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Autocannons, by definition, are automatic weapons possessing calibers of 20mm or more. Rotary cannons are a type of autocannon that use multiple clustered, spinning barrels. In essence, they combine the BFG with More Dakka.
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2cm Flak 30/38/Flakvierling 38
From top to bottom: Flak 30, Flak 38, Flakvierling 38
The gun that invented the term "flak"note . The first of the legendary Flak guns is the 2cm FlaK 30, which was developed from a Swedish design called the Solothurn ST-5, and adopted by the Kriegsmarine as the 20mm C/30. It fired the "Long Solothurn" 20x138mm belted cartridge, which was then one of the most powerful 20mm rounds in existence.Unfortunately, the C/30 was very prone to jamming and had feeding problems; this issue was compounded by a limited magazine capacity of only 20 rounds which needed frequent reloading. Nevertheless, the Kriegsmarine liked it and it became the standard light AA weapon of German ships, equipping a large variety of them with anti-air capabilities. The MG C/30L was also used as an experimental BFG on planes, most notably the Heinkel He 112, in which the MG C/30L proved devastating to lightly-armored tanks and vehicles during the Spanish Civil War. Rheinmetall then adopted the C/30 for Army use, resulting in the 2cm Flak 30. This version can be set up by simply dropping the gun off its two-wheeled carriage, then leveling the gun with cranks; the resulting triangular base also allowed a 360 degree, unhindered field of fire.
However, the main problem of the design, the low (120 RPM) rate of fire, remained unsolved. Rheinmetall solved it by redesigning the gun into the 2cm Flak 38, increasing the rate of fire to 220 RPM, and lightening the gun to 420kg. The Flak 38 was accepted as standard by the Army in 1939, and the Kriegsmarine followed suit by adopting it as the C/38. Furthermore, to equip mountain troops and paratroopers with AA capabilities, Mauser was contracted to produce a lighter version of the Flak 38, which was called the 2cm Gebirgsflak 38 (2cm GebFlak 38). This gun weighed only 276kg, and the simplified mount (a tripod that raised the entire gun off the ground) allowed it to be deployed on uneven surfaces.
The Flak cannons were pretty much the standard anti-air gun of the Germans, used on pretty much every mount, either towed or self-propelled (like the Wirbelwind and Mobelwagen Panzer IV-based AA tanks, or the SdkfZ 7/1 halftrack), or even on ships. One such mount was the Flakvierling, a collection of four Flak 38 guns in one mounting. This version is the most iconic of the three in media, owing to its distinctive appearance.
- It should be noted that any depiction of Nazis with Gnarly Weapons, especially when aircraft makes an appearance, will have either the single-barrel or the Flakvierling variant appear.
- Medal of Honor
- The single-barrel Flak 30 appears in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, while the Flakvierling 38 appears in the Spearhead and Breakthrough expansions. The former are unusable by Powell, and are merely there to be an objective to be destroyed, while Barnes and Baker can both use the guns against enemy troops and vehicles, as well as destroy them.
- The standard anti-aircraft gun for Axis forces in Medal of Honor: Airborne. They're an objective for Travers to be taken out.
- During Resident Evil 6, the Flakvierling is seen in the first chapter where Chris and Jake meet, and they both team up to destroy the Flak guns and the B.O.Ws defending it.
- In RUSE, the 20mm Flak guns are standard light towed AA guns for the German faction.
- In the prologue of Just Cause 2, Flak guns used by the Panau military attack Rico's helicopter, killing Marshal at an inconvenient time. Rico must chase him down to earth before he hits the ground.
- Seen in Band of Brothers during Episode 2 (Day of Days), being used by the Germans.
- Seen in the first two Brothers in Arms games, used by Ost Battalion and Heer Infanterie soldiers against Allied aircraft.
- The Flak 38 can be found in the single player campaign in Company of Heroes, that can be captured or destroyed. The Panzer Elite can build these placements if they chose the Luftwaffe Tactics in the expansion packs.
- A single-barreled variant is used by German troops against the paratroopers and Ryan's team in Saving Private Ryan.
- The Flakvierling 38 the standard short-range Anti-Air weapon on almost all Kriegsmarine ships in World of Warships.
- The 2cm Flak 38 L/112 appears in World of Tanks It is incorrectly depicted as being used as a tank appearing on (in order by tier) the Panzer 35 (t), Panzer II, Panzer 38 (t), Panzer III E, Panzer I C, Panzer II G, Panzer 38 (t) n.A., Panzer II Luchs and the Panzer III J. Being A tier II gun, it starts lagging behind around tier 4.
