MK 108 (30 mm)

Description

The MK 108 was a German 30 mm autocannon developed for aircraft mounts. Built as a lighter 30 mm autocannon than the MK 103, the MK 108 presents a faster fire rate at a cost of accuracy and muzzle velocity.

Note: Gunpods containing MK 108 (30 mm) have reduced accuracy compared to those mounted conventionally

General info

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Available ammunition

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Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

The 30 mm Mk 108 is a devastating weapon to use... if it manages to hit the target.

The 30 mm trades heavy firepower and rate of fire for low accuracy and muzzle velocity. While this is great against large, slow aircraft like attackers and bombers, this makes the 30 mm Mk 108 a rather poor armament against faster fighters, requiring a lot of lead. The low accuracy is also noticeable in that shells rarely fly straight past a distance. Because of that, the 30 mm should only be fired once within 600 meters of the target.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Filled with a lot of HE filler, giving each impacting shell a serious punch
• Comes as an upgrade to both motorcannons or as gunpods on the later Bf 109 G series
• Decent rate of fire for its calibre at 600 RPM
• Decent ammo capacity
• Excellent against bombers, heavy fighters and other large targets

Cons:

• Slow muzzle velocity and poor ballistic coefficient makes it hard to use against targets beyond 500 meters
• Not ideal for dogfighting as it requires a lot of lead angle.
• In a high speed chase, shells may fail to detonate on target, doing little to no damage
• Absolutely zero effectiveness against armour.
• Heavy recoil which can be dangerous if in a low energy state.

History

Rheinmetall-Borsig developed a 30 mm autocannon as part of a private project in 1940. It remained only so until the German Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM) put out a requirement for a 30 mm autocannon for use, specifically to counter the rising Allied heavy bomber threats appearing over Germany. Rheinmetall-Borsig submitted their design and once deemed suitable for the role, was accepted into service of the Luftwaffe as the MK 108.

The MK 108 design was distinctive for chambering a rather large calibre firepower, yet retain a high firing rate and remain economical. The 30 mm shells fired out of the autocannon were relatively slow at around 500 m/s and had a drastic shell drop with range, forcing pilots to close in distance to make an accurate shot . The large 30 mm shells, especially so with the Minengeschoß shells, are able to down a bomber with a few shells. The MK 108 was able to reach a fire rate of 660 rpm, which allowed pilots to make the most out of a burst. The whole weapon was economical to make, being mostly constructed of stamped parts while remaining light and compact for aircraft mounts.

The MK 108 began seeing usage in late autumn 1943 on Bf 109 G fighters and Bf 110 heavy fighters. Its distinctive firing noise, due to the high firing rate and heavy muzzle report, caused Allied aircraft crew to nickname the MK 108 as the "Pneumatic Hammer." The MK 108 were soon mounted on a large variety of German aircraft, even their jets. The jet mounts, such as on the Me 262, proved problematic as their fast speed gave the jets only a small sliver of time from approaching the target to having to disengage to avoid colliding. British test pilot Eric Brown describes the MK 108-armed Me 262 attack pattern as: "if you want to fight and destroy a B-17, you come in on a dive. The 30mm cannon were not so accurate beyond 600 metres. So you normally came in at 600 yards and would open fire on your B-17. And your closing speed was still high and since you had to break away at 200 meters to avoid a collision, you only had two seconds firing time. Now, in two seconds, you can't sight. You can fire randomly and hope for the best."

Media

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See also

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

External links

• [Aviation History Online Museum] Mk 108 Cannon
• [Storm Birds] Rheinmetall Borsig Mk108