A-10 THunderbolt Question

My guess is that it may be a little of both.

The A-10 is a Cold War system that is almost strictly a close air support aircraft. It was developed to halt or at least slow a Warsaw Pact incursion into Western Europe. Thus it's role is pretty much limited to taking out enemy tanks either during an assault or in the case of a defense against an offensive push. Not too many countries have need of such a weapon, and those that do can't afford such a specialized weapons system so they instead rely upon standard fighters modified to handle close air support duties using guided ordinance.

And then there's that marvelous 30mm Avenger Gatling Gun around which the entire airframe was designed. That thing fires depleted uranium bullets because the density makes uranium a logical choice for piercing armor. I don't think the U.S. wants to be seen as selling "nuclear" materials even though that's not hardly the case with this ammunition. But just mention the words "Uranium" and "Weapons" in the same sentence with the phrase, "For sale to foreign governments," and you'd have a public and Congressional uproar like nearly no other . . . not to mention condemnation by foreign governments.
 
MikeD- Was there any spool up time (like the death machine in black ops) or was it real time firing as soon as you pulled the trigger?
 
MikeOH58 said:
MikeD- Was there any spool up time (like the death machine in black ops) or was it real time firing as soon as you pulled the trigger?
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50 rounds per second for the first second of fire. 75 rounds per second thereafter.
 
Another interesting tidbit that I have heard on the A-10 is that it's the only aircraft the military ever bought that they built the number originally contracted for. No more, no less.
 
Matt13C said:
It is amazing that it can fire rounds that size, that quickly.
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That's why a seven-barrel Gatling design was used. That brings it down to a much more manageable 7+ rounds per barrel per second, with the added advantage of the 3,900 RPM rotary action to help cool the barrels.
 
RDoug said:
That's why a seven-barrel Gatling design was used. That brings it down to a much more manageable 7+ rounds per barrel per second, with the added advantage of the 3,900 RPM rotary action to help cool the barrels.
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My knowledge of this gun is very limited, isnt it a single firing pin, with only the barrel rotating for cooling purposes? So each barrel handles sub 10 rounds, but the pin itself is firing all rounds, not multiple firing pins firing bullets simultaneously through different barrels. Correct?

Either way, its awesome.
 
I would be very surprised if there were a mechanical firing pin. I would have thought the rounds were fired electronically, but I'm no expert either.
 
RDoug said:
That's why a seven-barrel Gatling design was used. That brings it down to a much more manageable 7+ rounds per barrel per second, with the added advantage of the 3,900 RPM rotary action to help cool the barrels.
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That is the main advantage of a Gatling design. There are many machine guns with faster cyclic rates even with larger calibers, but they can't sustain that rate for as long. The MG42 had a cyclic rate of 1500 RPM vs the 600 RPM per barrel of the GAU-8.
 
I believe it IS fired electrically. My friends were never able to find unspent 30mm at the local range, but 20mm shells were abundant. Come to think if it, they never found spent shells either. Guess they were reclaimed.
 
The A-10 is by far my favorite airplane. Just awesome. Which is partly why MikeD is my hero.
 
Matt13C said:
My knowledge of this gun is very limited, isnt it a single firing pin, with only the barrel rotating for cooling purposes? So each barrel handles sub 10 rounds, but the pin itself is firing all rounds, not multiple firing pins firing bullets simultaneously through different barrels. Correct?

Either way, its awesome.
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If you look at the A-10 from the front, youll see the gun offset to the left of the longitudinal axis, while the nose landing gear is offset right. The 30mm fires from the 3 o'clock barrel, so the rounds come out on the aircraft centerline.
 
darrenf said:
My friends were never able to find unspent 30mm at the local range, but 20mm shells were abundant. Come to think if it, they never found spent shells either. Guess they were reclaimed.
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They never will find it.
 
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