Warthog - definitely major caliber
- Thread starter Pistolero
- Start date
Pistolero
Well-Known Member
I need to see if they have added a HE round for the GAU-8.
OK, they do have a HEI, High Explosive Incindiary round for the GAU-8 cannon on the
A-10. As I understand it, the gun is normally set to give a 0.5 second burst with each
trigger pull. At the normal cyclic rate of 3,900 rounds/minute, or 32.5 round in 0.5 sec.
I would bet they hardly ever fire half a round.
So a single normal burst is going to
be 30+ rounds. I see four really nice hits on that van, each about 12-18" diameter
entrance hole.
I have the empty case from a GAU-8, found it in the wilderness in Alaska back in the
70s. Since they recycle the fired "brass" (it is actually blue anodized aluminum) back into
the ammo drum, I have no idea how it came to be laying on the ground far from roads
in Alaska.
I am guessing that with mostly soft skinned targets in the current wars, they probably
load HEI more than AP. API training ammo uses steel cores, API warshot uses depleted
uranium cores. DU is pyrophoric, handy after punching into an armored vehicle. Since DU
is very slightly radioactive, some folks get all cranky when we use it, which is just stupid.
Online reports are each round of warshot is $26, practice ammo under $12 per round. So
a normal burst is about $830. As Ian points out, way cheap to do what it does, and way
cheaper than Ian figured.
A USN test pilot that I know got a familiarization flight in A-10, had some practice ammo
and a test range. Enough for two passes on a tank hulk. His evaluation of the gun was
"a death ray, put the pipper on the target pull the trigger, the target disappears in sparks and
dust." He got many hits on each pass, first time using the aircraft/gun system. He is a
shooter, was mightily impressed with the gun, not so much the aircraft, because he loves
fighters with LOTS more thrust.
Bill
OK, they do have a HEI, High Explosive Incindiary round for the GAU-8 cannon on the
A-10. As I understand it, the gun is normally set to give a 0.5 second burst with each
trigger pull. At the normal cyclic rate of 3,900 rounds/minute, or 32.5 round in 0.5 sec.
I would bet they hardly ever fire half a round.
So a single normal burst is going tobe 30+ rounds. I see four really nice hits on that van, each about 12-18" diameter
entrance hole.
I have the empty case from a GAU-8, found it in the wilderness in Alaska back in the
70s. Since they recycle the fired "brass" (it is actually blue anodized aluminum) back into
the ammo drum, I have no idea how it came to be laying on the ground far from roads
in Alaska.
I am guessing that with mostly soft skinned targets in the current wars, they probably
load HEI more than AP. API training ammo uses steel cores, API warshot uses depleted
uranium cores. DU is pyrophoric, handy after punching into an armored vehicle. Since DU
is very slightly radioactive, some folks get all cranky when we use it, which is just stupid.
Online reports are each round of warshot is $26, practice ammo under $12 per round. So
a normal burst is about $830. As Ian points out, way cheap to do what it does, and way
cheaper than Ian figured.
A USN test pilot that I know got a familiarization flight in A-10, had some practice ammo
and a test range. Enough for two passes on a tank hulk. His evaluation of the gun was
"a death ray, put the pipper on the target pull the trigger, the target disappears in sparks and
dust." He got many hits on each pass, first time using the aircraft/gun system. He is a
shooter, was mightily impressed with the gun, not so much the aircraft, because he loves
fighters with LOTS more thrust.
Bill
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