20mm M195
Overview
20mm M195
20mm M195 six barrel autocannon seen in M35 Armament Subsystem. Note the short barrels and multi-slotted muzzle brakes.
Source: US Army -
© Public domain
Description
Introduction
The M195 is an early Cold War era autocannon of US origin. The M195 is a derivative of the M61 Vulcan six barrel Gatling type 20mm autocannon. The M195 was modified for an urgent requirement for longer range firepower for attack helicopters in Vietnam in order to engage anti-aircraft guns more effectively.
Design
The M195 is a derivative of the M61 Vulcan that is altered for use on the AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter in the M35 Armament Subsystem. The gun is lightened by reducing the barrel length, although all six barrels are retained. The rate of fire is much reduced to reduce recoil. In addition, each barrel was fitted with a multi-slotted muzzle brake. This reduced recoil but also vented the muzzle flash to the sides, requiring a metal plate to protect the fuselage. A unique feature is that the gun clears all live rounds in the chambers when a burst ends. The gun was fired by the pilot using the M73 reflex, with the gunner having controls as well.
Firepower
The M195 fires the 20x102mm round from a single belt feed. Cyclic rate of fire is 750 to 950 rpm, with about 800 rpm in practice. The short barrels and significant vibration when firing led to significant dispersion when firing. Effective range proved to be up to 2 km versus point targets and 3.5 km against area targets. Reliability was deemed to be limited. This is most likely related to the single belt feed, the climate in Vietnam and old stocks of ammunition used.
Users
The M195 was used on the M35 Armament Subsystem that could be installed on the AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter. This has the M195 mounted under the stub wing and an ammunition storage with 950 round belt that straddling both sides of the fuselage. The M195 could engage targets at longer range than the M134 minigun and 40mm grenade launchers, but can only fire over the fixed forward arc. The three barrel 20mm M197 was developed as flexible armament in the nose turret, rendering the M195 obsolete.
Details
Media
20mm M195
20mm M195 six barrel autocannon seen in M35 Armament Subsystem on AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter.
Source: US Army
Copyright: Public domain
20mm M195
20mm M195 six barrel autocannon seen in M35 Armament Subsystem on AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter.
Source: US Army
Copyright: Public domain
20mm M195
20mm M195 six barrel autocannon seen in M35 Armament Subsystem on AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter.
Source: Linford E. Riniker
Copyright: Copyright lies with original owner
20mm M195
20mm M195 six barrel autocannon seen on AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter in service in Vietnam in 1972.
Source: Michael A. Peake
Copyright: Copyright lies with original owner
20mm M195
20mm M195 six barrel autocannon seen on AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter in service in Vietnam in 1970.
Source: Jack M. Nemeyer
Copyright: Copyright lies with original owner
Related articles
20mm M61 Vulcan
The M195 is a reduced weight and lower rate of fire variant of the M61 Vulcan.
20mm M197
The M197 was developed as successor the M195. As a flexible gun mounted in the nose turret it was more versatile, while not taking up valuable pylons on the stub wings.