MK 103
The automatic cannon MK 103 was a cannon in mm caliber 30 , of the German company Rheinmetall-Borsig at the time of World War II was developed and for the rigid installation in hunting and battle planes was provided.
history
The origins of the development of this weapon go back to 1939 as a further development of the MK 101 . Series production ran from 1943 to 1945. Due to the high muzzle velocity of this weapon, it was particularly suitable for combating armored ground targets when using armor-piercing ammunition (with a projectile core made of tungsten carbide ). It had a relatively long barrel, which made it very large and heavy and made it difficult to install it in small fighter planes. In addition to the installation as a rigid weapon, there have also been attempts to use this weapon in rotating towers as a defensive armament for larger aircraft. Furthermore, the MK 103 was intended as the main armament of the Flakpanzer IV "Kugelblitz".
The MK 108 was mostly used in fighter aircraft because it was much lower in weight (58 kg) and, above all, had a higher cadence . However, the penetration power and accuracy of the MK 108 was lower.
Technical specifications
- Caliber: 30 mm
- Length: 2318 mm
- Weight: 146 kg
- Shot rate: 440 rounds / min
- Muzzle velocity: 700–960 m / s (depending on the type of ammunition)
- Cartridge weight: 980 g
- Bullet weight: 330–500 g (depending on type)
- Feed: decay belt
- Ignition: electrical (24 V)
- Ammunition designation: 30 × 184 mm B
literature
- Hanfried Schliephake: Aircraft Armament - The Air Force's on-board weapons from the beginning to the present. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-87943-486-7 .
- Manfred Griehl: German aircraft armament until 1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-613-02849-4 , p. 28f.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Minutes of the meeting of April 27, 1939 (PDF; 560 kB)