Agunship is amilitary aircraft armed withheavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either asairstrike or asclose air support.[1]
In modern usage the term "gunship" refers tofixed-wing aircraft havinglaterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets.[2][3] These gunships are configured to circle the target instead of performingstrafing runs. Such aircraft have their armament on one side harmonized to fire at the apex of an imaginary cone formed by the aircraft and the ground when performing apylon turn (banking turn).[2][3] The term "gunship" originated in the mid-19th century as a synonym forgunboat and also referred to the heavily armedironcladsteamships used during theAmerican Civil War.[4]
The termhelicopter gunship is commonly used to describearmed helicopters.
.jpg)
During 1942 and 1943, the lack of a usableescort fighter for theUnited States Army Air Forces in theEuropean Theatre of Operations led to experiments in dramatically increasing the armament of a standardBoeing B-17F Flying Fortress, and later a singleConsolidated B-24D Liberator, to each have 14 to 16Browning AN/M2 .50 cal machine guns as theBoeing YB-40 Flying Fortress andConsolidated XB-41 Liberator respectively. These were to accompany regularheavy bomber formations over occupied Europe onstrategic bombing raids for long-range escort duties as "flying destroyer gunships".[5] The YB-40 was sometimes described as a gunship,[6] and a small 25-aircraft batch of the B-17-derived gunships were built, with a dozen of these deployed to Europe; the XB-41 had problems with stability and did not progress.
DuringWorld War II, the urgent need for hard-hittingattack aircraft led to the development of the heavily armed gunship versions of theNorth American B-25 Mitchell. For use against shipping in the Pacific 405 B-25Gs were armed with a75 mm (2.95 in) M4 cannon and a thousand B-25Hs followed. The H models, delivered from August 1943, moved the dorsal turret forward to just behind the cockpit and were armed with the lighter 75 mm T13E1 cannon.[7] The B-25J variant removed the 75 mm gun but carried a total of eighteen 0.50 cal (12.7 mm) AN/M2 Browning machine guns, more than any other contemporary American aircraft: eight in the nose, four in under-cockpitconformal flank-mount gun pod packages, two in thedorsal turret, one each in the pair of waist positions, and a pair in the tail,[7] giving a maximum of fourteen guns firing forward instrafing runs.[8] Later the B-25J was armed with eight5 in (130 mm) high velocity aircraft rockets (HVARs).[7][9]
The British also made large numbers of twin-engined fighter bombers. Thede Havilland Mosquito FB.VI had a fixed armament of four 20 mm (0.787 in)Hispano Mk.II cannon and four .303 in (7.70 mm)Browning machine guns, together with up to 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of bombs in thebomb bay and on racks housed in streamlined fairings under each wing, or up to eight"60lb" RP-3 rockets. De Havilland also produced seventeenMosquito FB Mk XVIIIs armed with a 57 mm (2.24 in)QF 6-pdr anti-tank gun with autoloader, which were used against German ships and U-boats.
The Germans also made a sizable number of heavy fighter types (Zerstörer—"destroyer") armed with heavy guns (Bordkanone). Dedicated "tankbuster" aircraft such as theJu 87Gs (Kanonenvogel) were armed with twoBK 37 mm autocannon in underwing gun pods. TheJu 88P gunships were armed with 37, 50 and 75 mm (1.46, 1.97 and 2.95 in) guns, and were used as tankbusters and as bomber destroyers. TheHs 129 could carry a 30 mm (1.181 in)MK 101 cannon orMK 103 cannon in a conformally mounted gun pod (B-2/R-2). TheMe 410Hornisse were armed with the sameBK 50 mm autocannon as the Ju 88P-4, but were only used as bomber destroyers. None of the German twin-engine heavy fighters types were produced or converted in large numbers.
.jpg)
In the more modern, post-World War IIfixed-wing aircraft category, a gunship is an aircraft havinglaterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets.[2][3] These gunships were configured to circle the target instead of performingstrafing runs. Such aircraft have their armament on one side harmonized to fire at the apex of an imaginary cone formed by the aircraft and the ground when performing apylon turn (banking turn).[2][3]
TheDouglas AC-47 Spooky was the first notable modern gunship. In 1964, during theVietnam War,[2] the popularDouglas C-47 Skytrain transport was successfully modified into a gunship by theUnited States Air Force with three side-firingMiniguns for circling attacks. At the time the aircraft was known as a "Dragonship", "Puff, the Magic Dragon" or "Spooky" (officially designated FC-47, later corrected to AC-47). Its three 7.62 mm (0.300 in) miniguns could selectively fire either 50 or 100 rounds per second.[10] Cruising in an overhead left-hand orbit at 120 knots (220 km/h; 140 mph) air speed at an altitude of 3,000 feet (900 m), the gunship could put a bullet or glowing red tracer (every fifth round) into every square yard of a football field–sized target in potentially less than 10 seconds.[11] And, as long as its 45-flare and 24,000-round basic load of ammunition held out, it could do this intermittently while loitering over the target for hours.
