BK 5 (50 mm)

Description

The BK 5 is a 50 mm nose-mounted German aircraft cannon designed to attack armoured ground targets.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Me 410 A-1/U4
• Me 410 B-2/U4

General info

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Available ammunition

• Default: AP-T · HEI-T
• Armored targets: AP-T
• Armored targets: HVAP-T
• Air targets: HEI-T

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	106	102	85	68	54	43
Armored targets	106	102	85	68	54	43
Armored targets	137	126	88	56	36	23
Air targets	7	7	7	7	7	7

Belt details
Belt	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Armored targets	AP-T	835	2.05	1.2	9	28.9	48°	63°	71°
Armored targets	HVAP-T	1,180	0.9	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
Air targets	HEI-T	920	1.52	1	0.01	420	79°	80°	81°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great accuracy when fully upgraded
• Uses the same ammunition as the Puma

Cons:

• Slow fire rate
• Low ammo capacity (22 rpg)

History

Facing the reality of 'viermotor' four-engine heavy bombers over Germany, the Luftwaffe sought more effective weapons to blunt the USAAF bomber offensive which was wreaking havoc on their industrial capacity. Rheinmetall-Borsig was approached to adapt the KwK 39 tank gun into a weapon which could be used against heavy bombers. To do this, they designed an auto-loader which was connected to a 22 round belt feed which was loaded on the ground. To provide additional punch to the already impressive 50mm round, a 'minengeschoss' high-explosive, high-capacity round was developed.

While the gun had a low rate of fire and suffered from reliability problems, it had some success against B-17s and B-24s and was used until the end of hostilities.

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Media

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See also

• NS-45 (45 mm)
• Vickers P (47 mm)

External links

• [Wikipedia] Rheinmetall BK-5