# Big-Ass Gatling Gun? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877 "2014-06-16T03:20:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/1 "2014-06-16T03:20:41Z")
Back during the American Civil War…hand-cranked carnage: > **[Gatling gun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatling)** > > The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. > The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyclic multi-barrel design which facilitated cooling and synchronized the firing-reloading sequence. As the handwheel is cranked, the barrels rotate and each barrel sequentially loads a single cartridge from a top-mounted magazine, fires off the shot when it ... Gas, hydraulic, or electric power for the 20th century: > **[M61 Vulcan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M61_Vulcan)** > > The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm × 102 mm (0.787 in × 4.016 in) rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute). The M61 and its derivatives have been the principal cannon armament of United States military fixed-wing aircraft for over sixty years. > The M61 was originally produced by General Electric. After several mergers and acquisitions, it is... A larger calibered plane-mounted version that kills tanks: > **[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II#Proposed_retirement)** > > The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, but is commonly referred to as the "Warthog" or simply "Hog". The A-10 was designed to provide close air support (CAS) to friendly ground troops by attacking armored vehicles, tanks, and other enemy ground forces; it is the only production... > **[GAU-8 Avenger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-8_Avenger)** > > The General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger is a 30 mm hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling-style autocannon that is primarily mounted in the United States Air Force's Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. Designed to destroy a wide variety of ground targets, the Avenger delivers very powerful rounds at a high rate of fire. The GAU-8/A is also used in the Goalkeeper CIWS ship weapon system, which provides defense against short-range threats such as highly maneuverable missiles, aircraft, and fast... Is there an upper limit to the size of caliber you can make these guns? Look at this image of an Iowa class (?) ship shooting a barrage of 16 inch (402 mm) shells: [http://icdn6.digitaltrends.com/image/battleship-650x0.jpg](http://icdn6.digitaltrends.com/image/battleship-650x0.jpg) Imagine 400 shells a minute coming at you! The Terminator’s wet dream!!😃 Do-able? Don’t tell me about easier and cheaper ways…THIS is SHOCK AND AWE!:eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/2 "2014-06-16T03:50:53Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Do-able? > > Don’t tell me about easier and cheaper ways…THIS is SHOCK AND AWE!:eek::eek: I think 30 mm was the upper end of multi-barrel weapons, It would be easier to have one barrel and a revolver magazine. The thing with the avenger, was that it was supposed to stop the warthog in mid-air as it was making a firing pass, so a heavier caliber gatling would have a corresponding recoil. The gatling was also supposed to put a shit load of bullets into a conical pattern, so that a supersonic airplane would get at least some loving. Short of a lazer system, no I dont think its possible. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/3 "2014-06-16T07:19:52Z")
Just increasing the scale of the parts proportionally doesn’t work out very well. The big problem is the matter of inertia. Say you want to move a fifty-pound projectile from the magazine to the chamber. How much energy do you have to expend to set the munition into motion? How much more to get it to up to a speed where it could fire more than few RPMs? And once you have accelerated the munition to this speed, how fast is it going when it collides with the inside of the chamber? I’d be amazed to see a machine that can accomplish this and also withstand the stresses involved, not to mention damage to the munition itself. Then there’s the issue of heat. If the GAU-8 were to fire at full speed for more than few seconds it would just melt. Bigger munitions equals more force equals more heat. How long could such a weapon fire before overheating? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/4 "2014-06-16T09:08:40Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Just increasing the scale of the parts proportionally doesn’t work out very well. > The big problem is the matter of inertia. Say you want to move a fifty-pound projectile from the magazine to the chamber. How much energy do you have to expend to set the munition into motion? How much more to get it to up to a speed where it could fire more than few RPMs? And once you have accelerated the munition to this speed, how fast is it going when it collides with the inside of the chamber? I’d be amazed to see a machine that can accomplish this and also withstand the stresses involved, not to mention damage to the munition itself. > > Then there’s the issue of heat. If the GAU-8 were to fire at full speed for more than few seconds it would just melt. Bigger munitions equals more force equals more heat. How long could such a weapon fire before overheating? The next generation guns will be magnetic rail which would not have the same problems with heat from the explosion that drives it. This is what the Navy is working on now. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/5 "2014-06-16T11:02:03Z")
Interesting video: [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEmgSpJK9qQ) ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/6 "2014-06-16T16:39:36Z")
[Obligatory relevant XKCD](http://xkcd.com/37/) Mmm… 600 asses per minute! ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/7 "2014-06-16T17:15:21Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The next generation guns will be magnetic rail which would not have the same problems with heat from the explosion that drives it. This is what the Navy is working on now. That’s actually the opposite of what’s going on. The number one challenge is designing a barrel with a useful life of thousands of rounds. The early prototypes (as in, just a couple years ago) were like in the single digits to tens of rounds fired before the barrel was simply ruined. Railguns make barrel life MORE of an issue, not less. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/8 "2014-06-16T18:48:38Z")
