MG FF (20 mm)

This page is about the German machine gun MG FF (20 mm). For the other version, see MG FF/M (20 mm).

Description

The MG FF is a German 20 mm autocannon found on a number of early-war German fighter aircraft. Based off the Swiss Oerlikon FF autocannon of the 1920s, this cannon offers a massive boost in firepower to those equipped with this cannon, but the lack of minengeschoß ammunition compared to the later MG FF/M makes this cannon relatively lacking in firepower compared to higher BR fighters. Nonetheless, a few shells will easily disassemble any fighter at the expected BR, and if used and conserved well the 60 cannon rounds per gun can rack up victories with ease.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• A7He1
• Ar 196 A-3
• ▄Ar 196 A-5
• Bf 109 E-3
• He 112 B-0
• He 112 B-1/U2 (Germany)
• He 112 B-1/U2
• He 112 B-2/U2

General info

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Available ammunition

• Default: IT* · IT* · APHE
• Universal: IT* · FI-T* · FI-T* · APHE
• Air targets: FI-T* · FI-T* · AP-I · APHE · IT*
• Tracers: IT* · IT* · FI-T* · FI-T*
• Stealth: APHE

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
IT*	10	10	5	2	1	1
APHE	19	18	15	10	3	3
FI-T*	6	6	6	6	6	6
AP-I	25	24	18	10	1	1

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
IT*	585	0.12	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
APHE	580	0.12	0.3	0.9	7.8	47°	60°	65°
FI-T*	600	0.12	0.2	0.1	0	47°	56°	65°
AP-I	580	0.12	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent punch compared to most of the other contemporary armament

Cons:

• Sluggish rate of fire
• Low muzzle velocity
• Lacks the minengeschoss shell of the FF/M
• Less effective armour-piercing ammunition

History

The story of the MG FF starts in World War I with the Becker M2, an early 20 mm aircraft-mounted autocannon. Using an advanced primer ignition blowback action and fed from 15-round curved box magazines, the Becker had difficulties serving as aircraft armament as the blowback action meant the gun could not be synchronized to fire through the propeller without damaging it. As a result, the Becker M2 only saw combat on Zeppelins during the war and was only used on aircraft for testing.

After the war, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from developing aircraft cannons and similar weapons so the rights were sold to the Swiss company SEMAG in 1919 and then transferred again to Oerlikon in 1924. Oerlikon began developing multiple cannon types based on the Becker action and worked to increase the muzzle velocity so it could serve in anti-tank and anti-aircraft roles. In 1935, Oerlikon introduced the latest variant of their 20 mm cannon, the FF which could be mounted inside or on the wings of fighter aircraft. In the global rearmament that precipitated World War II, licenses for the Oerlikon FF were taken out by multiple nations including Germany.

In Germany, the Ikaria firm began manufacturing the cannon as the MG FF for German fighters and bombers. Compared to the contemporary Hispano 404, the MG FF suffered from a low fire rate and muzzle velocity. Another limiting factor of the design was the 60-round drums which were difficult to mount in the wings of Germany's main fighters the Bf 109 and Fw 190. Starting in 1941, the MG FF began to be phased out by the lighter, belt-fed MG 151, but it would find a new lease of life in 1943 as part of the Schräge Musik mounting in German night fighters due to large stockpile and the fact muzzle velocity would not be a concern in the new role.

Media

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See also

• MG FF/M (20 mm)

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Sweden aircraft cannons
20 mm	Akan m/41A · Akan m/45 · Akan m/47B · Akan m/47C · Akan m/49 · Oerlikon FF
27 mm	Akan m/85
30 mm	Akan m/55 · Akan m/75
57 mm	Akan m/47
	Foreign:
20 mm	MG FF (Germany) · MG 151 (Germany)
23 mm	GSh-23L (USSR)
30 mm	2A42 (USSR) · M230E-1 (USA) · MK 108 (Germany)