Mini-gun on a Humvee?

[kato13]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

I think you could see the GAU-8/A Avenger mounted on a make shift frame of some short durring TW 2000, perhaps a Abrams or Bradley?

The GAU-8 is Huge



As far as I know the only land mobile concept that was ever conceived (attempted?) was a system consisting of 2 CONEX containers (one gun one ammo) placed on a LCAC. It was to be used to blast away at shore defenses during an amphibious assault.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

There was a podded 3-barreled version tested experimentally on the USAF's failed "A-16" program when they made one of their seemingly endless attempts to dispose of the A-10. It failed; the pod vibrated the aircraft so severely it caused the radar to go into reset mode.

[Panther Al]

And, to make things really interesting, there is a photo floating about of a M60 (M48?) mocked up with the GAU-8 as a possible contender during the Sgt. York trials.

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Panther Al

And, to make things really interesting, there is a photo floating about of a M60 (M48?) mocked up with the GAU-8 as a possible contender during the Sgt. York trials.

This does look like a shorter version of the GAU8.

[Panther Al]

Thats the one!

[Adm.Lee]

I can remember being told by someone whose brother was in a National Guard ADA unit, that it needed several men to keep the M741 from vibrating too badly when firing.

Relative to a HMMWV, that seems significant to me.

[James Langham]

It's a real shame in my article on lasers I said the M60 doesn't generate enough power for a PRACTICAL laser, that would have been an ideal pic.

[rcaf_777]

Originally Posted by kato13

The GAU-8 is Huge

Well going off the Specs the total system lenght is 19 ft 10.5 in and the hull lenght of the M1 Abrams is 26.02 ft, removing the Ammo drum and mounting it on seperate trailer would furter reduce the lenght. I think is possible to mount the gun on the tank and run a ammo feed through the turret and out the trailer. The turret would never rotate agian, but you moving the gun by moving the hull. This of course would require alot of work from a bunch of speicalists, but I can see this being used in Europe where damage A-10 and M1's could matted together. It could also happen in states using Hulls and GAU-8/A Avenger parts after the nuclear exchanges, I could espeically see this as the case in states where GE would be envoled in making both weapons systems and would have techincal knowledge.

[Panther Al]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

Well going off the Specs the total system lenght is 19 ft 10.5 in and the hull lenght of the M1 Abrams is 26.02 ft, removing the Ammo drum and mounting it on seperate trailer would furter reduce the lenght. I think is possible to mount the gun on the tank and run a ammo feed through the turret and out the trailer. The turret would never rotate agian, but you moving the gun by moving the hull. This of course would require alot of work from a bunch of speicalists, but I can see this being used in Europe where damage A-10 and M1's could matted together. It could also happen in states using Hulls and GAU-8/A Avenger parts after the nuclear exchanges, I could espeically see this as the case in states where GE would be envoled in making both weapons systems and would have techincal knowledge.

Yes and no...

In a slapdash system, made up of parts left over from ruined machines? Agreed 100%. However, if the time was taken to build brand new, a lot of those issues can be addressed. A lot of the length isn't fixed: A lot of that length is in the ammo feed and storage. The drum alone is 72" long and 36" in diameter, and the barrel is 90.5". So, the barrel length isn't the issue: its the drum. Good news is that its fed via a flexible chute, so it can be redirected. Turn the drum sidewise, place it in the bustle of the Abrams, then mount the gun where the 120 is - its half the length of the cannon after all, and bobs your uncle. The only question is where to stick the 2 77hp electric motors, but I can think of a couple places where they can be tucked.