Ex Nihilo - especially if you consider the often very limited resources and lack of proper tools etc, you gotta be pretty smart to overcome such challenges and end up with a combat effective solution.
It was one of these weapons Edward “Teddy” Sheean used to earn an extremely overdue posthumous Victoria Cross in 2020 for his bravery in WWII onboard HMAS Armidale by shooting down one Japanese aircraft and damaging at least 2 more while injured. His shipmates had already abandoned their sinking ship and were being strafed by the Japanese, and it was reported he was still firing as he slipped beneath the waves. He is now the only member of the Royal Australian Navy to have earned a VC, and the only junior sailor in the RAN to have a major combatant named after him, the Collins class submarine HMAS Sheean.
When I'm out hunting in Finland, I always shoot the ice off my Lahti before striking down an elk with a high explosive round. Nothing to see there... Seriously that whole shooting the ice off the muzzle thing and cocking the gun with a cocking rope is so incredible. Love the attidue of the guys who came up with this!!!
It also makes me suspect that being an anti-aircraft gunner on a warship was not a fun job. At least this gun has a somewhat proper magazine, there were also guns with just 15 rounds. And the whole ship depends on you and a few of your still living colleagues while you're busy hauling the bolt back into firing position. Much respect, but I'm glad I have another job.
A defective 2.4 ghz signal extender is going to make any radio operated object unusable for miles. You'll still need the cannon to explain your neighbours why their garage doors doesn't work anymore though.
My dad was a gunners mate on board USS Amsterdam CL - 101. His duty station was one of these. He told me they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with them. They just threw a wall of HE into the air and if the planes flew into it good. And many times they did just that. But that was his job. Stand behind one of those and pull the trigger.
I would go to the United States only to ask farmers the standard dimensions of a barn, and with that data I will produce an average, I was given to understood their broad side are like 19 metres or similar.
Quantity is a quality all its own. Also, if the AK-47 could barely hit the broad side of a barn from the inside, I think the 20mm can be given some slack.
"In the next video, I will be doing another fun facts series on the M777 Howitzer being sold here at the auction. If you are in need of a large artillery piece in your backyard instead of that in-ground pool your wife really wants, this is the ideal way to go."
Would getting planning permission to use a Howitzer for an in-ground pool not be prohibitively difficult? I would think that the neighbours would raise concerns about periodically excavating the pool (crater, w/ explosives) instead of having a permanent install-- ah, I see. After the purchase they could well be less reluctant to deny permission to construct permanent features.
I think it would be a good investment in the long run to get the Howitzer first and then make a pool with it with craters because a pool cannot make a Howitzer. This way, you could make a business by making pools for people by shooting Howitzer shells in their backyards. It might be a good idea to use yellow caution tape around the target zones so people know where not to stand while their pool is being made.
Wow, the recoil spring itself is so strong that you could shoot a lethal crossbow bolt with it! There were military crossbows which weren't this strong!
Ragnarok Stravius The Swiss and Germans are both known for over engineering things, same goes for Sweden in various engineering fields/areas (cars for example).
Not denying that. But a lot of things would be different if that happened. But given the circumstances calling it "piggybacking" and "sneaky" is just a bit too far. The original inventor got paid for his work!
My Grandfather was a skipper for a mine-sweeper with a few of these on it during WW2 and they had a near tragedy with the muzzle cap because not only did someone forget to remove it, the magazine actually didn't have the inert rounds in it. However, the HE round didn't actually explode passing through the cap because its fuse was faulty, so it managed to get a few hundred meters before finally half-exploding. Once in a while, things go so wrong that the worst wrong is cancelled out in the process...
"Lance Corp'ral, there's a squadron of zeros headed in our direction and if you don't use that big ol' boat rifle to shoot em down, they're gonna sink this boat and you won't get anymore crayons." "AYE, SARNT." [metallic rustling, grunting, and a loud kerchunk] "SIR, MY FINGER HURTS NOW." "Do hwat?" "HARD TO PULL BOLT BACK, SIR. BOAT RIFLE IS READY BUT FINGER HURTS." "Did you...uh.." "DO WHAT SIR?" "Uh. Nevermind. Shoot good, Marine." "KILL."
Thanks for the great video! I just finished re-reading Alistair MacLean's excellent WWII naval battle classic "HMS Ulysses". The book vividly describes the Arctic convoy runs from Iceland to Murmansk and this gun shows up many times as the heavy cruiser tries to ward off German bombers and dive bombers. One of the gunners does, indeed, blow up his gun by firing an HE round with the cover iced up. Reading that book gives one a whole renewed sense of respect and even awe at the men in the British and American Navies and the men who served as Merchant Mariners.
AFAIK the nearest that the USN got to a convoy going to Russia was when the USS New York was part of the distant cover for one convoy. She was withdrawn soon afterward and assigned to one of the Pacific fleets. The USN built ships to operate in the Pacific and they were totally unsuitable for the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. BTW I am not trying to stir up inter Navy rivalry. If my understanding is not correct please feel free to correct me. Back on the subject. On one ship that I served in the Chief Petty Officer Gunnery Instructor hated the Oerlikons but reserved most of his spleen for the 'Chicago Pianos' but we shared a love affair with the Bofors and the ubiquitous twin 4".
Indeed, it should be on every school reading list to remind them that while demand "safe space" rooms their 17 and 18 year old forebearers were dyeing at sea in below zero temps. I doubt anyone who has ever read that book will forget it, it's his masterwork IMHO.
On the cocking: You missed option 4: 3 strong men and a rope. (Not kidding; AIUI, that was one of the official procedures if you were in a hurry and the elevation cocking wasn't an option.)
The bolt-bone is connected to the action-arm bones, the action-arm bones are connected to the sleeve bone. The sleeve bone is connected to the recoil spring bone.
Many years ago I came across a stash of old "Guns & Ammo" magazines from the early fifties. There were adds in the back selling these things as military surplus to the general public. I can't remember the price but I remember thinking "wow, that's pretty affordable!", and I was 10 years old.
Give one to Dirty Harry so he could really say with passion...….."Go ahead Punk, make my day".....I love the way he curled his lip when he said those iconic words.
