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Gunship
A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mounted heavy armaments (i.e. firing to the side) to attack ground or sea targets. These gunships are configured to circle the target instead of performing strafing 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 a pylon turn ( banking turn). The term "gunship" originated in the mid-19th century as a synonym for gunboat and also referred to the heavily armed ironclad steamships used during the American Civil War. The term helicopter gunship is commonly used to describe armed helicopters. World War II aviation Bomber escort During 1942 and 1943, the lack of a usable escort fighter for the United States Army Air Forces in the Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pylon Turn
A pylon turn is a flight maneuver in which an aircraft banks into a circular turn, in such a way that an imaginary line projecting straight out the side of the aircraft (nominally the wing) points to a fixed point on the ground. The maneuver originated early in the 20th century in air racing. In some contexts, simply making a turn around a fixed point on the ground (such as a physical pylon) is called a "pylon turn". In these cases, the altitude may be incorrect for the maneuver to be a proper "pylon turn" where all three parameters (altitude, speed, bank angle) come together for the wing to point to the fixed turning center on the ground. Racing The pylon turn was originally used in air racing, where courses were set up with pylons to mark a location on the ground, and the planes would have to turn around at that point before returning to the airstrip. Pylons are also used in triples to set up a triangular circuit for aviation races—races in which all competitors must stay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War II, Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built. It was the most-produced American medium bomber and the List of most-produced aircraft , third most-produced American bomber overall. These included several limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber. Design and development In March 1939, the United States Army Air Corps, US Army Air Corps issued a specification for a medium bomber that was capable of carrying a payload of over at . North American Aviati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress
The Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress was a modification for operational testing purposes of the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber aircraft, converted to act as a heavily armed gunship to support other bombers during World War II. At the time of its development, long-range fighter aircraft such as the North American P-51 Mustang were just entering quantity production, and thus were not yet available to accompany bombers all the way from England to Germany and back. Design and development Work on the prototype, Project V-139, began in September 1942 by converting the second production B-17F-1-BO (serial number 41-24341) built. Conversion work was done by Lockheed's Vega company. The aircraft differed from the standard B-17 in that a second manned dorsal turret was installed in the former radio compartment, just behind the bomb bay and forward of the ventral ball turret's location. The single .50-caliber light-barrel (12.7 mm) Browning machine gun at each waist station was replace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attack Aircraft
An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pressing the attack.Mortensen 1987, pp. 24–25. This class of aircraft is designed mostly for close air support and naval air-to-surface missions, overlapping the tactical bomber mission. Designs dedicated to non-naval roles are often known as ground-attack aircraft.Gunston 2009, p. 73. Fighter aircraft often carry out the attack role, although they would not be considered attack aircraft ''per se''; fighter-bomber conversions of those same aircraft would be considered part of the class. Strike fighters, which have effectively replaced the fighter-bomber and light bomber concepts, also differ little from the broad concept of an attack aircraft. The dedicated attack aircraft as a separate class existed primarily during and after World W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consolidated XB-41 Liberator
The Consolidated XB-41 Liberator was a single Consolidated B-24D Liberator bomber, serial ''41-11822'', which was modified for the long-range escort role for U.S. Eighth Air Force bombing missions over Europe during World War II. Design and development When the USAAF started strategic bombing in Europe there were no fighters available to escort the bombers all the way to distant targets. The bombers carried several defensive guns and formed up in boxes so that they could provide mutually covering fire but there was interest in providing more firepower for the formation. The XB-41 Liberator was outfitted with 14 .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns. This was achieved by adding a second dorsal turret and a remotely operated Bendix turret (of the same type as fitted to the YB-40) under the chin to the standard twin gun tail turret and twin gun retractable ventral ball turret, plus twin mount guns at each waist window.Davis 1987, p.24. The port waist mount was originally covered by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Artillery