- World War II-era Call of Duty games has the Flakvierling 38 show a several times. They need to destroyed in The Eder Dam and V-2 Rocket Site levels, background decorations in Battleship Tirpitz, and are used to take out Stukas in Airfield. The game also has the Panzer IV-based Möbelwagen anti-aircraft Variant appear in Ste. Mere-Elgise (In reality only one prototype had the Flakvierling before the Germans replaced it with a single Flak 43).
- Call Of Duty United Offensive has two more usable Flakvierlings appear in Kharkov 2 with the first the first being used against German bombers and the second being used against a full force counter-attack including Tanks, Half-Tracks, Infantry, and Stukas
- Call of Duty: Finest Hour has one appear in Into The Heartland take out Stukas
- Call of Duty 2 has one appear in Assault on Matmata where the player gets to guess what take out more Stukas. Another unusable one appears during the Pointe Du Hoc level, being used by the Germans to pin down advancing Rangers.
- Call of Duty 2: Big Red One has it appear in two mission. I will give you three guesses as what you have to do in the latter
- It is seen as a background prop in The Crossroads from Call Of Duty 3 and the standard Flak 38 appears as the "Flak 38 .20 AA Gun" in Call of Duty: WWII mounted on Sd. Kfz. 10 in Operation Cobra and The Rhine.
- The Flakvierling 38 makes appearances in Sniper Elite V2 as static setpieces throughout Berlin, and in Sniper Elite III, Sniper Elite 4, and Sniper Elite 5 as optional objectives to be destroyed.
Bofors 40mm gun
From top to bottom: Single-barreled towed version, Double-barreled version for use on ships, Quadruple-barreled version mounted on the USS Texas, Sextuple-barreled version developed for use on Royal Navy warships
When one thinks of Allied anti-aircraft guns in WWII, the first to come to mind will almost certainly be this weapon.
In the 1920s, the Swedish Navy was seeking a new anti-aircraft gun to replace their WWI-era 2-pounder pom-poms, and approached Bofors for a design. Bofors rolled out a 40mm clip-fed autocannon in 1931, which would eventually be known as the L/60. Sweden initially did not adopt the design, but other countries soon showed interest, prompting Bofors to release a wheeled carriage-mounted version. With so many orders, Bofors eventually opened factories in Poland, one of its adopters, to keep up with demand.
The British also showed interest in the design, and began manufacturing it themselves. During World War II, the United States also produced the weapon under license, using naval, carriage, and vehicle-mounted versions. The Bofors saw use by both sides during the second World War (Germany and Japan operating captured units). It was also occasionally used against ground or surface targets.
After World War II, with the advent of jet aircraft, Bofors updated the weapon into the L/70 version, which fired a slightly longer cartridge at a higher velocity, with a higher rate of fire.
Proving itself useful in many conflicts around the world, the Bofors is one of the longest-serving and widely-used autocannons in history. Many still see service today, primarily mounted on ships and vehicles as dual-purpose guns.
- The Bofors L/60, along with various rotary cannons and the M102 howitzer, is one of the weapons mounted by older variants of the United States Air Force's AC-130 Spectre.
- During the battle against Scorponok in Transformers (2007), an AC-130 uses its Bofors, along with its other weapons, to attack the Decepticon. Notably, the Bofors fires a bit too fast for a weapon fed by four-round clips.
- One is carried by AC-130Us in the Modern Warfare trilogy.
- The AC-130U in Medal of Honor (2010), as expected, also carries a Bofors.
- As does the one in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.
- Some appear in the first level of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as unusable background props.
- Call of Duty
- The twin-mounted version is seen onboard the Fletcher-class destroyers defending against kamikazes during the "Black Cats" level in Call of Duty: World at War.
- A few appear in the background of the Gibraltar map, as well as throughout the USS Texas map, in Call of Duty: WWII.
- Appear in Battlefield 1943 as usable weapons.
- One appears in the single-player campaign of Battlefield Hardline, mounted on a crashed AC-130, where it is usable by the player.
- In RUSE, Bofors guns are the standard light towed AA guns of the British and American factions.
- The Bofors 40mm serves as the British Commonwealth's anti-air unit and anti-vehicle turret in the Opposing Fronts expansion of Company of Heroes.
- Ships of a variety of nations use different variants of this weapon as part of their air defenses in World of Warships. The double, quadruple, and occasionally sextuple mounted versions on US, British, and some French ships are pretty much the best of the mid-range AA guns.
- The weapon is so iconic, in fact, that Wargaming covered the weapon in one episode
of their Naval Legends series.
- The weapon is so iconic, in fact, that Wargaming covered the weapon in one episode
- World of Tanks has the the Bofors appear in as the QF 40 mm Mk. VI Bofors used in the British Cruiser Mk. IV and Covenater Tanks, and as the Polish 40 mm auto. Boforsa in the 14TP and 25TP KSUST II Tanks.