I served 11 years in the Royal Navy and one of the ships I was on was a minesweeper in the Persian Gulf and this ‘sweeper had a double barrelled Oerlikon mounted just abaft the funnel. The firing position for the aimer was on the left of the mounting with both guns on his right-hand side. One day when the squadron was at sea it was decided that a practise shoot was needed, the first time the Oerlikon had been fired since I'd been onboard. One of the ‘sweepers towed a splash target and as it passed, the other ‘sweepers steaming line astern opened fire on the target as it came to bear. Our gunner opened up on the target and the left gun jammed, the gunner looked over his right shoulder at the gun saw that the next shell in the magazine, which was a tracer, had somehow been activated and was burning in the magazine. He calmly unshipped the magazine and threw the whole thing overboard before any more rounds in the magazine caught fire. The he threw that magazine a distance of about 15ft, straight over the side, which was a fair feat of strength because those magazine are not light when they are empty but full of rounds they are weighty piece of kit..
lucky43113 It's like 50-60s safety razors - sell the handles at cost & profit on the blades. In this case bet the ammo costs! Probably still made somewhere in the world but just try 2 explain 2 Feds why u r importing 20 mm cannon rounds.
Funny that Ian mentioned the "...free space in your living room..." Back in the late 1980's, I knew a guy who had a de-activated Oerklikon in his living room; mount and all. Damn, it was so cool.
Cool video, Ian. I knew everyone used these but your other 3 facts are new to me. The bit about loading solid shot at the top of magazines to clear ice is a bit mind-boggling.
lol Just sitting there in your living room with a beer, waiting for the intruder to come through the front door, and a camera set up to capture the look of terror on the poor bastard's face.
According to a user on /k/ they had used a single shot 20mm conversion for a Barret M82 in a self defense situation (cleaning the gun at the time and therefor closest weapon to use when heard someone force their way into his house) against two robbers killed one (basically evaporated the deceased's torso) and the other ran. However it severely damage the user's hearing (temporarily deaf) with a degraded ability to hear afterwards.
Holy crap that makes so much sense as to why you always see these things pointing straight up in vintage pics. I always thought it was to get the barrels out of the way but the cocking system explains it way better. Thanks.
Had these on the Viet Nam PTFs. 1 each on port and starboard. I was a loader on my first PTF and the snail mags were really heavy for a skinny 20 year old. The big risk was a hang fire - if it blew it would take the whole mount (and crew) out - unscrew and throw over the side. If you were lucky.
Thank for you posting this video. My father was a GM3 on the S.S. George W. Childs and was primarily assigned to the 20MM Oerlikon. He was aboard the Childs at the Normandy invasion. The Childs was deliberately sunk in the sand as part of the artificial breakwater for Mulberry A. My father and the rest of the crew were aboard the ship for two weeks before heading back to England. He's 92 and still sharp. I asked him about the manual for the Oerlikon. He says that he never saw one. He was trained at the Brooklyn Armed Guard Center. Armed Guard crews were pretty much on their own after that. He was aware that if a shell got caught in the breech, he had about a minute to clear it before it would explode. Fortunately, that never happened. Thanks again for the video. My father will enjoy seeing this!
Just informed the missus that I'm off to auction to buy a 20mm anti-aircraft gun. She informed me that if I go to auction again, she goes for good... On the bright side, at least now I have enough space in the living room for my new Oerlikon!
I used to work on a Oerlikon. It was a horizontal borer we used to machine the mine hunter HMAS Huon exhaust manifolds for re-sleeving. Was old but worked well.
Fun fact: In 1969 US Army, AIT 11Delta Armor Recon school, Ft Knox Kentucky, we were trained in the use of a 20mm cannon mounted on our APCs! It had a driver-controlled switch box with single, 3-shot burst, and full auto positions. The TC in the cupola aimed and ordered the shot sequence which the driver set and pulled the trigger! It was a fun weapon to play with but I didn't see any mounted on APCs in Vietnam.
The 20mm was effective in US Navy service until the Japanese resorted to Kamikaze tactics late in the war. It could not stop Japanese aircraft on a crash course. Navy personnel above decks knew "When the 20mm kicks in, that's when it's time to hit the deck," and crew members below decks knew it was time to close off the air intakes to avoid the fire from the Kamikaze strike from being drawn into them. Even the 40mm Bofors guns had a hard time stopping the Kamikazes. They were replaced by a 3-inch AA gun shortly after the war, and the 20mm was removed entirely. Still, a great weapon up to 1945.
That weapon was a gamechanger for light naval AAA ,setting the standard for most of the war. By 1944 however the 20mm Oerlikon was considered to be too light to deal with air threats (particularily so Kamikazes), and more emphasis was put in the Bofors as the baseline for light naval AAA defence. When are you going to get the chance to do a video about that one? ;). And...that's some amazing job you have Ian, will never stop repeating it. I'm just drooling each time you put up something like this :).
There's two PT boats out there-fully operational, that I know of on the water. PT 658 in Portland, OR and PT 305 in New Orleans. Both are fully restored Higgins PTboats and are on the water.
Ian you NEED to do more vids about aircraft guns if you get the chance. Even if man of them are rather know, or obscure at best. It's hard to find some nice footage of those. I'd love to hear some more about those electrically primed M3 .50s or German MK103s.
You have to have ammo for something like this good luck with that; second these are for rich gun collecters and out of the price range of the average person.
While USA failed to develop a reliable 20mm cannon from an European design. Japan took an american .50 and created one of the best 20mm cannons of the war with the Ho-5
I qualified as a mount-captain on a 20mm Mk-16, which was the heaviest flexible-mount weapon on USN units from the '70s thru the mid '90s. It was originally an aircraft cannon (A-1D Skyraiders carried four of them) but was adapted for shipboard use out of necessity, I assume. It had many of the features of the Oerlikon, with the exception of the feed system, which was a rotating, five-stage carousel driven by a cam powered off the recoil of the bolt. It required an insane amount of oil to keep it running, including a large reservoir that had to be refilled regularly. It was charged by using a 3/4 inch ratchet to turn the carousel until a round dropped through the receiver and onto the deck, but only after the gunner used a foot-stirrup to simultaneously push down with his foot while pulling up on the grips like he's doing curls at the gym. once the bolt locks to the rear and the first round drops, we're ready to rock. There were no sights on the gun. I always told my gunners "Use the force"........ and then "Walk the tracers onto the target"....... Every fifth round was an AP(I), the balance being HE. A surprisingly effective weapon at a time when a gap in capabilities became apparent (this was when the specter of terrorist small-boat attacks became manifest). I believe it was superseded in naval service by suitably modified versions of the 25mm Bushmaster. No doubt a more capable weapon....................................
This is the gun that the Swiss wanted Charlie Wilson to arm the Afghans with to fight the Russians... They tried to convince him that it was mule portable...
