M61 (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

• A-7D
• F-104A
• ␗F-104A
• F-104C
• F-104J
• F-104S
• F-4C Phantom II (Suspended)
• F-4E Phantom II
• ◄F-4F
• ◄F-4F Early
• Phantom FG.1 (Suspended)

• Phantom FGR.2 (Suspended)

• F-4EJ Kai Phantom II

General info

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

Available ammunition

• Default: HEF-I · API-T · AP-I
• Air targets: HEF-I · HEF-I · API-T · HEF-I · HEF-I · AP-I
• Armored targets: API-T · AP-I · AP-I · AP-I · HEF-I
• Stealth: HEF-I · AP-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	53	50	39	28	20	14
Air targets	53	50	39	28	20	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

Pros:

• Blisteringly high rate of fire at 6,000 RPM
• Accurate even through prolonged bursts
• Can fire off close to 1,100 rounds continously in one burst before jamming
• API rounds can destroy MBTs if striking at a high enough angle
• Incredibly high muzzle velocity rounds, requiring little lead on the targets
• HE rounds are devastating when struck

Cons:

• Requires spool up time before rounds start flying, limiting its usefulness in fleeting target solutions

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 If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: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.

Britain aircraft cannons
20 mm	Hispano Mk.I · Hispano Mk.II · Hispano Mk.V · Oerlikon KAD-B
25 mm	ADEN 25
30 mm	ADEN · ADEN Mk.4
40 mm	Rolls-Royce Type BH · Vickers S
47 mm	Vickers P
57 mm	Molins Class M
	Foreign:
20 mm	GI2 (South Africa) · Hispano 404 (France) · M61A1 (USA)
27 mm	Akan m/85 (Sweden) · Mauser BK27 (Germany)
30 mm	M230E-1 (USA)