11 May 2007
Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Tina Greer maintains an M61A1 20mm rotary canon on the flight deck of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz Carrier Strike Group and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 are deployed in the 5th Fleet area of operations conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSO) and supporting the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Joseph Pol Sebastian Gocong
From Navy NewsStand.
May 11th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Not a bad gun. One has to wonder why we’re not using them on the F-35A. And whose bright idea was it to take the internal gun out of the F-35B and F-35C?
May 11th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Space saving. To cram the (bigger) 25mm gun in next to the lift fan and whatever they are putting in that space on the C, would be problematic and limit the ammo. If you look at the Harrier II, they have been using a similar pod for years, and the Marines seem to like it. The external pod on the 35 allows for a bigger mag, centerline positioning, and allows it to be removed without having to use a different airframe (and replaced with some other unit). Not all missions require a gun… it might be nice, but with a ’space premium’ on that aircraft they had to come up with a compromise.
May 11th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Now that’s what I’d call a ‘Big Gun’ ;)
May 13th, 2007 at 10:31 am
‘Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Tina Greer’ Whoa gang….. That’s not a very Politically correct statement. I think the Navy’s Public relations department needs some refresher cources in Gender-neutral designations. It should read: ‘Aviation OrdnancePERSON 2nd Class Tina Greer’