"When compared to the Oerlikon cannon which was made out of 250 parts, the Polsten was made out of 119 parts, without sacrificing the effectiveness or the reliability of the cannon. Simplification of the design of the Polsten cannon made its production much cheaper. The cost of one Oerlikon cannon was about £350, while the cost of the Polsten was between £60 and £70. In January 1944, the 21st Army Group decided that only 20 mm Polsten guns would be used as a standard light gun to simplify supply. The Polsten was used as a substitute for the Oerlikon in the same roles, one of which was as an airborne unit anti-aircraft gun, used in Operation Market Garden. It was used on a wheeled mounting that could be towed behind a jeep. " Polsten is only 57 kg (126 lb)... and why swiss would be selling pre WW2 guns when USA was most likely full of this type of ex-WW2 equipment?
Let's just say,you need alot off mules.In my younger fitter days we used to carry a 50 cal browning with tripod in a six man team.Lets just say that you had blisters on your back.
Thanks, Ian. I'm an armchair historian with particular interest in the weapons of the WW2 era. Oerlikon, and its descendant, the Polsten, figure heavily in accounts. It's nice to understand operation of such a weapon, but revealing its oddities and flaws tell us so much more about arms design and the evolution of weapons systems. Additionally, as a writer, knowing the quirks helps me both delight and better inform my reader base.
Would be nice, but at an estimated sale price of up to (or over) 40k not likely... at least pre-auction. I will admit if I had the cash and were able to bid on it and won, I'd be willing to put at least one mag through it at least once, and if that were the case I'd definitely contact Ian and see if he wanted to come over and help out. Somehow I don't think it would take much convincing... :-)
MrJest2 Yeah, I know... Sometimes he gets to test things to demonstrate they work, with permission of the owner, but this... Also, how the hell would you get it to the range? I'm pretty sure they're not just gonna 'take it out back' to test it like they have before with rifles...
@@MichaelBerthelsen I seem to remember a Clint Eastwood movie in the 60's where they set up one of these guns to break into a safety deposit place and blew the crap out of the whole building.
Ian, I enjoy all your videos and your slightly restrained sense of humor... terrific reporting and of course, generally all that great research you put into your work. Please keep it up. (ex army competition shooter)
Fun fact Nr. 5: The other most important AA gun of WWII, the Bofors 40 mm, also came from a neutral state. ;) What do we learn? Defensive oriented neutral states obviously design the best defensive weapon systems. Though I have to admit, coastal defense weapons are not really a concern for Switzerland.
My Dad was a RN Gunner and fired one of these against Stukas when his ship was on convoy escort in the north Atlantic in WWIi, and yes ice was a major issue. The crew had to constantly remove ice from the ships upper works to prevent it becoming top heavy and capsizing in heavy seas.
My grandfather was an engineer working on various ordnance projects in WWII and smuggled home an Oerlikon bit by bit over time. Once my grandmother died, my father and uncles destroyed the breach to keep it from being operational. Gave me (I was a kid at the time) some inert ammo (no powder or primers) and the sight which I still have.
these probably more of these privately owned in european gun owners collections than americans.. there is several european countries where owning machine guns is legal..
My grandparents worked in a factory producing guns like these during the war, while a grandfather of a friend of mine shot them. He (the friend's grandfather) told me that they'd be shooting so many rounds during a fight, he'd sworn he saw a barrel or two get so red hot they'd bend and slump once the shooter took a long enough pause between mag dumps. awesome weapons!
I've stumbled upon two oerlikons in Thailand today. They are in the open so I could play with them a little and knew how to do that thanks to seeing this vid before. They didn't seem to be deactivated at all by the way!
A pair of mark one sailors arms with mark one sailors legs attached is also another option... I do remember one of my German friends telling me all of his grandads shared stories in the Kriegs Marine. Like using barrel covers, and leaving the cocking ropes one all day. So the mount was ready for action, the spring wasn't constantly under tension, and the barrel was mostly protected from the elements. All you'd do, is your loader would partially lift it for you, and you'd squat under and push up on the shoulder rests. The loader would remove the rope, while you strapped yourself in.
The Luftwaffe used this in aircraft as the MG FF, most famously on the wing mounts for the 109E but in a few turret installations when they realized they needed heavier bomber defense but the MG-151/20 wasn't ready yet (pretty sure some of the early model FW-200s had them in a ventral turret). I wonder how they dealt with the cocking issue in either case--hydraulic pressure?
The MG-FF is absolutely not the same as this Oerlikon! Sure, both were developed from the German WW1 era Becker gun, but that's where the similarities end. Both guns have completly different uses; the MG FF was a dedicated aircraft gun while this type of Oerlikon was a dedicated AA gun. Oerlikon made 3 models of 20mm guns, each having different casing lengths. The Oerlikon FF had the shortest casing and was the base for the development of the MG-FF and the Type 99 model 1. The Oerlikon FFL was used as a base for the gun in this video and the Type 99 Model 2. And the Oerlikon FFS (the longest of the three) served as the base for the Hispano-Suiza guns used by the British and the French. Impressive guns, all of them. Something about a big ammo drum on the top just seems more badass than a belt hanging on the side.
The model we used had cocking arms attached to the base. You would domp the gun and attach those arms to the lugs on the front side of the action-arms; then you would use your body-weight to raise the muzzle and while doing this the cocking arms would pull the action-arms back and cock the cannon. Extra fact: the last rounds out of a magazine need to be shot as a burst; if you try to single-shot these rounds, the spring in the magazine wasn't powerful enough to feed the cannon when said cannon was going up, down and rolling left to right on a moving ship.
Great presentation. You certainly know your stuff. Mesmerizing destructive power of this gun, and fascinating factual anecdotes. A cocking handle like a crossbow to start the blow-back mechanism, then firing H.E. rounds at over 400 rpm... Holy Christ!
This is a must buy. I have one mounted to the roof of my home and not a day goes by that I don't use it. It's true, I'm not very fond of my neighbors, their pets, any vehicle or aircraft, but that's kind of on me. Since the live rounds can get expensive, I usually save those for use on the unsuspecting local fauna. People get upset because they say I'm shredding all of the trees.
@@stupitdog9686 They just hire guards for the merchant ships and use actual warships to patrol the somalian coast. The Somalian pirates haven't been much of an issue in about 10 years.
