M197 (20 mm)

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• A129CBT
• AH-1F
• ▅AH-1E
• AH-1S
• AH-1S Kisarazu
• AH-1Z

General info

The M197 is a light weight M61 Vulcan toned down with only 3 barrels (as opposed to 6) and shooting at 750 rpm (vs 6,000 rpm) to reduce the recoil strain on platforms utilising the weapon.

Available ammunition

• Default: P · HEF-I · HEF-I · API-T
• Universal: HEF-I · API-T
• Air targets: HEF-I · HEF-I · HEF-I · API-T
• Armored targets: API-T · AP-I · AP-I
• Stealth: HEF-I · HEF-I · HEF-I · AP-I

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	36	33	27	22	17	14
Universal	36	33	27	22	17	14
Air targets	36	33	27	22	17	14
Armored targets	53	50	39	28	20	14
Stealth	53	50	39	28	20	14

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.

Pros:

• Armoured targets belt can penetrate most MBTs from the top
• High ammunition count (750 rounds)

Cons:

• Gun overheats quickly

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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