30 mm caliber
Encyclopedia
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
. Such ammunition includes NATO standard 30 × 173 mm and 30 × 113 mm and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
30 × 165 mm ammunition widely used around the world.
Usage
Anti-personnel weapon
An anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to incapacitate people, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles.The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gave rise to weapons designed specifically to attack them, and thus a need to distinguish between those systems and...
, but rather an anti-materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
or armor-piercing round. Rounds of this size can be effective against armored vehicles
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....
as well as fortified bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...
use their 30 mm weapons in a variety of vehicles, including the Su-25 attack aircraft, Mi-24 helicopter, Mi-28 attack helicopter, Ka-50 attack helicopter, and the BMP-2
BMP-2
The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s....
, BMP-3
BMP-3
The BMP-3 is a Russian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty .- Production history :...
, and BTR-90
BTR-90
BTR-90 is an 8×8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier developed in Russia, designed in 1993 and first shown publicly in 1994. It is a larger version of the BTR-80 vehicle, fitted with a BMP-2 turret...
infantry fighting vehicles. The most modern anti-aircraft gun systems in use by Russia are in 30mm. The U.S. military
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
uses 30 mm weapons in their A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
and AH-64 Apache
AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
helicopter. It was going to be used in the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle
Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle
The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle is an amphibious assault vehicle that was being developed for the U.S. Marine Corps. It is launched at sea, from an amphibious assault ship beyond the horizon, able to transport a full Marine rifle squad to shore...
until the project was cancelled.
Types of 30 mm ammunition
30 mm ammunition generally comes in three varieties: armor piercingArmor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
(AP), high explosive (HE), and training rounds. Armor piercing and high explosive cartridges usually also possess incendiary
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
characteristics.
Examples of weapons using 30mm ammunition
- MK 108 cannonMK 108 cannonThe MK 108 was a 30 mm caliber autocannon manufactured in Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use in aircraft.-Development:...
(German, aircraft, WWII)
30 × 113mm B
- HughesHughes AircraftHughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
M230 Chain GunM230 Chain GunThe Hughes M230 Chain Gun is a 30 mm, single-barrel automatic cannon developed by Hughes and now manufactured by Alliant Techsystems. It is an electrically operated chain gun, a weapon that uses external power instead of recoil to load its rounds....
(US, 1975–) - Royal Small Arms FactoryRoyal Small Arms FactoryThe Royal Small Arms Factory was a UK government-owned rifle factory in the London Borough of Enfield in an area generally known as the Lea Valley. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816...
ADENADEN cannonThe Royal Small Arms Factory ADEN is a 30 mm revolver cannon used on many military aircraft, particularly those of the British Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm...
revolver cannon (UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, aircraft, 1954–) - GIAT DEFADEFA cannonThe DEFA cannon is a family of widely used French-made aircraft revolver cannons firing the standard 30 mm caliber NATO rounds.-Design history:...
revolver cannon (France, 1954–) - GIAT 30GIAT 30The GIAT 30 is a series of 30 mm cannon developed to replace the DEFA 550 series weapons on French military aircraft.Introduced in the late 1980s, the GIAT 30 is a revolver cannon with electric ignition and automatic recocking...
(M781) revolver cannon (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
)
30 × 150mm B
- GIAT 30GIAT 30The GIAT 30 is a series of 30 mm cannon developed to replace the DEFA 550 series weapons on French military aircraft.Introduced in the late 1980s, the GIAT 30 is a revolver cannon with electric ignition and automatic recocking...
(M791) revolver cannon (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
)
30 × 165mm
- Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2 or GSh-2-30 is a powerful dual-barrel autocannon developed for use on certain Soviet military aircraft....
(RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, aircraft) - Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-301Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-301The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-1 is a 30 mm cannon designed for use on Soviet and later Russian military aircraft, entering service in the early 1980s...