I've got too much free space in my living room, I think I need some self-defense against intruders... 1000 yards away (914m).... in airplanes... I live near an airport. I'm sure the Durham Region Police and the Mounties won't mind a Canadian owning a 20mm auto-cannon for self-defense. Might come in use one day :)
I saw this in the auction program and hoped it would show up on Forgotten Weapons. Super-cool gun and used every-damn-where. Because the basic mount required no power, you could bolt them down all over the place--and the USN did exactly that. It only dropped out of favor when the Kamikazes began in earnest, as the 40mm (and 5-in with proximity fuzes) were far more effective in blowing suiciders out of the sky. By Okinawa, the word was that you shut down the engine room ventilation when the 20mm guns opened up, to avoid sucking in the fire from the hit.
My uncles were US Navy Gunner's Mates in WW2. They described how one of the 'rites of passage' to become a qualified on the 20mm was to fashion and employ the toggle rope to cock the gun.
Seems to be missing a large part of the base, namely a pre 1990 Toyota pickup truck.
B. Hagedash youd be surprised what hajis manage to pile on the suspension of those poor trucks
BH: Look in the auction catalog under "Technical"!
FSM1138 a guy in my unit talks about being harassed in the Stan by a truck mounted ZPU.
Ex Nihilo - especially if you consider the often very limited resources and lack of proper tools etc, you gotta be pretty smart to overcome such challenges and end up with a combat effective solution.
B. Hagedash just duct tape it to a Honda Civic and you'll be fine
It was one of these weapons Edward “Teddy” Sheean used to earn an extremely overdue posthumous Victoria Cross in 2020 for his bravery in WWII onboard HMAS Armidale by shooting down one Japanese aircraft and damaging at least 2 more while injured. His shipmates had already abandoned their sinking ship and were being strafed by the Japanese, and it was reported he was still firing as he slipped beneath the waves. He is now the only member of the Royal Australian Navy to have earned a VC, and the only junior sailor in the RAN to have a major combatant named after him, the Collins class submarine HMAS Sheean.
Better than that, he was wounded early in the battle and he lashed himself to the gun in order to continue firing.
@@marvindebot3264 indeed you are correct!
Now that is the definition of a hero. Sacrificed himself to save his shipmates. RIP.
It’s perfect that the guy who kept fighting as his ship sinks, gets a submarine named after him
... that such men lived ...
When I'm out hunting in Finland, I always shoot the ice off my Lahti before striking down an elk with a high explosive round. Nothing to see there...
Seriously that whole shooting the ice off the muzzle thing and cocking the gun with a cocking rope is so incredible. Love the attidue of the guys who came up with this!!!
I'd like to see what you could come up with.
You hunt elk, with HE rounds?
Gotta love Finns
It also makes me suspect that being an anti-aircraft gunner on a warship was not a fun job. At least this gun has a somewhat proper magazine, there were also guns with just 15 rounds. And the whole ship depends on you and a few of your still living colleagues while you're busy hauling the bolt back into firing position. Much respect, but I'm glad I have another job.
Had to be naval gunners
Yes, I bet there really isn't nothing to see in a elk shot down by a 20mm HE round.
This will be ideal. The drones around the neighborhood have become quite the pest lately.
I wonder if this gun can fire proximity fused rounds.
TotalBiscuit, The Cynical Brit what are you doing here? Looking for a weapon to hunt down the next bad Warhammer 40k game adaptation?
Naturally, when your airsoft replicas don't drop the drone the only logical escalation of force is a 20mm naval AA-cannon. Everyone knows that.
A defective 2.4 ghz signal extender is going to make any radio operated object unusable for miles. You'll still need the cannon to explain your neighbours why their garage doors doesn't work anymore though.
You are just about the last person i expected to see here.
My dad was a gunners mate on board USS Amsterdam CL - 101. His duty station was one of these. He told me they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with them. They just threw a wall of HE into the air and if the planes flew into it good. And many times they did just that. But that was his job. Stand behind one of those and pull the trigger.
I would go to the United States only to ask farmers the standard dimensions of a barn, and with that data I will produce an average, I was given to understood their broad side are like 19 metres or similar.
Quantity is a quality all its own.
Also, if the AK-47 could barely hit the broad side of a barn from the inside, I think the 20mm can be given some slack.
"In the next video, I will be doing another fun facts series on the M777 Howitzer being sold here at the auction. If you are in need of a large artillery piece in your backyard instead of that in-ground pool your wife really wants, this is the ideal way to go."
Would getting planning permission to use a Howitzer for an in-ground pool not be prohibitively difficult?
I would think that the neighbours would raise concerns about periodically excavating the pool (crater, w/ explosives) instead of having a permanent install-- ah, I see. After the purchase they could well be less reluctant to deny permission to construct permanent features.
I think it would be a good investment in the long run to get the Howitzer first and then make a pool with it with craters because a pool cannot make a Howitzer. This way, you could make a business by making pools for people by shooting Howitzer shells in their backyards. It might be a good idea to use yellow caution tape around the target zones so people know where not to stand while their pool is being made.
TheRageDragon oh shoot. I've been waiting for my pool to produce a howitzer all his time for nothing!
I'm sorry I had to shatter your dreams like that.
Tomartyr you can clean them off and shoot heroin all you want. a few cents to get new needles could easily be used to get more drugs. life hack
Wow, the recoil spring itself is so strong that you could shoot a lethal crossbow bolt with it! There were military crossbows which weren't this strong!
So when do the main battleship guns go up for auction?
Joe Turner That would be a sweet bed, wouldn't it... ;-)
Joe Turner I think the 16"/50 caliber three gun turret is in the October auction
SonsOfLorgar Hmm... I suspect local building codes don't allow for heavy naval artillery expansions...
I'd like to add a Schwerer Gustav to my collection of train and railway related memorabilia please. Just for personal use
Michael that made me laugh so hard I almost peed myself .
A Swiss gun that isn't massively overengineered, to the delight of gun mechanics around the globe.
Ain't the Germans the over-engineers?
Ragnarok Stravius The Swiss and Germans are both known for over engineering things, same goes for Sweden in various engineering fields/areas (cars for example).
How was that sneaky? The patent was bought legitimately, and then improved significantly in the years between the wars.
Not denying that. But a lot of things would be different if that happened. But given the circumstances calling it "piggybacking" and "sneaky" is just a bit too far. The original inventor got paid for his work!
I thought the swiss autocannon was the Solothurn S18 1000
Next video: one of Yamato's 460 mm turrets!
They are at the Bottom of the East China Sea courtesy of the U.S.Navy.
