MK 112
The MK 112 was a German automatic cannon . In 1945 only a few prototypes were manufactured by Rheinmetall-Borsig .
The MK 112 had a caliber of 55 mm and thus fired much larger shells than the 30 mm MK 108 . However, the rate of fire was significantly lower (300 rounds / min compared to about 600–660 rounds / min of the MK 108). This on-board cannon was probably intended to replace the MK 108, the standard armament of German fighters. This large-caliber MK was designed primarily to combat heavy bombers; the rate of fire would have been too low for aerial battles with the escort fighters. Fire tests with the BK5 (5 cm on-board cannon of the Messerschmitt Me-210 - forerunner variant of the 50 mm MK 214 A cannon ) showed that a single hit (with mine grenades) could destroy a bomber. With a rate of fire of five shells per second, this weapon would have inflicted considerably higher losses on the Allied bombers compared to the on-board weapons used on the German side.
Technical specifications
- Type: single barrel machine gun
- Caliber: 55 mm
- Weight: 271 kg
- Length: 2012 mm
- Rate of fire: 300 rounds / minute
- Muzzle velocity: 600 m / s
literature
- Heinz J. Nowarra : The German Air Armament 1933-1945. Bernard & Graefe, Koblenz 1993, ISBN 3-7637-5464-4 .