It might help understanding to realize that what’s going on in a railgun is nearly indistinguishable from the projectile being arc-welded to the rails. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/9 "2014-06-16T18:54:06Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > [Obligatory relevant XKCD](http://xkcd.com/37/) > > Mmm… 600 asses per minute! That could put a lot of holes in something real quick. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/10 "2014-06-16T19:45:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Imagine 400 shells a minute coming at you! Not a chance, but it would be cool if you could. 😉 The main problem (besides the ridiculous recoil) would be the fact that loading the battleship guns in that picture of the Iowa class firing it’s main guns was a multi-stage process. You had to load the shell (which required a hydraulic loader) then put in the bagged charges and use a hydraulic rammer. The shells weighed over 2000 lbs each and could go out to ranges over 40k yards and muzzle velocities of over 2500 ft/sec. But it WOULD be really cool to see fire (for the first couple shots until it tore itself apart or put the ship carrying it on the bottom of the ocean). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/11 "2014-06-16T20:50:50Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > The gatling was also supposed to put a shit load of bullets into a conical pattern, so that a supersonic airplane would get at least some loving. Short of a lazer system, no I dont think its possible. I don’t understand that. What is a “lazer”? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/12 "2014-06-16T21:14:56Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Not a chance, but it would be cool if you could. 😉 The main problem (besides the ridiculous recoil) would be the fact that loading the battleship guns in that picture of the Iowa class firing it’s main guns was a multi-stage process. You had to load the shell (which required a hydraulic loader) then put in the bagged charges and use a hydraulic rammer. The shells weighed over 2000 lbs each and could go out to ranges over 40k yards and muzzle velocities of over 2500 ft/sec. > > But it WOULD be really cool to see fire (for the first couple shots until it tore itself apart or put the ship carrying it on the bottom of the ocean). Each turret on an Iowa-class battleship required a crew of between 77 and 94 men to operate. Here’s a [period training film](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wT1xkRpCKk) that gives you a pretty good idea what the heck they needed so many guys for. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/13 "2014-06-16T21:16:02Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I don’t understand that. What is a “lazer”? Thats the cool way of saying laser, light amplified 1920’s style death ray. Emitting bolts of light that only a storm trooper could miss the target. Trust this question has been answered to your satisfaction. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/14 "2014-06-17T01:26:31Z")
It occurred to me; you take the operating concept of the A-10 Warthog [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/A-10_Thunderbolt_II_In-flight-2.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/A-10_Thunderbolt_II_In-flight-2.jpg) [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-8_Avenger#mediaviewer/File:A10gun1.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-8_Avenger#mediaviewer/File:A10gun1.jpg) [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/GAU-8_meets_VW_Type_1.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/GAU-8_meets_VW_Type_1.jpg) And _supersize it_…take a cargo bird like a Hercules or Starlifter…or even a generic jetliner, and engineer a proportionally enlarged rotary cannon firing 57 mm artillery. **WHY?** Such a plane would be seen as a non-combat asset (from someone with binoculars as it flew past at altitude)…until it came within range of a Big Navy ship (battleship, destroyer, aircraft carrier). A couple hundred baseball-sized holes punched into your ship in the course of a few seconds is significant damage, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/15 "2014-06-17T01:46:57Z")
The point of huge numbers of rounds per minute isn’t to increase the firepower on target (you could do that just by making the shells bigger) but to throw out enough projectiles that you can be sure of at least some of them hitting a moving target. That’s been the province of either ground-to-air or air-to-ground fire. Some self-loading cannon larger than the 30mm have reasonably high rates of fire, especially naval guns intended for anti-missile defense. French 100 mm naval guns typically can maintain about 70+rounds a minute. ETA: No ship in a hostile zone is going to let any unauthorized aircraft come within range, supposedly “harmless” or not. In general a ship is a large enough and compartmentalized enough target that peppering it with holes isn’t going to accomplish a lot; you want a few big holes that could disable or sink the ship. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/16 "2014-06-17T01:54:49Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > And _supersize it_…take a cargo bird like a Hercules or Starlifter…or even a generic jetliner, and engineer a proportionally enlarged rotary cannon firing 57 mm artillery. > **[Lockheed AC-130](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130)** > > The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sensors, navigation, and fire-control systems. Unlike other modern military fixed-wing aircraft, the AC-130 relies on visual targeting. Since its large profile and low operating altitudes around 7,000 feet (2,100 m) make it an easy target, its close air support missions are usually f... Only missed it by 44 years or so 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/17 "2014-06-17T02:12:09Z")
:eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/18 "2014-06-17T02:56:19Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > French 100 mm naval guns typically can maintain about 70+rounds a minute. What the hell do the French have to shoot at with four inch shells? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/19 "2014-06-17T21:52:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It might help understanding to realize that what’s going on in a railgun is nearly indistinguishable from the projectile being arc-welded to the rails. I thought a railgun was like a very precise maglev device, which accelerates a round very quickly, while arc welding is electrocuting the hell out of a piece of metal so it melts? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877/20 "2014-06-17T22:02:00Z")
> **[8-inch/55-caliber Mark 71 gun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8%22/55_caliber_Mark_71_gun)** > > The U.S. Navy's Major Caliber Lightweight Gun (MCLWG) program was the 8"/55 caliber Mark 71 major caliber lightweight, single-barrel naval gun prototype (spoken "eight-inch-fifty-five-caliber") that was mounted aboard the destroyer USS Hull in 1975 to test the capability of destroyer-sized ships to replace decommissioned cruisers for long-range shore bombardment. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 8 inches (203 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 55 calib Gu... Here we have an 8-inch naval gun spitting out 12 rounds per minute. > [@](#): > > inaccuracy made the gun operationally unsuitable, and concluded the lightweight 8"/55 was no more effective than the 5"/54 (with Rocket Assisted Projectiles). The report recommended against production or installation of the lightweight 8"/55, and program funding was terminated in 1978. And a brief youtube! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwpU0oX7g30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwpU0oX7g30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-ass-gatling-gun/690877.md?page=2)