Excellent for home defense, as long a you wear ear muff's and are happy for it to take your home with you.
@Rafael Enriquez Its not the yamato. It's the Mushashi that sunk in the philippines.
@@rj4590 That was the mushashi.
@@bluemarshall6180 Okay,but wherever they exactly are it's thanks to the U.S.Navy...
My Grandfather was a skipper for a mine-sweeper with a few of these on it during WW2 and they had a near tragedy with the muzzle cap because not only did someone forget to remove it, the magazine actually didn't have the inert rounds in it. However, the HE round didn't actually explode passing through the cap because its fuse was faulty, so it managed to get a few hundred meters before finally half-exploding. Once in a while, things go so wrong that the worst wrong is cancelled out in the process...
Underway the 396lb of resistance would officially make it a 2 marine job (a private to shoulder the rope and an NCO to motivate them) yes?
"Lance Corp'ral, there's a squadron of zeros headed in our direction and if you don't use that big ol' boat rifle to shoot em down, they're gonna sink this boat and you won't get anymore crayons."
"AYE, SARNT." [metallic rustling, grunting, and a loud kerchunk] "SIR, MY FINGER HURTS NOW."
"Do hwat?"
"HARD TO PULL BOLT BACK, SIR. BOAT RIFLE IS READY BUT FINGER HURTS."
"Did you...uh.."
"DO WHAT SIR?"
"Uh. Nevermind. Shoot good, Marine."
"KILL."
The cocking rope is also the sling.
David Platenkamp
Single or double point?
I think Daniel Boone had one of these...…….the flintlock was a pain to cock.
"And this is the Swivel Point which you do not have"
Do you recomend it for consealed carry ?
Not this model, but the snub nose pocket edition is coming out soon!
If you find a good holster, let me know, i've been trying to find one for a while now.
I think ankle holster is probably the only way to go.
If you are able to carry that gun, then you don't need it. You would be both bulletproof and able to crush skulls with your biceps.
No. It did not take glock magazines..
Thanks for the great video! I just finished re-reading Alistair MacLean's excellent WWII naval battle classic "HMS Ulysses". The book vividly describes the Arctic convoy runs from Iceland to Murmansk and this gun shows up many times as the heavy cruiser tries to ward off German bombers and dive bombers. One of the gunners does, indeed, blow up his gun by firing an HE round with the cover iced up. Reading that book gives one a whole renewed sense of respect and even awe at the men in the British and American Navies and the men who served as Merchant Mariners.
I read the book a long time ago, it is a really good one. I am pretty sure the gun cap mishap was on a 40mm Bofors tough.
AFAIK the nearest that the USN got to a convoy going to Russia was when the USS New York was part of the distant cover for one convoy. She was withdrawn soon afterward and assigned to one of the Pacific fleets. The USN built ships to operate in the Pacific and they were totally unsuitable for the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. BTW I am not trying to stir up inter Navy rivalry. If my understanding is not correct please feel free to correct me.
Back on the subject. On one ship that I served in the Chief Petty Officer Gunnery Instructor hated the Oerlikons but reserved most of his spleen for the 'Chicago Pianos' but we shared a love affair with the Bofors and the ubiquitous twin 4".
@@Matracokura Quad-mount two-pounder "pom-pom", to be pedantic. That said, the Bofors *is* (distantly) descended from the two-pounder.
@@Jon908584 USS Wasp and USS Washington were assigned to convoy PQ17
Indeed, it should be on every school reading list to remind them that while demand "safe space" rooms their 17 and 18 year old forebearers were dyeing at sea in below zero temps. I doubt anyone who has ever read that book will forget it, it's his masterwork IMHO.
"... or, if you just happen to be an idiot ..." Ian, your videos are the absolute best!
On the cocking: You missed option 4: 3 strong men and a rope. (Not kidding; AIUI, that was one of the official procedures if you were in a hurry and the elevation cocking wasn't an option.)
The bolt-bone is connected to the action-arm bones, the action-arm bones are connected to the sleeve bone. The sleeve bone is connected to the recoil spring bone.
Many years ago I came across a stash of old "Guns & Ammo" magazines from the early fifties. There were adds in the back selling these things as military surplus to the general public. I can't remember the price but I remember thinking "wow, that's pretty affordable!", and I was 10 years old.
That’s funny!🤣🤣🤣
The Oerlikon management must have worn mourning bands for 6 months after peace was signed in 1945.
maybe, but most of these were built elsewhere on Licence.
We were still shooting these guns in 2001!
Oerlikon management must have learned that trick from Baron Rothschild, the way to huge profits during a war, sell weapons to both sides...
@@aryanson
Getúlio Vargas also did that, but with latex.
I doubt they've had time, probably still counting the profits to this day.
I can just picture Matt from Demo Ranch buying this... lol "Don't tell Mere. SERIOUSLY DON'T."
Give one to Dirty Harry so he could really say with passion...….."Go ahead Punk, make my day".....I love the way he curled his lip when he said those iconic words.
We can hope
It's already sold, so, he probably did.lol.
Reckon the gun itself would tell Mary
I served 11 years in the Royal Navy and one of the ships I was on was a minesweeper in the Persian Gulf and this ‘sweeper had a double barrelled Oerlikon mounted just abaft the funnel. The firing position for the aimer was on the left of the mounting with both guns on his right-hand side.
One day when the squadron was at sea it was decided that a practise shoot was needed, the first time the Oerlikon had been fired since I'd been onboard. One of the ‘sweepers towed a splash target and as it passed, the other ‘sweepers steaming line astern opened fire on the target as it came to bear. Our gunner opened up on the target and the left gun jammed, the gunner looked over his right shoulder at the gun saw that the next shell in the magazine, which was a tracer, had somehow been activated and was burning in the magazine. He calmly unshipped the magazine and threw the whole thing overboard before any more rounds in the magazine caught fire. The he threw that magazine a distance of about 15ft, straight over the side, which was a fair feat of strength because those magazine are not light when they are empty but full of rounds they are weighty piece of kit..
Estimated Price: $25,000 - $40,000 I would have thought higher
Probably a pretty limited market.
Damn, miss my chance for a automatic 20mm cannon in my living room.
lucky43113 It's like 50-60s safety razors - sell the handles at cost & profit on the blades. In this case bet the ammo costs! Probably still made somewhere in the world but just try 2 explain 2 Feds why u r importing 20 mm cannon rounds.
Christopher Cripps you're thinking about cartridge razors, and it's still modern practice (just like ink jet printers)
They reload.
