CHAPTER 6 M61A1 GUN INSTALLATION

CHAPTER 6 M61A1 GUN INSTALLATION Gun systems installed in high-speed aircraft must meet demanding performance requirements and provide firepower. The General Electric M61A1 20-mm automatic gun system, installed in the F-14 and F/A-18 aircraft, meets these requirements. The M61A1 (fig. 6-1) is a six-barrel, rotary-action, automatic gun based on the machine-gun design of Richard J. Gatling. The gun consists of a revolving cluster of barrels. Each barrel is fired once per revolution. The M61A1 automatic gun is hydraulically driven, electrically controlled, and can fire M50-series ammunition at 4,000 to 7,200 rounds per minute. As installed in Navy aircraft, the gun has a pilot selectable firing rate of either 4,000 (GUN LOW) or 6,000 (GUN HIGH) rounds per minute. It is designed for either air-to-ground or air-to-air gunnery missions. Ammunition is supplied to the M61A1 gun by an ammunition handling and storage system that functions within a specific aircraft. The system uses an endless conveyor that transports 20-mm ammunition from the ammunition drum to the gun. The conveyor then returns the expended cases and unfired rounds to the ammunition drum. Although the physical location of components varies between different aircraft gun installations, the function and description of the components are essentially the same. M61A1 AUTOMATIC GUN LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify the components of the M61A1 automatic gun and recognize the operating principles. The primary parts of the gun are the barrels, housing assembly, and rotor assembly. Look at table 6-1 for M61A1 gun characteristics. The following paragraphs Figure 6-1.—M61A1 automatic gun. Table 6-1.—M61A1 Characteristics 6-1