The lesser knownFairchild AC-119G Shadow andAC-119K Stingers were twin-engine piston-powered gunships developed by theUnited States during the Vietnam War. Armed with four 7.62 mm GAU-2/A Miniguns (and two 20 mm (0.787 in)M61 Vulcan six-barrelrotary cannons in the AC-119K version), they replaced theDouglas AC-47 Spooky and operated alongside the early versions of theAC-130 Spectre gunship.
It was the later and largerLockheed AC-130Gunship II that became the modern, post–World War II origin of the term gunship in military aviation.[12] These heavily armed aircraft used a variety of weapon systems, including 7.62 mm (0.300 in) GAU-2/A Miniguns, 20 mm (0.787 in)M61 Vulcan six-barrelrotary cannons, 25 mm (0.984 in)GAU-12/U Equalizer five-barreled rotary cannons, 30 mm (1.181 in)Mk44 Bushmaster IIchain guns,40 mm (1.58 in) L/60 Bofors autocannons, and 105 mm (4.134 in)M102 howitzers. TheDouglas AC-47 Spooky, theFairchild AC-119,[13] and the AC-130 Spectre/Spooky,[14] were vulnerable, and meant to operate only after achievingair superiority.[2]
Smaller gunship designs such as theFairchild AU-23 Peacemaker and theHelio AU-24 Stallion were also designed by the United States during the Vietnam War. These aircraft were meant to be cheap and easy to fly and maintain, and were to be given to friendly governments in Southeast Asia to assist withcounter-insurgency operations, eventually seeing service with theKhmer National Air Force,Royal Thai Air Force, andRepublic of Vietnam Air Force as well as limited use by the United States Air Force.
Renewed interest in the concept of gunships has resulted in the development of a gunship variant of theAlenia C-27J Spartan. Although the United States Air Force decided not to procure the AC-27J, other nations including Italy have chosen the aircraft for introduction.[15] Additionally, in 2013 the USAir Force Special Operations Command reportedly tested a gunship version of theC-145A Skytruck armed with aGAU-18 twin-mount 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun system.[16]
Later Air Forces in the middle east have begun to experiment with smaller gunships than the AC-130 with the Jordan Air Force converting 2 AC-235 and a single AC-295 into Gunships. These are armed with ATK’s side-mounted M230 30 mm (1.181 in) chain guns and various munitions (2.75 in (70 mm) rockets, hellfire missiles and bombs) mounted on to wing pylons.Other smaller modern gunships include the AC-27J Stinger II and the MC-27J produced by Alenia Aeronautica in Italy.
.jpg)
Early helicopter gunships also operated in the side-firing configuration, with an early example being theAérospatiale Alouette III. During theOverseas wars in Africa in the 1960s, thePortuguese Air Force experimented with the installation ofM2 Browning 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in a side-firing twin-mounting configuration in some of its Alouette III helicopters. Later, the machine guns were replaced by aMG 151 20 mm cannon in a single mounting. These helicopters were known in Portuguese service as "helicanhões" (heli-cannons) and were used in the escort of unarmed transport helicopters inair assault operations and in the fire support to the troops in the ground. TheSouth African andRhodesian air forces later used armed Alouette III in similar configurations as the Portuguese, respectively in theSouth African Border andRhodesian Bush wars.[17]
During theAlgerian War, the French operatedSikorsky H-34 "Pirate" armed with a German 20mmMG151 cannon and two .50 inch machine guns. During the early days of the Vietnam War, USMCH-34s were among the first helicopter gunships in theater, fitted with theTemporary Kit-1 (TK-1), comprising twoM60C machine guns and two 19-shot2.75 inch rocket pods. The operations were met with mixed enthusiasm, and the armed H-34s, known as "Stingers", were quickly phased out. The TK-1 kit would form the basis of theTK-2 kit used later on the UH-1E helicopters of the USMC.
The U.S. Army also experimented with H-34 gunships armed with M2 .50 caliber machine-guns and 2.75-inch rockets. In September 1971, a CH-34 was armed with two M2 .50 caliber machine guns, four M1919 .30 caliber machine guns, forty 2.75-inch rockets, two 5-inch high velocity aerial rockets (HVAR), plus two additional .30 caliber machine guns in the left side aft windows and one .50 caliber machine gun in the right side cargo door. The result was the world's most heavily armed helicopter at the time.
Also, during the Vietnam War, the ubiquitousBell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters were modified into gunships by mounting the U.S. Helicopter Armament Subsystems—these were forward-firing weapons, such asmachine guns,rockets, andautocannons, that began to appear in 1962–1963.[18] Helicopters can use a variety of combat maneuvers to approach a target. In their case, the termgunship is synonymous withheavily armed helicopter.[19] Specifically, dedicatedattack helicopters such as theBell AH-1 Cobra also fit this meaning.[19] In any case, the gunship armaments include machine guns, rockets, andmissiles.[19]
The SovietMil Mi-24 (NATO code name: Hind) is a large, heavily armed and armored helicopter gunship andtroop transport.[20] It was introduced in the 1970s and operated by the pre-1991Soviet Air Force and its successors post-1991, and more than 30 other nations.[21] It was heavily armed[21] with a reinforced fuselage, designed to withstand .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun fire. Its armored cockpits and titanium rotor head are able to withstand 20 mm cannon hits.[21]