- The quadruple-barreled version is used on-board US Navy warships in Flags of Our Fathers, as part of the pre-invasion bombardment and later fire support for the Iwo Jima landings.
- KanColle features the quadruple-gun mounts as usable equipment, introduced around the time Iowa, the first US Navy ship girl, arrived, and as part of her default equipment.
- Quadruple-gun mounts (two pairs of guns for each mount) are shown aboard the USS Laffey in Dogfights, used to defend the ship against an overwhelming kamikaze attack.
M242 Bushmaster
Since its introduction in 1972, the M242 has been extremely successful, no doubt due to its reliability and versatility, and sees use with at least a dozen countries outside the United States, mounted to be a variety of armored vehicles and naval craft.
- The United States Navy, Coast Guard and several other navies use the M242 as a watercraft-mounted gun, either as a primary weapon or for close-range defense. Anytime a recent US Navy ship gets focus, Bushmasters may be seen. The Marine Corps also use it as the primary weapon for their LAV-25 armored reconnaissance vehicles.
- The United States Army also makes heavy use of the Bushmaster, mounting it on their Bradley IFV. Anytime a Bradley appears in media, its Bushmaster may be seen.
- In The Last Ship, the eponymous USS Nathan James mounts Bushmasters for point defense. Notably, in the first season, it is used to fight attacking Russian helicopters.
- In Iron Man 2, the Army version of the Hammer drones mount Shoulder Cannons based on the M242, apparently chambered in .50.
- Appears mounted on AFVs in Call of Duty: Ghosts. A heavily modified variant also appears on the remote weapons stations in Extinction mode.
M61 Vulcan
Chambered in 20x102mm, the M61 Vulcan has six barrels, and fires at around 6000 rpm. Variants include the M61A1, which uses a linkless feed system versus the original M61's linked ammunition, and the M61A2, a lighter variant designed specifically for the F-22 Raptor (which is also used on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet) which fires at an even faster 6,600 rpm. A three-barreled version, the M197, is designed for use on helicopters and light aircraft.
Non-aircraft variants of the Vulcan include the Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System), often mounted by ships for defense against missiles, and its land-based variant, the C-RAM (Counter Rocket, Artillery, Mortar), and the towed M167 VADS (Vulcan Air Defense System) and a variant attached to an M113 APC, the M163.
- The vast majority of Cold War and post-Cold War US heavy combat aircraft (and a handful of foreign designs) mount the M61 Vulcan as gun armaments. Likewise, many US Navy and western ships mount Phalanx CIWS guns for point defense against missiles.
- Transformers Film Series:
- Starscream in Transformers (2007) mounts an M 61 A 2 Vulcan variant on his arm, since his vehicle mode is an F-22 Raptor.
- Hound in Transformers: Age of Extinction one-ups the below mentioned Vulcan Raven by having three Vulcans mounted in a single Terminator 2-type frame. note
- The Armadillos in Armageddon (1998) mount M61 Vulcans.
- In addition to being mounted on aircraft, you can find M167 VADSs in Project Reality.
- The USS Nathan James in The Last Ship, as an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, mounts a Phalanx CIWS, which it ends up using more than once.
- In addition to arming US aircraft in the Battlefield series, the land-based C-RAM versions appear defending US bases in Battlefield 3 and 4.
- Metal Gear:
- In Metal Gear Solid, Vulcan Raven, fitting for his name, uses an M61 Vulcan as a handheld weapon. Apparently, he salvaged it from one of the two F-16s Liquid Snake shot down in his Hind earlier in the game. Somehow, he's able to lift the weapon (which by itself is 248 pounds) and its 285-pound ammo drum, and fire it without the recoil knocking him over. In addition, the gun also has no obvious power supply.
- M167 VADSs can be encountered in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, where you can use or destroy them. They return in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, where they are identified as "M276 AA Gatling Guns, which you can steal to add to your own base.
- The JDS Mirai in Zipang mounts two Phalanxes.
- As expected, it equips various fighters in the Ace Combat series.
- Many ships in Battleship mount Phalanx CIWSs, with the John Paul Jones notably using its to defend itself.
Oerlikon 20mm cannon
During World War I, German engineer Reinhold Becker developed a blowback-operated 20mm autocannon, intended for use as an aircraft-mounted weapon. Not enough were made to affect the war's outcome, but the gun's specs and rights were later acquired by the Swiss Oerlikon company. They continued to develop the weapon, replacing the original cannon's box magazine with a drum (and later, a belt-feed mechanism to accompany a belt-box), and increasing its muzzle velocity and weight while reducing the effective rate of fire.
