M 134 Minigun In Action Video
ren2...@yahoo.com
propaganda films by Dillon Aero, the current manufactuer of the
weapon. Access this account and follow on-line directions
http://rapidshare.com/files/252054023/M_134_MINIGUN.wmv
Currently, the gun is in use by all US Services and many foreign
militaries as well.
Some points:
1) Filming looks like it was done at US Army Yuma Proving Ground
2) Interesting choice of aircraft, the UH-1 and OH-6 - both almost
extinct in the US service (The Little Birds flown by 160 SOAR are
MD-500's, a highly developed version of this ship, but there pobably
have never been more than 100 of them on the Army's rolls). Of course,
lots of Hueys are in foreign hands, so this may be more pitched
towards them.
3) Both the UH-1C Hog and OH-6 Cayuse carried M-134's. The Charlies
had a kit with a Minigun (this replaced an earlier kit with 2 M60's)
and a shackle for a 7 or 19 barrel 2.75-inch FFAR pod on each side,
the gun controllable in both train and elevation (if one gun ended up
being blanked off as the aircraft manevered, the other gun
automatically accelerated to top rate - IIRC, from 2000 to 4000 RPM).
Typically a 40-mm automatic grenade launcher was in the chin position
and there were two door gunners with pintle mounted 7.62-mm M60's.
Many gunship pilots resisted converting to the AH-1 feeling that extra
two sets of eyes helped keep them alive.
The USAF's UH-1's did use the Minigun as a a door gun as did the
rescue copters (one on each side and one on the rear ramp was typical,
although field modifications such as using a 50 caliber M2 instead
were common and tolerated). USN UH-1's of the single light helicopter
attack squadron, HAL-3 "Seawolves" assigned to Opeation Market Time,
also carried the guns if my memory serves.
The OH-6 had one gun, IIRC adjustable in elevation, but typically kept
fixed in place on one side of the aircraft while the the crew chief/
observer poked a M60 out the other. The same kit was later applied to
the OH-58 as well.
The AH-1 had the option of having two guns, two grenade launchers or
one of each in its nose turret and could carry a gun pod on each side
as well as either of the rocket pods, replace the guns with more pods,
carry one rocket pod on each side, carry no pods or carry 1 20-mm
Vulcan gun pod (balanced by the magazine on the otehr side of the
aircraft) .
The most famous users, of course, were the AC-47, AC-119 and AC-130
gunships flown the USAF special operations wings which carried varying
numbers of guns pointing out the left side of the aircraft, to be
aimed during a pylon turn.
In addition, various vehicles such as M 113 ACAV's and Transportaion
Corps convoy escort gun trucks and vessels such as PBR's and Swift
boats carried scrounged examples of the gun, but this strictly on the
basis of local availability, initiative and command tolerance and
records are sparce to say the least.
4) With such a record, you might expect that the gun faced a bright
future after Vietnam. This was not to be. Refocusing on the European/
Mideast area, it was felt a heavier gun was needed and the Army AH-1's
had their turrets replaced with one carrying a 3-barreled vesion of
the 20-mm Vulcan (USMC AH-1's never carried anyhing but). Some gun
pods were retained and were dragged out for Annual Service Practice,
but if you look at pictures of AH-1's from the late 70's on, you will
see TOW missile tubes and FFAR pods, not guns. Of course, the
surviving OH-6's and the OH-58's retained theirs, but the Army had a
surplus it could live off of and didn't need to buy new guns or parts.
The USN decommissioned HAL-3, the USAF retired its AC-47's and
AC-119's while the number of Miniguns aboard C-130's steadily shrank
with each new model - displaced by other weapons. They weren't in the
market either. Foreign sales? Why buy from GE when you could get 'em
bargain basement cheap from Uncle Sugar directly? So GE decided to
sell the manufacturing and distibution rights and they eventually
ended up with Dillon Aero.
5) Things began to change with the Falklands war, when the Royal Navy
discovered that it still needed guns to support the Pongos and to
engage low fliers. Things really began to heat up with the end of the
Cold War and the Wars of Succession in the Balkans. Suddenly navies
found themselves having to order ships to heave to - and no one was
gonna fire a $1M Harpoon across the bow of some fishing boat (assuming
it be programmed to miss). People began hauling 20-mm Oerlikons and 40-
mm Bofors that had first gone to see during WWII out of storage and
mounting them aboard ship. But even these guns could be overkill -
something smaller could be used against terrorist motorboats and
similar craft Of course, land forces and their supporting air arms
that found themselves engaged in an increasing number of counter-
insurgency actions found the weapon as attractive as their forebearers
had in the Sixties.
The M-134 was reborn
5) Don't forget that these are corporate films and are trying to sell
something - don't take the images and commentary at complete face
value. For example, if we encounter a bunch of family sedans parked
with full gas tanks in the middle of the desert, it sure looks like
the way to go, but....
6) The tactics are lousy, the aircraft are WAY too high - low level
instead of nap of the earth - silhouetted against the sky they'e
asking to be shot down. And NOBODY makes gun runs directly over the
target. Unit commanders in Vietnam issued orders against it and
threatened courts-martial if disobeyed. It may look cool as hell, but
it provides the enemy with a zero deflection shot and if you get hit,
you're probably going to come down right on top of the enemy
positions. Historically, ground troops who have just been strafed do
not take kindly to their sudden visitors from the skies. Unit
commanders also tend to get pissed when the opeation turns into a
cluster fuck as attacking birds pull off without firing to avoid
killing their buddies and others get shot down trying to get them
out.
7) The Bullet Trap. The Vulcan series will fire even if the power is
off if the barrels rotate. The bullet trap prevents the rounds from
doing damage. Did you note the "Remove Before Flight" streamer?
8) The "Dillon Tactical Vehicle" has just GOT to be in the next James
Bond movie, makes the Aston Martin look like a toy. It's designed to
escort VIP's inconspiculously and provide a welcome surprise to any
ambushers.