User:blockhaj/30 mm ADEN autocannon
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This is a user made article on the 30 mm ADEN autocannon. It is WIP with no end. |
The ADEN autocannon (acronym for of Armament Development ENfield) is a basically a German 30 mm MK 213 revolver cannon reworked to be produced in British factoriers.
History
Britain, along with the allies, captured the prototypes of the WIP 30 mm MK 213 in Germany at the end of the war and decided to finish the development for their own use. The US developed the gun into the 20 mm FMC T-160 (later redesignated to 20 mm M39) and the French developed it into the 30 mm DEFA series.
The British ADEN was originally more or less just a 1-1 copy of the German 30 mm MK 213, even using the 30×90mm RB cartridge but in the end it entered service with a 30×86mm cartridge (later with the suffix A).
Variants
- ADEN 30 MM GUN
- Mk.1 – 1945: ADEN 30 fitted with Mk.1 barrel chambered for the 30 x 86 mm A Low Velocity (LV) cartridge
- Mk.2 – 1952: ADEN 30 fitted with Mk.2 barrel chambered for the 30 x 86 mm B Low Velocity (LV) cartridge
- Mk.3 – 1954: ADEN 30 fitted with Mk.3 barrel chambered for the 30 x 111 mm J High Velocity (HV) cartridge
- Mk.4 – 1957: ADEN 30 fitted with Mk.4 barrel chambered for the 30 x 113 mm B High Velocity (HV) cartridge (export variant)
- Mk.5 – 198_: ADEN 30 Mk.4 with raised rate of fire up to 1700 rounds per minute
- Mk.6 – 198_: ADEN 30 Mk.5 with unknown changes
- ADEN 25 MM GUN
- Mk.1 – 199_: Improved variant chambered for the 25 x 137 mm NATO STANAG 4173 cartridge (cancelled 1999)
Specifications
| 25-30 mm ADEN autocannon specifications | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variant | ADEN 30 Mk.1 | ADEN 30 Mk.2 | ADEN 30 Mk.3 | ADEN 30 Mk.4 | ADEN 30 Mk.5 | ADEN 30 Mk.6 | ADEN 25 Mk.1 |
| Design | |||||||
| Action | Revolver drum | ||||||
| Operation | Gas operation | ? | ? | ? | |||
| Cocking-system | Pneumatic | ? | ? | ? | |||
| Priming | Electric | ||||||
| Firing system | ? | ? | ? | 24 volts Direct current (DC) 115 volts Alternate current (AC) |
? | ||
| Number of chambers | 5 | ? | |||||
| Number of barrels | 1 | ||||||
| Number of grooves | ? | ? | ? | 16 | ? | ||
| Rifling | ? | ? | ? | Progressive RH parabolic twist | ? | ||
| Cartridge | 30 mm ADEN Type A (LV) |
30 mm ADEN Type B (LV) |
30 mm ADEN Type J (HV) |
30 mm ADEN/DEFA Type B (HV) |
25 mm NATO STANAG 4173 | ||
| Chamber | 30 × 86 mm | 30 × 86 mm | 30 × 111 mm | 30 × 113 mm | 25 × 137 mm | ||
| Gun dimensions | |||||||
| Max width (complete gun) | ? | ? | ? | 241.3 mm | 249.94 mm | ||
| Max height (complete gun) | ? | ? | ? | 266.7 mm | 246.13 mm | ||
| Max length (complete gun) | ? | ? | 1590 mm | 1638.3 mm | 2284.44 mm | ||
| Length without barrel | ? | ? | ? | ? | 789.44 mm | ||
| Length of barrel | ? | ? | ? | 1080 mm | 1495 mm | ||
| Gun weights | |||||||
| Max weight (complete gun) | ? | ? | ? | 87.1 kg | ? | ? | 92.1 kg |
| Weight without barrel | ? | ? | ? | 75 kg | ? | ? | ? |
| Weight of barrel | ? | ? | ? | 12.25 kg | ? | ||
| Performance | |||||||
| Recoil load (normal) | ? | ? | ? | 22.4 kN | ? | ||
| Recoil load (max) | ? | ? | ? | 31.4 kN | ? | ||
| Rate of fire (effective) | 1,380 rpm | 1,600 rpm | 1,717 rpm | ||||
| Rate of fire (minimum) | 1,200 rpm | 1,500 rpm | 1,492 rpm | ||||
| Rate of fire (maximum) | 1,500 rpm | 1,700 rpm | 1,742 rpm | ||||
| Effective velocity | 604 m/s | 790 m/s | 790 m/s | 985 m/s | |||
Ammunition
30 × 86 mm A (Low Velocity)
30 × 86 mm B (Low Velocity)
30 × 111 mm J (High Velocity)
| AP Mk.1 – Armour-Piercing Mk.1Z (brass case) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The AP Mk.1 cartridge with "brass case" is a pre 1970s cartridge design for the 30x111mm ADEN type J high velocity cartridge. The cartridge is fitted with an armour-piercing tungsten core projectile, otherwise known as "Armour-Piercing, Composite, Rigid" (APCR). Armour penetration was around 4 cm RHA on average.
