MG 151 (20 mm)

Description

The MG 151 was a 15 mm aircraft-mounted autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser. The one in-game is the MG 151/20, which is 20 mm of this autocannon. Its origins stem from the period between WWI and WWII where the German single-engine fighter doctrine, at the time, mirrored that of the French. It called for a powerful autocannon between the cylinder banks of a V engine, which was known as a moteur-canon by the French. Though the cannon most preferred by the French at the time was the 20 mm Oerlikon FFS cannon, this was too large to fit into German aircraft in the propeller hubs, therefore, Mauser was given the task of developing a cannon which was small enough to fit and did not impact performance too greatly. For a time, the MG FF cannon was used as a stop-gap on German aircraft, unfortunately, its performance was mediocre. Eventually, in 1940, the first MG 151s were put into production. After evaluation of the 15 mm on the Bf-109 E-2, the decision was made to change it to 20 mm cartridges resulting in a re-designated the MG 151/20.

Note: Gunpods containing MG 151/20 cannons have reduced accuracy compared to those mounted conventionally.

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

• Default: IT · IT · APHE · HEI
• Universal: IT · HEI · HEI · AP-I
• Air targets: AP-I · HEI · HEI · HEI · HEI · IT
• Armored targets: APHE · APHE · APHE · IT
• Tracers: FI-T · FI-T · FI-T · IT · IT
• Stealth: HEI · HHEI · HEI · APHE · 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	19	17	13	6	6	6
Universal	25	24	16	7	3	3
Air targets	25	24	16	7	3	3
Armored targets	19	17	13	6	6	6
Tracers	15	13	8	6	6	6
Stealth	25	24	16	7	3	3

Comparison with analogues

• Hispano Mk.II (20 mm)
• AN/M2 (20 mm)
• ShVAK (20 mm)

Usage in battles

This weapon is very dangerous to air targets due to the minengeschoß shell, which makes the MG 151/20 arguably the best 20 mm cannon against air targets. Unless other ammunition is needed for a specific reason, always choose the ammo belt with most minengeschoß available.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Minengeschoß shell (an improved HEI shell) provides a lot of hitting power against aircraft
• Larger ammo count than the other German 20 mm cannons
• Higher muzzle velocity than the other German 20 mm cannons
• Faster firing and less prone to jamming than the Allied Hispano variants

Cons:

• Still lower muzzle velocity compared to most machine guns
• Ineffective against armoured ground targets, even with APHE shells
• Tracer and HEI (minengeschoß) have slightly different trajectories which reiterate knowing your ammunition

History

Converted from the 15 mm-firing MG 151/15 cannon to a 20 mm after combat evaluation proved a larger high-explosive shell to be more effective than a high-velocity shell.

A large shipment of 800 guns was lend-leased to Japan using the Italian submarine Comandante Cappellini, arming 388 Japanese Ki-61-I hei fighter planes.

Media

An excellent addition to the article would be a video guide, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

See also

• MG 151/15 (15 mm) - Gun from which the MG 151/20 cannon was adapted

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
• 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)