Funny that Ian mentioned the "...free space in your living room..." Back in the late 1980's, I knew a guy who had a de-activated Oerklikon in his living room; mount and all. Damn, it was so cool.
Four years late but I yelled out loud "COOL" at that cocking mechanism.
Six days later, so did I.
Cool video, Ian. I knew everyone used these but your other 3 facts are new to me. The bit about loading solid shot at the top of magazines to clear ice is a bit mind-boggling.
Would you recommend it for home defense?
Absolutely; it will make short work of any rampaging homes that are attacking you.
Robber: OH S***! _RUNNING!!!_
lol Just sitting there in your living room with a beer, waiting for the intruder to come through the front door, and a camera set up to capture the look of terror on the poor bastard's face.
According to a user on /k/ they had used a single shot 20mm conversion for a Barret M82 in a self defense situation (cleaning the gun at the time and therefor closest weapon to use when heard someone force their way into his house) against two robbers killed one (basically evaporated the deceased's torso) and the other ran.
However it severely damage the user's hearing (temporarily deaf) with a degraded ability to hear afterwards.
D8W2P4 Not too surprising about the collateral damage, both to the assailants and the defender.
Holy crap that makes so much sense as to why you always see these things pointing straight up in vintage pics. I always thought it was to get the barrels out of the way but the cocking system explains it way better. Thanks.
Had these on the Viet Nam PTFs. 1 each on port and starboard. I was a loader on my first PTF and the snail mags were really heavy for a skinny 20 year old. The big risk was a hang fire - if it blew it would take the whole mount (and crew) out - unscrew and throw over the side. If you were lucky.
Thank for you posting this video. My father was a GM3 on the S.S. George W. Childs and was primarily assigned to the 20MM Oerlikon. He was aboard the Childs at the Normandy invasion. The Childs was deliberately sunk in the sand as part of the artificial breakwater for Mulberry A. My father and the rest of the crew were aboard the ship for two weeks before heading back to England. He's 92 and still sharp. I asked him about the manual for the Oerlikon. He says that he never saw one. He was trained at the Brooklyn Armed Guard Center. Armed Guard crews were pretty much on their own after that. He was aware that if a shell got caught in the breech, he had about a minute to clear it before it would explode. Fortunately, that never happened. Thanks again for the video. My father will enjoy seeing this!
Just informed the missus that I'm off to auction to buy a 20mm anti-aircraft gun.
She informed me that if I go to auction again, she goes for good...
On the bright side, at least now I have enough space in the living room for my new Oerlikon!
... yeah, lots of women just aren't visionary.
Did you tell her you're going to miss her
@@robertkondik4313 ...yeah but only till a radar guided fire control computer goes up for auction. ;-)
Did you not tell her it was in Farrow & Ball paint colours?
Excellent video, learned all about the Oerlikon back in the 1970's from "Boats" Newberry at the PT Boat museum, fascinating gun.
Alright... Now I want to see Ian do a mag dump on this gun! 😁👍
Could be expensive. How much does a single 20-mm round cost these days?
@@MarsFKA less than toilet paper
Watch any navy film made during the service life of the gun. There's gotta be at least one.
Or five mag dumps...but never nine.
I used to work on a Oerlikon. It was a horizontal borer we used to machine the mine hunter HMAS Huon exhaust manifolds for re-sleeving. Was old but worked well.
30 seconds to change the barrel and we didn't even get hand motions to describe the procedure? 8.5/10
Fun fact: In 1969 US Army, AIT 11Delta Armor Recon school, Ft Knox Kentucky, we were trained in the use of a 20mm cannon mounted on our APCs! It had a driver-controlled switch box with single, 3-shot burst, and full auto positions. The TC in the cupola aimed and ordered the shot sequence which the driver set and pulled the trigger! It was a fun weapon to play with but I didn't see any mounted on APCs in Vietnam.
Does your new display wall have a hook for this one?
the cocking arrangement is brilliant.
The 20mm was effective in US Navy service until the Japanese resorted to Kamikaze tactics late in the war. It could not stop Japanese aircraft on a crash course. Navy personnel above decks knew "When the 20mm kicks in, that's when it's time to hit the deck," and crew members below decks knew it was time to close off the air intakes to avoid the fire from the Kamikaze strike from being drawn into them.
Even the 40mm Bofors guns had a hard time stopping the Kamikazes. They were replaced by a 3-inch AA gun shortly after the war, and the 20mm was removed entirely.
Still, a great weapon up to 1945.
That weapon was a gamechanger for light naval AAA ,setting the standard for most of the war. By 1944 however the 20mm Oerlikon was considered to be too light to deal with air threats (particularily so Kamikazes), and more emphasis was put in the Bofors as the baseline for light naval AAA defence. When are you going to get the chance to do a video about that one? ;).
And...that's some amazing job you have Ian, will never stop repeating it. I'm just drooling each time you put up something like this :).
Funfact nr. 1 is: this is legal not a weapon in switzeland! I know a guy who owns such a thing.
loved the outro. full of wit and witticism
Cue "That's not a gun...THIS is a gun." in an Australian accent.
There's two PT boats out there-fully operational, that I know of on the water. PT 658 in Portland, OR and PT 305 in New Orleans. Both are fully restored Higgins PTboats and are on the water.
Ian you NEED to do more vids about aircraft guns if you get the chance.
Even if man of them are rather know, or obscure at best. It's hard to find some nice footage of those.
I'd love to hear some more about those electrically primed M3 .50s or German MK103s.
Thanks for an interesting overview. The widespread success of the design speaks for itself.
"or if you just happen to be an idiot"
sounds like my kind of gun
Wow. Four important points suitable for potential illustrators, novelists, and comic artists to freshen the popular perspective. Nice stuff, Ian.
Anyone with a yacht a that wants to sail all over the world needs one of these especially if they are planning to sail around Africa.
I know it's not real, but check out Soldier of Fortune. Clark Gable puts one of these to good use.
Thanks for the excellent video!
My father used to fire just the same gun - he was in The Royal Navy on a HDML and saw action on D-Day...
Wait... They are selling a f***** AA-Gun? That's what I call serious business ;)
Only in America, coming to a school near you soon.
You have to have ammo for something like this good luck with that; second these are for rich gun collecters and out of the price range of the average person.
i like it when ian uses his sarcasm for good . very entertaining
"Oh that's just a keyfob, Officer."
Finally something useful to put in the back of my Ford F-650. Texas Technical.