Aircraft artillery are artillery weapons with a calibre larger than 37 mm mounted on aircraft. First used for ground attack roles during World War I, aircraft artillery has found its use in the present day, most notably on the AC-130. History Aircraft artillery was first used for ground attack roles during World War I. A notable user of aircraft artillery was the fighter ace René Fonck. Airships were used with some success, mostly used to harass cities, but after the development of incendiary ammunition they were stopped being used due to the fire igniting the hydrogen used for the Zepplins. During World War 2 multiple planes used large calibre cannons for: Destruction of armoured vehicles ( Yak 9T and Junkers Ju 87 G) Destruction of small bunkers Destruction of ships ( P108 A) Close Air Support: ( IL-2 Sturmovnik) During the Cold War very high calibre cannons were being slowly replaced by Air to ground missiles and laser guided bombs. Current use of large cali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Close Air Support
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of all forces involved. CAS may be conducted using aerial bombs, glide bombs, missiles, rockets, autocannons, machine guns, and even directed-energy weapons such as lasers.''Close Air Support''. United States Department of Defense, 2014. The requirement for detailed integration because of proximity, fires or movement is the determining factor. CAS may need to be conducted during shaping operations with special forces if the mission requires detailed integration with the fire and movement of those forces. A closely related subset of air interdiction, battlefield air interdiction, denotes interdiction against units with near-term effects on friendly units, but which does not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fixed-wing Aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generates lift), and ornithopters (in which the wings oscillate to generate lift). The wings of a fixed-wing aircraft are not necessarily rigid; kites, hang gliders, variable-sweep wing aircraft, and airplanes that use wing morphing are all classified as fixed wing. Gliding fixed-wing aircraft, including free-flying gliders and tethered kites, can use moving air to gain altitude. Powered fixed-wing aircraft (airplanes) that gain forward thrust from an engine include powered paragliders, powered hang gliders and ground effect vehicles. Most fixed-wing aircraft are operated by a pilot, but some are unmanned or controlled remotely or are completely autonomous (no remote pilot). History Kites Kites were used approximately 2,800 years ago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strafing
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such as fast boats, using smaller-caliber weapons and targeting stationary or slowly-moving targets. Etymology The word is an adaptation of German ''strafen'' (), to punish, specifically from the humorous adaptation of the German anti-British slogan '' Gott strafe England'' (May God punish England), dating back to World War I. Description Guns used in strafing range in caliber from machine guns, to autocannon or rotary cannon. Although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the last two. The term "strafing" can cover either fixed guns, or aimable (flexible) guns. Fixed guns firing directly ahead tend to be more predominant on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Aircraft
A military aircraft is any Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing or rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on support roles: * Combat aircraft, such as Fighter aircraft, fighters and Bomber, bombers, are designed to destroy enemy equipment or personnel using their own aircraft ordnance, ordnance. Combat aircraft are typically developed and procured only by military forces. * Non-combat aircraft, such as military transport aircraft, transports and Tanker (aircraft), tankers, are not designed for combat as their primary function but may carry weapons for self-defense. These mainly operate in support roles, and may be developed by either military forces or civilian organizations. History Lighter-than-air In 1783, when the first practical aircraft (hot-air and hydrogen balloons) were established, they were quickly adopted for military duties. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam era In the age of sail, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow, or just two or three such cannons. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the single-masted version of about length was most typical. Some types of gunboats carried two cannon, or else mounted a number of swivel guns on the railings. The small gunboat had advantages: if it only carried a single cannon, the boat could manoeuvre in shallow or restricted areas – such as rivers or lakes – where larger ships could sail only with difficulty. The gun that such boats carried could be quite heavy; a 32-pounder for instance. As such boats were cheap and quick to build, naval forces favoured swarm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Browning M2
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge, the M2 uses Browning's larger and more powerful .50 BMG (12.7 mm) cartridge. The design has had many designations; the official U.S. military designation for the infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It has been used against infantry, light armored vehicles, watercraft, light fortifications, and low-flying aircraft. The gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and for aircraft armament by the United States since the 1930s. It was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Soviet–Afghan War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan. It is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries and has been used by man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
