M61 (20 mm)

Description

The 20 mm M61 is an American aircraft rotary cannon used in their jet aircraft. Renowned for its high rate of fire, the M61 became the standard gun armament for American jet aircraft for many years since its adoption.

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

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Usage in battles

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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 continuously 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

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Media

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See also

• JM61 (20 mm) - Japanese variant
• M61A1 (20 mm)
• JM61A1 (20 mm) - Japanese variant

External links

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• 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)