I’ve got a pair of mk4 oerlikon casings from 1944! Nice to see this video pop up
This weapon was the base design for almost all 20mm cannon in WW2
no, it was the 20mm hispano suiza HS.404 that was the base design of most 20mm cannons in WW2
It was the base for the German MG FF.
well seems like I made a mistake then. thx for correcting me :)
While USA failed to develop a reliable 20mm cannon from an European design. Japan took an american .50 and created one of the best 20mm cannons of the war with the Ho-5
@@Angel24Marin I thought a cannon was a muzzle loader running on black powder.
I qualified as a mount-captain on a 20mm Mk-16, which was the heaviest flexible-mount weapon on USN units from the '70s thru the mid '90s. It was originally an aircraft cannon (A-1D Skyraiders carried four of them) but was adapted for shipboard use out of necessity, I assume.
It had many of the features of the Oerlikon, with the exception of the feed system, which was a rotating, five-stage carousel driven by a cam powered off the recoil of the bolt. It required an insane amount of oil to keep it running, including a large reservoir that had to be refilled regularly.
It was charged by using a 3/4 inch ratchet to turn the carousel until a round dropped through the receiver and onto the deck, but only after the gunner used a foot-stirrup to simultaneously push down with his foot while pulling up on the grips like he's doing curls at the gym. once the bolt locks to the rear and the first round drops, we're ready to rock.
There were no sights on the gun. I always told my gunners "Use the force"........ and then "Walk the tracers onto the target"....... Every fifth round was an AP(I), the balance being HE.
A surprisingly effective weapon at a time when a gap in capabilities became apparent (this was when the specter of terrorist small-boat attacks became manifest). I believe it was superseded in naval service by suitably modified versions of the 25mm Bushmaster. No doubt a more capable weapon....................................
This is the gun that the Swiss wanted Charlie Wilson to arm the Afghans with to fight the Russians...
They tried to convince him that it was mule portable...
"When compared to the Oerlikon cannon which was made out of 250 parts, the Polsten was made out of 119 parts, without sacrificing the effectiveness or the reliability of the cannon. Simplification of the design of the Polsten cannon made its production much cheaper. The cost of one Oerlikon cannon was about £350, while the cost of the Polsten was between £60 and £70. In January 1944, the 21st Army Group decided that only 20 mm Polsten guns would be used as a standard light gun to simplify supply. The Polsten was used as a substitute for the Oerlikon in the same roles, one of which was as an airborne unit anti-aircraft gun, used in Operation Market Garden. It was used on a wheeled mounting that could be towed behind a jeep. "
Polsten is only 57 kg (126 lb)... and why swiss would be selling pre WW2 guns when USA was most likely full of this type of ex-WW2 equipment?
Let's just say,you need alot off mules.In my younger fitter days we used to carry a 50 cal browning with tripod in a six man team.Lets just say that you had blisters on your back.
I suppose you could put it in a wagon with some big spikes to pin it in place.
Thanks, Ian. I'm an armchair historian with particular interest in the weapons of the WW2 era. Oerlikon, and its descendant, the Polsten, figure heavily in accounts. It's nice to understand operation of such a weapon, but revealing its oddities and flaws tell us so much more about arms design and the evolution of weapons systems. Additionally, as a writer, knowing the quirks helps me both delight and better inform my reader base.
Will you make "final auction prices" episode for this piece?
Definitely want to see that.
23,000
I would seriously love to see a full review of this gun!
Wish you could have demonstrated it, though...
Would be nice, but at an estimated sale price of up to (or over) 40k not likely... at least pre-auction. I will admit if I had the cash and were able to bid on it and won, I'd be willing to put at least one mag through it at least once, and if that were the case I'd definitely contact Ian and see if he wanted to come over and help out. Somehow I don't think it would take much convincing... :-)
MrJest2 Yeah, I know... Sometimes he gets to test things to demonstrate they work, with permission of the owner, but this... Also, how the hell would you get it to the range? I'm pretty sure they're not just gonna 'take it out back' to test it like they have before with rifles...
***** Why I wish we could get a video with Ian having a go. Maybe once it's sold, as MrJest2 mentioned... Would be cool!
It is probably a little difficult to haul over to the range
@@MichaelBerthelsen I seem to remember a Clint Eastwood movie in the 60's where they set up one of these guns to break into a safety deposit place and blew the crap out of the whole building.
Number One is a two-fer. Thank you Ian for the added value.
Someone needs to let Burt Gummer know when the next one goes up for auction.
Brilliant!
I worked at a museum with one (old german one) and this really gave some background. Good on ya mate!
glock mags?
Alex Carson I think so
It's 20mm so all you need is two 10mm Glock mags, duh.
*Browning Hi Power mags
I wouldn't mind seeing it fired 80s hip fire style...
Wehen it was in use at the IJN, where's the bayonett attachement?!
Ian, I enjoy all your videos and your slightly restrained sense of humor... terrific reporting and of course, generally all that great research you put into your work. Please keep it up.
(ex army competition shooter)
Fun fact Nr. 5: The other most important AA gun of WWII, the Bofors 40 mm, also came from a neutral state. ;)
What do we learn? Defensive oriented neutral states obviously design the best defensive weapon systems. Though I have to admit, coastal defense weapons are not really a concern for Switzerland.
The fundamental design of the Oerlikon is German, from the Becker M2. Kind of torpedoes that theory.
I live right next to the USS Alabama and she is absolutely BRISTLING with these things in single and double mounts.
...they can sell that? Holy crap.
And you can own that! =D
You must be European, we can own tanks in the States
They have penis size issues.
My Dad was a RN Gunner and fired one of these against Stukas when his ship was on convoy escort in the north Atlantic in WWIi, and yes ice was a major issue. The crew had to constantly remove ice from the ships upper works to prevent it becoming top heavy and capsizing in heavy seas.
That would go nicely on my porch. "GET OFF MY LAWN!"
I imagine this is for when you're done asking.
nowadays not a bad idea
My grandfather was an engineer working on various ordnance projects in WWII and smuggled home an Oerlikon bit by bit over time. Once my grandmother died, my father and uncles destroyed the breach to keep it from being operational. Gave me (I was a kid at the time) some inert ammo (no powder or primers) and the sight which I still have.
Y'know, when we Europeans go "So, uh, you're from the US...?", this is the kind of thing that springs to mind for us...
xD
20mm is tiny for us Americans
20mm? Seems about what I had in mind for the average American
these probably more of these privately owned in european gun owners collections than americans.. there is several european countries where owning machine guns is legal..