Names:
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| Cartride | Projectile | Performance | |||||
| Casing | Brass case | 483 g | Type | Armour-Piercing, Composite, Rigid (APCR) | |||
| Casing length | Casing length | Filling | 150 g – tungsten penetrator | ||||
| Propellant | British NC powder | 47 g | Shell length (external) | 150 g – tungsten penetrator | |||
| 30 × 111 mm J (HV) cartridges | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross sections |
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| Designations | |||||||
| Cartridge name (RAF) | Cartridge, 30mm, Aden gun, | ||||||
| Projectile name (RAF) | AP Mk.1Z | P Mk.2Z | HE Mk.3Z | P Mk.4Z | HE Mk.5Z | HE Mk.6Z | |
| Fuze name (RAF) | none | FP, D.A., No. 933, Mk. 1 | none | FP, D.A., No. 944, Mk. 1 | FP, D.A., No. 933, Mk. 1 | ||
| Cartridge name (SAF) | 30 mm sk ptr m/55 | ||||||
| Projectile name (SAF) | 30 mm pprj m/55 | 30 mm övnprj m/55 | 30 mm mgr m/55 | 30 mm övnprj m/55 | not in SAF use | 30 mm mgr m/55 | |
| Fuze name (SAF) | none | ö k sar m/55 | none | not in SAF use | ö k sar m/55 | ||
| Specifications | |||||||
| Projectile type | APCR | TP (Inert HEHC) | HEHC | TP (Inert HEHC) | HEHC | HEHC | |
| Main core | Tungsten penetrator | Solid metal plug in place of fuze and explosive charge | Torpex 5 (Hexatonal) explosive charge | Solid metal plug in place of fuze and explosive charge | Torpex 5 (Hexatonal) explosive charge | ||
| Fuze type | none | Contact fuze | none | Contact fuze | |||
| Propellant type | British NC powder | ÅKB 106 | British NC powder | ÅKB 106 or NC 1058 | |||
| Casing type | Brass (early) | Passivated (late) | Brass | Brass | Passivated | Brass | Passivated |
| Dimensions | |||||||
| Cartridge length | 199 mm | 200 mm | 199 mm | ||||
| Shell length (total) | 108 mm | 115 mm | 117 mm | 115 mm | |||
| Shell length (external) | 89 mm | 90 mm | 89 mm | ||||
| Casing length | 111 mm | ||||||
| Weights | |||||||
| Cartridge weight | 483 g (early | 491 g (late) | 438 g | 438 g | 440 g | 496 g | 440 g |
| Projectile weight | 270 g | 226 g | 226 g | 220 g | 270 g | 220 g | |
| Main core weight | 150 g | 80.5 g | 56 g | 80.5 g | 48 g | 52.5 g | |
| Fuze weight | - | - | 28 g | - | ? | 28 g | |
| Propellant weight | 47 g | 46 g | 46.5 g | 46 g | |||
| Casing weight | 166 g (early | 174 g (late) | 166 g | 166 g | 174 g | 166 g | 174 g |
| Net explosive content of cartridge | 47 g | 46 g | 102 g | 46 g | 95 g | 98.5 g | |
| Net explosive content of projectile | - | - | - | 56 g | - | 48 g | 52.5 g |
| Performance | |||||||
| Copper units of pressure | 2930 Bar | ||||||
| Muzzle velocity | 720 m/s (at +20° C) | 795 m/s (at +20° C) | 795 m/s (at +20° C) | 795 m/s (at +20° C) | 720 m/s (at +20° C) | 795 m/s (at +20° C) | |
30 × 113 mm B (High Velocity)
| 30 × 113 mm B (HV) – solid projectile cartridges | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross sections | ||||
| Designations | ||||
| US designations | Cartridge | CARTRIDGE, 30MM | ||
| Projectile | TP, M788 | |||
| Fuze | ||||
| Cartridge | ||||
| Projectile | ||||
| Fuze | ||||
| Specifications | ||||
| Projectile type | ||||
| Charge type | ||||
| Fuze type | ||||
| Propellant type | ||||
| Casing type | ||||
| Dimensions | ||||
| Cartridge length | 200 mm | 200 mm | 200 mm | |
| Shell length (total) | ||||
| Shell length (external) | ||||
| Casing length | 113 mm | |||
| Weights | ||||
| Cartridge weight | ||||
| Projectile weight | ||||
| Main charge weight | ||||
| Fuze weight | ||||
| Propellant weight | ||||
| Casing weight | ||||
| Net explosive content of cartridge | ||||
| Net explosive content of projectile | ||||
| Performance | ||||
| Copper units of pressure | ||||
| Muzzle velocity | ||||
Ammunition poster
Abbreviations
English
- HE = High Explosive
- HEHC = High-Explosive, High-Capacity (Mine shell, aka Minengeschoß)
- AP = Armor Piercing
- APCR-BC = Armor-Piercing, Composite Rigid, Ballistic Cap
- P = Practice
- TP = Target Practice
- FP = Fuze, Percussion
- LV = Low Velocity
- HV = High Velocity
Swedish
- sk ptr = skarp patron (live cartridge)
- mgr = mingranat (high explosive, high capacity shell)
- pprj = pansarprojektil (armor piercing projectile)
- övnprj = övningsprojectil (practice projectile)
- ö k sar = ögonblickligt känsligt spetsanslagsrör (instant, sensitive, nose contact fuze)
Sources
Manuals
SAF
- G AMKAT, Gemensam ammunitionskatalog, Data och bilder, 2001 års upplaga
- AMRÖJ, Ammunitionsröjning, FV akanam. Data och bilder, kursutgåva 1975
RAF
- Air Publication, 110L-0201-1, 30mm ammunition and fuzes, (Aden Gun), General and technical information. Ministry of Defence, Prepared by the Ministry of Technology. 1970
Books
- Volume 2, Part 3, Hunter Weapons, The 30mm ADEN Gun, Rocket Projectiles, Air To Air Missiles, Bombs, etc.
