I need some help on researching an unusual aircraft cannon and it's ammunition. Any help is appreciated.
I have some information I obtained many years ago-probably the 1980s from a retired employee of the USAF Armament Development and Testing Center/Armament Laboratory at Eglin AFB that included a 16mm Film that I have never viewed. I was told the film relates to a 40mm Gatling type weapon intended for use on the A-X ground attack aircraft (later the A-9 and A-10 and then the A-10 with the GAU-8 cannon). I hope to get the film put on a DVD, but the label on the film is
40mm Gun Boosted Rocket
Contract FO8635-69-C-0178
Test Firings of Rounds 119-138
August 1970
This date was in the middle of the Study process for the A-X weapon. The record of the development of the A-10 indicates that GE, TRW, Philco-Ford were proposing 30mm weapons and Harvey Engineering Lab was proposing a 57mm recoiless weapon. There is no mention of a 40mm Gun Boosted Rocket (GBR). The GE 30mm (GAU-8) was selected and then compared to the Oerlikon 304RK 30 mm (GAU-9) before finally being selected for the A-10.
Either there was another contender, perhaps not serious enough to merit discussion in the A-X study written in 2010, but serious enough in 1969 to write a contract to demonstrate the weapon and conduct test firings. The AF Armament Lab at Eglin was in the middle of this competition and was involved in the testing of the 40mm GBR weapon. The weapon was on display for some time at the Armour Research Foundation in Chicago before it was cut up and disposed of.
I am hoping some information like the name of the contractor who developed the weapon & ammunition and the development office will be identified on the intro of the film, but this is probably unlikely.
Has anyone heard of this weapon or any other GBR work in the mid-late 1960s or early 1970s???
I have checked both Dale Davis' book on ammunition developments at the Eglin Armament Lab and Chinn's Vol 5 covering the period 1952-1989 and neither one was helpful.
I am also looking for photos of the Harvey and TRW guns and ammunition considered for the GAU-8.
The purpose of this research is a presentation at the IAA Seminars in April 2014, and a follow-on article in the IAA Journal.
Any assistance or thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Lew
Thanks for a great Forum!
I have some information I obtained many years ago-probably the 1980s from a retired employee of the USAF Armament Development and Testing Center/Armament Laboratory at Eglin AFB that included a 16mm Film that I have never viewed. I was told the film relates to a 40mm Gatling type weapon intended for use on the A-X ground attack aircraft (later the A-9 and A-10 and then the A-10 with the GAU-8 cannon). I hope to get the film put on a DVD, but the label on the film is
40mm Gun Boosted Rocket
Contract FO8635-69-C-0178
Test Firings of Rounds 119-138
August 1970
This date was in the middle of the Study process for the A-X weapon. The record of the development of the A-10 indicates that GE, TRW, Philco-Ford were proposing 30mm weapons and Harvey Engineering Lab was proposing a 57mm recoiless weapon. There is no mention of a 40mm Gun Boosted Rocket (GBR). The GE 30mm (GAU-8) was selected and then compared to the Oerlikon 304RK 30 mm (GAU-9) before finally being selected for the A-10.
Either there was another contender, perhaps not serious enough to merit discussion in the A-X study written in 2010, but serious enough in 1969 to write a contract to demonstrate the weapon and conduct test firings. The AF Armament Lab at Eglin was in the middle of this competition and was involved in the testing of the 40mm GBR weapon. The weapon was on display for some time at the Armour Research Foundation in Chicago before it was cut up and disposed of.
I am hoping some information like the name of the contractor who developed the weapon & ammunition and the development office will be identified on the intro of the film, but this is probably unlikely.
Has anyone heard of this weapon or any other GBR work in the mid-late 1960s or early 1970s???
I have checked both Dale Davis' book on ammunition developments at the Eglin Armament Lab and Chinn's Vol 5 covering the period 1952-1989 and neither one was helpful.
I am also looking for photos of the Harvey and TRW guns and ammunition considered for the GAU-8.
The purpose of this research is a presentation at the IAA Seminars in April 2014, and a follow-on article in the IAA Journal.
Any assistance or thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Lew
Thanks for a great Forum!
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