(Russia, aircraft) - Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30 is a Russian 30 mm cannon used by Soviet and later CIS military aircraft.The GSh-6-30, designed in the early 1970s and entering service in 1975, is a six-barreled Gatling gun similar in design to the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23. It was based on the naval AO-18 used in...
rotary cannon - 2A42 IFV cannon30 mm automatic cannon 2A42The 30 mm automatic cannon 2A42, also known as the Shipunov 2A42, is a Soviet/Russian 30 mm automatic cannon. It is built by the Tulamashzavod Joint Stock Company.-Design:...
- 2A72 IFV cannon
- 2A38 AA-cannon
30 × 170mm
- L21A1 RARDENRARDENThe L21A1 RARDEN is a British 30mm autocannon used as an combat vehicle weapon. The name is a contraction of the Royal Armament, Research and Development Establishment and Enfield...
high velocity gun (UK, vehicle, 1970s–) - Oerlikon ContravesOerlikon ContravesRheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products...
KCB (SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
)
30 × 173mm
- Oerlikon ContravesOerlikon ContravesRheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products...
KCA (Switzerland) - GAU-8 AvengerGAU-8 AvengerThe General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger is a 30 mm, hydraulically-driven seven-barrel Gatling-type rotary cannon that is mounted on the United States Air Force's Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. It is among the largest, heaviest and most powerful aircraft cannons in the United States military...
(US, aircraft) - Bushmaster IIBushmaster IIThe Mk44 Bushmaster II is a 30 mm chain gun manufactured by Alliant Techsystems. It is a derivative of the 25 mm M242 Bushmaster, and uses some 70% of the same parts as the M242 while increasing the firepower by as much as 50% with the 20% increase in caliber size. The barrel is chromium-plated...
(US) - Rheinmetall Mk30-2 (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, IFV) - Rheinmetall Mk30-1 GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Denel Land Systems EMAK 30 (South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, IFV)
30 x 184mm B
- MK 101 cannonMK 101 cannonThe MK 101 is the designation of a 30 mm autocannon used in German combat aircraft during World War II. Although accurate and powerful, with a high muzzle velocity, it was very heavy, with a low rate of fire, which limited its production....
- MK 103 cannonMK 103 cannonThe Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 103 was a German 30 mm caliber autocannon that was mounted in German combat aircraft during World War II. Intended to be a dual purpose weapon for anti-tank and air-to-air fighting, it was a development of the heavy MK 101. Compared to the MK 101, it was lighter,...
30 × 250mm Caseless
- Rheinmetall RMK30Rheinmetall RMK30The RMK 30 is a recoilless 30 mm caliber autocannon firing caseless 30 x 250 mm ammunition cartridges...
recoilless cannon (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
)
See also
- 20 mm caliber20 mm caliberThe 20 mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition, commonly the smallest caliber which is unambiguously a cannon and not a heavy machine gun....
- 23 mm caliber
- 23 × 115 mm23x115mmThe 23x115 mm round is used by Soviet/Russian/CIS aircraft autocannon, most notably by the GSh-23L and GSh-6-23. Although the round has been superseded by the 30x165 mm round, the Russian Air Force still uses it in the GSh-23L and GSh-6-23...
- 23 × 152 mm23x152mmThe 23x152B mm used by the USSR/CIS in the VYa-23 Aircraft Gun on the Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft and in the 2A7 and 2A14 autocannons on the ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun series and ZSU-23-4 "Shilka", among others...
- 23 × 115 mm
- 25 × 137 mm25 mm caliberThe 25x137 mm caliber/.98425 inch is one of the standard sizes of cannon and autocannon ammunition for NATO forces. The round itself has a length of approximately 223 mm .-Usage:...
- 40 mm grenade40 mm grenadeThe 40mm grenade is a military grenade caliber for grenade launchers in service with many armed forces. There are two main types in service: the 40×46mm, which is a low-velocity round used in hand-held grenade launchers; and the high-velocity 40×53mm, used in mounted and crew-served weapons. The...
- List of cartridges (weaponry), pistol and rifle