed with a75 mm (2.95 in) M4 cannonand a thousand B-25Hs followed. The H models, delivered from August 1943, moved the dorsal turret forward to just behind the cockpit and were armed with the lighter 75mm T13E1 cannon.[7]The B-25J variant removed the 75mm gun but carried a total of eighteen 0.50 cal (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns,more than any other contemporary American aircraft: eight in the nose, four in under-cockpitconformalflank-mount gun pod packages, two in thedorsalturret, one each in the pair of waist positions, and a pair in the tail,[7]giving a maximum of fourteen guns firing forward instrafingruns.[8]Later the B-25J was armed with eight5 in. (130 mm) high velocity aircraft rockets(HVARs).[7][9]

The British also made large numbers of twin-engined fighter bombers. Thede Havilland MosquitoFB.VI had a fixed armament of four 20 mmHispano Mk.II cannonand four.303 (7.7 mm)Browning machine guns,together with up to 4,000 pounds of bombs in thebomb bayand on racks housed in streamlined fairings under each wing, or up to eight"60lb" RP-3 rockets.De Havilland also produced seventeenMosquito FB Mk XVIIIsarmed with a 57 mmQF 6-pdr anti-tank gunwith autoloader, which were used against German ships and U-boats.

The Germans also made a sizable number of heavy fighter types (Zerstörer— "destroyer" ) armed with heavy guns (Bordkanone). Dedicated "tankbuster" aircraft such as theJu 87Gs (Kanonenvogel)were armed with twoBK 37mm autocannonin underwing gun pods. TheJu 88P gunshipswere armed with 37mm, 50mm and 75mm guns, and were used as tankbusters and as bomber destroyers. TheHs 129could carry a 30 mm (1.181 in)MK 101 cannonorMK 103 cannonin a conformally mounted gun pod (B-2/R-2). TheMe 410Hornissewere armed with the sameBK 50mm autocannonas the Ju 88P-4, but were only used as bomber destroyers. None of the German twin-engine heavy fighters types were produced or converted in large numbers.

Post–World War II aviation

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Fixed-wing aircraft

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TheAC-47providedCASwith three port side mounted7.62 mm miniguns.

In the more modern, post-World War IIfixed-wing aircraftcategory, a gunship is an aircraft havinglaterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets.[2][3]These gunships were configured to circle the target instead of performingstrafingruns. Such aircraft have their armament on one side harmonized to fire at the apex of an imaginary cone formed by the aircraft and the ground when performing apylon turn(banking turn).[2][3]

TheDouglas AC-47 Spookywas the first notable modern gunship. In 1964, during theVietnam War,[2]the popularDouglas C-47 Skytraintransport was successfully modified into a gunship by theUnited States Air Forcewith three side-firingMinigunsfor circling attacks. At the time the aircraft was known as a "Dragonship", "Puff, the Magic Dragon" or "Spooky" (officially designated FC-47, later corrected to AC-47). Its three 7.62 mm miniguns could selectively fire either 50 or 100 rounds per second.[10]Cruising in an overhead left-hand orbit at 120 knots air speed at an altitude of 3,000 feet (910 m), the gunship could put a bullet or glowing red tracer (every fifth round) into every square yard of a football field–sized target in potentially less than 10 seconds.[11]And, as long as its 45-flare and 24,000-round basic load of ammunition held out, it could do this intermittently while loitering over the target for hours.

The lesser knownFairchild AC-119G ShadowandAC-119K Stingerswere twin-engine piston-powered gunships developed by theUnited Statesduring the Vietnam War. Armed with four 7.62 mm GAU-2/A Miniguns (and two 20 mm (0.787 in)M61 Vulcansix-barrelrotary cannonsin the AC-119K version), they replaced theDouglas AC-47 Spookyand operated alongside the early versions of theAC-130 Spectregunship.

It was the later and largerLockheed AC-130Gunship IIthat became the modern, post–World War II origin of the term gunship in military aviation.[12]These heavily armed aircraft used a variety of weapon systems, including 7.62 mm GAU-2/A Miniguns, 20 mm (0.787 in)M61 Vulcansix-barrelrotary cannons,25 mm (0.984 in)GAU-12/U Equalizerfive-barreled rotary cannons, 30 mmMk44 Bushmaster IIchain guns,40 mm (1.58 in) L/60 Bofors autocannons,and 105 mm (4.13 in)M102 howitzers.TheDouglas AC-47 Spooky,theFairchild AC-119,[13]and the AC-130 Spectre/Spooky,[14]were vulnerable, and meant to operate only after achievingair superiority.[2]

Smaller gunship designs such as theFairchild AU-23 Peacemakerand theHelio AU-24 Stallionwere also designed by the United States during the Vietnam War. These aircraft were meant to be cheap and easy to fly and maintain, and were to be given to friendly governments in Southeast Asia to assist withcounter-insurgencyoperations, eventually seeing service with theKhmer National Air Force,Royal Thai Air Force,andRepublic of Vietnam Air Forceas well as limited use by the United States Air Force.