These things were sent to the UK 4 at a time on each Liberty Ship.
@@jungleknifetrader715 you tell right now which ones
My grandparents worked in a factory producing guns like these during the war, while a grandfather of a friend of mine shot them. He (the friend's grandfather) told me that they'd be shooting so many rounds during a fight, he'd sworn he saw a barrel or two get so red hot they'd bend and slump once the shooter took a long enough pause between mag dumps. awesome weapons!
I was completely mispronouncing "Oerlikon" until now. :)
It should sound like "early con" with the stress on the 1st syllable to English speakers, then it's correct.
That's the way Germans spell Örlikon when they can't have diacritic.
We'd even spell it Oerlikon when we can use umlauts. You are in theory correct, but that name is just always spelt with OE.
Yeah, his pronounciation was pretty great, I must say.
I always pronounced it "Olerikon", but hey, that's fixed now huh?
I've stumbled upon two oerlikons in Thailand today. They are in the open so I could play with them a little and knew how to do that thanks to seeing this vid before.
They didn't seem to be deactivated at all by the way!
Lol modern gun with medieval crossbow cocking system.
Yes, the gun would look cool on my new torpedo boat. 😂
What a treat this video is. Thanks Ian!
Finally, a gun I can use to protect my vegetable garden from them squirrels and rabbits!
A pair of mark one sailors arms with mark one sailors legs attached is also another option...
I do remember one of my German friends telling me all of his grandads shared stories in the Kriegs Marine. Like using barrel covers, and leaving the cocking ropes one all day. So the mount was ready for action, the spring wasn't constantly under tension, and the barrel was mostly protected from the elements.
All you'd do, is your loader would partially lift it for you, and you'd squat under and push up on the shoulder rests. The loader would remove the rope, while you strapped yourself in.
Gonna take this on my cruise through Somalia.
Men of War Assault Squad 2 taught me that this gun made an excellent Anti-personnel cannon.
The Luftwaffe used this in aircraft as the MG FF, most famously on the wing mounts for the 109E but in a few turret installations when they realized they needed heavier bomber defense but the MG-151/20 wasn't ready yet (pretty sure some of the early model FW-200s had them in a ventral turret). I wonder how they dealt with the cocking issue in either case--hydraulic pressure?
Found this on the Google: "The operation of the MG-FF is standard, with electropneumatic cocking and electrical release."
The MG-FF is absolutely not the same as this Oerlikon! Sure, both were developed from the German WW1 era Becker gun, but that's where the similarities end. Both guns have completly different uses; the MG FF was a dedicated aircraft gun while this type of Oerlikon was a dedicated AA gun.
Oerlikon made 3 models of 20mm guns, each having different casing lengths. The Oerlikon FF had the shortest casing and was the base for the development of the MG-FF and the Type 99 model 1. The Oerlikon FFL was used as a base for the gun in this video and the Type 99 Model 2. And the Oerlikon FFS (the longest of the three) served as the base for the Hispano-Suiza guns used by the British and the French.
Impressive guns, all of them. Something about a big ammo drum on the top just seems more badass than a belt hanging on the side.
Hispano's were also developed from the Oerlikon
Bonus Fact: An Oerlikon was featured in the movie "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" as an anti-tank gun used to penetrate the vault in the bank robbery
You know, I need this, for reasons.
Pretty sure I'll come up with reasons, I know I have reasons, just not sure what those reasons are yet.
The model we used had cocking arms attached to the base. You would domp the gun and attach those arms to the lugs on the front side of the action-arms; then you would use your body-weight to raise the muzzle and while doing this the cocking arms would pull the action-arms back and cock the cannon.
Extra fact: the last rounds out of a magazine need to be shot as a burst; if you try to single-shot these rounds, the spring in the magazine wasn't powerful enough to feed the cannon when said cannon was going up, down and rolling left to right on a moving ship.
The perfect answer for dealing with your neighbor's pesky drone fly overs.
Great presentation. You certainly know your stuff. Mesmerizing destructive power of this gun, and fascinating factual anecdotes. A cocking handle like a crossbow to start the blow-back mechanism, then firing H.E. rounds at over 400 rpm... Holy Christ!
Imagine bolting that down on the back of your pickup truck :)
Lot of African militiamen don't have to imagine that.
This is a must buy. I have one mounted to the roof of my home and not a day goes by that I don't use it. It's true, I'm not very fond of my neighbors, their pets, any vehicle or aircraft, but that's kind of on me. Since the live rounds can get expensive, I usually save those for use on the unsuspecting local fauna. People get upset because they say I'm shredding all of the trees.
Is the Mjolnir armor and Warthog sold separately, or is a package deal available?
Sophisticated yet primitive . Crossbow like dynamics .
One of these mounted on each bridge wing would give "pirates" something to think about when merchant ships close Somilia.
AFAIK Unfortunately it's illegal for a merchant ship to get some of these.
Pirates are illegal too - and prohibiting M/S from protecting themselves is stupid; please change the law ASAP.
@@stupitdog9686 They just hire guards for the merchant ships and use actual warships to patrol the somalian coast. The Somalian pirates haven't been much of an issue in about 10 years.
they hire mercenaries and/ or guard ships
Those WERE interesting facts! Especially number three.
I've got too much free space in my living room, I think I need some self-defense against intruders... 1000 yards away (914m).... in airplanes... I live near an airport.
I'm sure the Durham Region Police and the Mounties won't mind a Canadian owning a 20mm auto-cannon for self-defense. Might come in use one day :)
I saw this in the auction program and hoped it would show up on Forgotten Weapons. Super-cool gun and used every-damn-where. Because the basic mount required no power, you could bolt them down all over the place--and the USN did exactly that. It only dropped out of favor when the Kamikazes began in earnest, as the 40mm (and 5-in with proximity fuzes) were far more effective in blowing suiciders out of the sky. By Okinawa, the word was that you shut down the engine room ventilation when the 20mm guns opened up, to avoid sucking in the fire from the hit.
Oerlikon cannon! And Ian! And....
DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA
One of my favourite applications of this gun was the British AEC AA Armoured Car, i love it for some reason. Its just really interesting
Both a machine gun and a "destructive device", being .80 caliber, no?
I think I've found a new home defense gun.
My uncles were US Navy Gunner's Mates in WW2. They described how one of the 'rites of passage' to become a qualified on the 20mm was to fashion and employ the toggle rope to cock the gun.