Ho-203 was a Japanese
autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
that saw considerable use during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was a long-recoil automation of the Year 11 Type direct-fire infantry gun. It was fed by a 15-round closed-loop ammunition belt. It was operationally used only as the nose gun of the
Kawasaki Ki-45
The Kawasaki Ki-45 ''Toryu'' (屠龍, "Dragonslayer") was a two-seat, twin-engine heavy fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The army gave it the designation "Type 2 Two-Seat Fighter"; the Allied reporting name was "Nick". ...
-KAI heavy fighter, the anti-bomber workhorse of the Imperial Japanese Army, and tried out in the upper fuselage of the III-KAI variant of the
Mitsubishi Ki-46
The Mitsubishi Ki-46 was a twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Its Army ''Shiki'' designation was Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft (); the Allied brevity code name was "Dinah".
Devel ...
''Dinah'' twin-engined warplane as a Japanese form of the Nazi ''Luftwaffe''s ''
Schräge Musik
''Schräge Musik'', which may also be spelled ''Schraege Musik'', was a common name for the fitting of an upward-firing autocannon or machine gun, to an interceptor aircraft, interceptor aircraft, such as a night fighter. The term was introduce ...
'' upwards-aimed armament system for heavy fighters.
Specifications
*Caliber: 37 mm (1.45 in)
*Ammunition: 37 x 112R (475 g)
*Weight: 89 kg (196 lb)
*Rate of fire: 120 rounds/min
*Muzzle velocity: 570 m/s (1,870 ft/s)
*Effective range: 900 m (2,950 ft).
Similar ordnance designs
*
37mm ''Bordkanone'' BK 3,7 (Nazi Germany)
See also
*
Ho-5 cannon
The Ho-5 (Army Type 2) was a Japanese aircraft autocannon used during World War II. Developed from the Ho-103 machine gun, it was a version of the American Model 1921 Browning aircraft machine gun. It replaced the Ho-1 and Ho-3 (Army Type 9 ...
*
MK 108 cannon
The MK 108 (German: ''Maschinenkanone''—"machine cannon") was a 30 mm caliber autocannon manufactured in Nazi Germany, Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall‑August Borsig, Borsig for use in aircraft.
The cannon saw widespread use as an ...
*
Ho-155 cannon
The 30 mm Ho-155 cannon was a Japanese aircraft autocannon used during World War II, often mistakenly called with the Ho-105 or Ho-151. A lighter and more compact Ho-155-II was designed towards the end of the war.
Development
The Ho-155-I was fi ...
*
Ho-204 cannon
*
Ho-301 cannon
The Ho-301 was a Japanese 40 millimeter caliber autocannon that saw limited use during World War II, on Japanese Army Nakajima Ki-44 and Kawasaki Ki-45 KAI aircraft. It was unusual in using caseless ammunition. Although the effective range of t ...
*
Ho-401 cannon
Ho-401 was a Japanese aircraft autocannon that saw limited, if any, use during World War II. It was a large-caliber version of the 37 mm Ho-203 cannon
Ho-203 was a Japanese autocannon that saw considerable use during World War II. It was ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho-203 Cannon
37 mm artillery
Autocannon
Aircraft guns