Renewed interest in the concept of gunships has resulted in the development of a gunship variant of theAlenia C-27J Spartan.Although the United States Air Force decided not to procure the AC-27J, other nations including Italy have chosen the aircraft for introduction.[15]Additionally, in 2013 the USAir Force Special Operations Commandreportedly tested a gunship version of theC-145A Skytruckarmed with aGAU-18twin-mount.50-calibre machine gun system.[16]

Helicopter gunships

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TheMil Mi-24was one of the first dedicated gunship helicopters.

Early helicopter gunships also operated in the side-firing configuration, with an early example being theAérospatiale Alouette III.During theOverseas wars in Africain the 1960s, thePortuguese Air Forceexperimented with the installation ofM2 Browning.50 caliber machine guns in a side-firing twin-mounting configuration in some of its Alouette III helicopters. Later, the.50 caliber machine guns were replaced by aMG 151 20mm cannonin a single mounting. These helicopters were known in Portuguese service as "helicanhões"(heli-cannons) and were used in the escort of unarmed transport helicopters inair assaultoperations and in the fire support to the troops in the ground. TheSouth AfricanandRhodesianair forces later used armed Alouette III in similar configurations as the Portuguese, respectively in theSouth African BorderandRhodesian Bushwars.[17]

During theAlgerian War,the French operatedSikorsky H-34"Pirate" armed with a German 20mmMG151cannon and two.50 machine guns. During the early days of the Vietnam War, USMCH-34swere among the first helicopter gunships in theater, fitted with theTemporary Kit-1 (TK-1),comprising twoM60C machine gunsand two 19-shot2.75 inch rocket pods.The operations were met with mixed enthusiasm, and the armed H-34s, known as "Stingers", were quickly phased out. The TK-1 kit would form the basis of theTK-2kit used later on the UH-1E helicopters of the USMC.

The U.S. Army also experimented with H-34 gunships armed with M2.50 caliber machine-guns and 2.75-inch rockets. In September 1971, a CH-34 was armed with two M2.50 caliber machine guns, four M1919.30 caliber machine guns, forty 2.75-inch rockets, two 5-inch high velocity aerial rockets (HVAR), plus two additional.30 caliber machine guns in the left side aft windows and one.50 caliber machine gun in the right side cargo door. The result was the world's most heavily armed helicopter at the time.

Also, during the Vietnam War, the ubiquitousBell UH-1 Iroquoishelicopters were modified into gunships by mounting the U.S. Helicopter Armament Subsystems—these were forward-firing weapons, such asmachine guns,rockets,andautocannons,that began to appear in 1962–1963.[18]Rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) can use a variety of combat maneuvers to approach a target. In their case, the termgunshipis synonymous withheavily armed helicopter.[19]Specifically, dedicatedattack helicopterssuch as theBell AH-1 Cobraalso fit this meaning.[19]In any case, the gunship armaments include machine guns, rockets, andmissiles.[19]

The SovietMil Mi-24(NATO code name: Hind) is a large, heavily armed and armored helicopter gunship andtroop transport.[20]It was introduced in the 1970s and operated by the pre-1991Soviet Air Forceand its successors post-1991, and more than 30 other nations.[21]It was heavily armed[21]with a reinforced fuselage, designed to withstand.50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun fire. Its armored cockpits and titanium rotor head are able to withstand 20 mm cannon hits.[21]

Examples

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Fixed-wing aircraft

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The Fairchild AU-23A in flight

Helicopters

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A Bell UH-1B gunship inVietnam

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^Wragg, David W. (1973).A Dictionary of Aviation(first ed.). Osprey. p. 147.ISBN9780850451634.
  2. ^abcdefBallard 1982,p. 9.
  3. ^abcdHamlin 1970.
  4. ^"Mystery photo unseen for 30 years may show Civil War gunship".Fox News.Associated Press. February 14, 2015.
  5. ^Buttler, Griffith.American Secret Projects: Fighters, Bombers Attack Aircraft 1937 to 1945.pp. 104-105.
  6. ^Dorr 2011.
  7. ^abcMerriam 2000.
  8. ^North American B-25B Mitchell Factsheet.
  9. ^Skaarup 2012,p. 265.
  10. ^It can be seen in actionhere.
  11. ^"AC-47 Factsheet".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-10-11.
  12. ^Ballard 1982,p. 84, quote: "... the Air Force decided to substitute Gunship II for the more nautical Gunboat designation".
  13. ^"The AC-119 Gunships".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-01-26.Retrieved2010-11-12.
  14. ^"AC-130H Spectre, AC-130U Spooky".FAS.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-09-27.Retrieved2015-04-04.
  15. ^"Italian Air Force to Launch Gunship C-27J".
  16. ^"The Air Force Tested a Mini-Gunship Last Year".16 March 2014.
  17. ^Stringer 2006,p. 124.
  18. ^Dunstan 2003.
  19. ^abcBishop 2006.
  20. ^Mil Mi-24 Hind Gunship. By Alexander Miladenov. Osprey Publishing 2010. Pages 4–10.
  21. ^abcOPFOR WORLDWIDE EQUIPMENT GUIDE

Sources

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