The Oerlikon 20mm would go on to play a major role in World War II, being used by all sides. Germany used a licensed derivative, the MG FF, on its early warplanes, while Japan license-produced the FF as the Type 99, using it to arm their naval aircraft (the Army had its own version but eventually decided to replace that with the Ho-5, an oversized 20mm caliber version of the American Browning M2). As for the Allied side, the United Kingdom was able to smuggle out specs of the gun to produce it for themselves (they were quite offended about the exorbitant royalty fees that Oerlikon's primary salesman charged just for looking at the blueprints), using it to arm their anti-aircraft units and ships (and, with Polish assistance, produced a simplified version, known as the Polsten), while the United States primarily used it as a short-range anti-aircraft gun. Though phased out later in the war by the longer-ranged and larger-caliber Bofors gun, it continued to see use.
Many Oerlikons are still in use today, putting it along with the Bofors 40mm gun as one of the longest-serving autocannons in history.
- In many WWII-era films and video games, the Oerlikon or its variants usually appear whenever real German or Japanese aircraft appear and fire their weapons (even if they are not physically seen), or as naval gun mountings, primarily on US Navy ships.
- The Iraqi ship in Hot Shots! Part Deux mounts an Oerlikon. The weapon is loaded with two drum magazines (in reality, only one is fitted, which means the second one is actually stuck on backwards).
- Colonel Trautman fires an Oerlikon in the final battle of Rambo III.
- An Oerlikon is used by SPECTRE agents during the oil rig battle in Diamonds Are Forever.
- The German patrol boat in the film version of The Guns of Navarone mounts an Oerlikon.
- Call of Duty:
- In Call of Duty: World at War, the Catalina in the "Black Cats" mission mounts a pair of Oerlikons in the bow, along with the standard-issue Browning M1919 machine guns, which you can use. In real life, there wasn't enough room for both, and the Oerlikons were used as full-on stronger, longer-ranged replacements for the Brownings.
- Oerlikons can be seen as background props in some maps in Call of Duty: WWII.
- Several Oerlikons can be seen defending the mountain fortress in Stealth.
- The Half-Track introduced in the Gunrunner DLC in Grand Theft Auto V mounts a pair of Oerlikons, which are mistakenly referred to as .50 caliber weapons.
- A very common sight as part of the AA batteries of most Allied ships in World of Warships. In this role, they're the most numerous AA gun on board said ships, as well as the best in terms of short-range AA defense.
- Like the Bofors, due to their performance and status as iconic weapons on board warships during World War II, they were covered as a topic in one episode of Wargaming's Naval Legends series.
- Like the Bofors, due to their performance and status as iconic weapons on board warships during World War II, they were covered as a topic in one episode
- The Dogfights episode "Kamikaze" features examples on board US warships such as the USS Laffey and St. Lo, used to defend against the titular Japanese suicide aircraft.
Type 96 25mm gun
The Type 96 is a Japanese 25mm autocannon, based on the French 25mm Hotchkiss autocannon design. A gas-operated design fed by 15-round box magazines, it would serve as the standard short-range anti-aircraft gun of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Available in single, double, and triple mounts, the Type 96 could fire a variety of projectiles including smoke tracers, incendiary rounds, explosive shells, and armor-piercing shot (allowing it to function as an improvised anti-tank gun when loaded with said armor-piercing projectiles).
The weapon was mounted on practically every Japanese ship or watercraft large enough to hold it, primarily as an anti-aircraft gun. Per its nature as a dual-purpose gun, though, the wheeled carriage versions were also occasionally used against ground targets. Leftover weapons continued to be used by various other forces in southeast Asia after WWII.
The Imperial Japanese Navy considered the gun the best of its small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. This, unfortunately, did not say much when the Type 96 was compared to the German 20mm Flak cannon family, the Italian 20mm Breda Modello 35 or the Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/77 (the cheaper cannon designed by Alfredo Scotti), or the Allied 20mm Oerlikon and 40mm Bofors cannons. It suffered from a number of issues, including a slow traverse rate on the multiple-gun mounts due to having hand-cranked controls, a very short effective range (namely the range at which projectiles would do effective damage) when dealing with faster attack planes, and its top-mounted box magazine had to be changed and loaded by hand, slowing its practical rate of fire.
- The crew of the eponymous battleship in Yamato attempt to use the ship's Type 96s against attacking Allied fighters and bombers in its final mission. However, they prove woefully ineffective at the task, downing only 10 US aircraft out of some 350 attackers. Notably, Kamio loads, aims and fires his Type 96 by himself during an emergency.
- A common sight in both single-player and multiplayer maps set on Peleliu, as well as on Imperial Japanese Navy ships, in Call of Duty: World at War. In the former, Pvt. Miller can use them to devastating effect against Japanese ground forces, while the Japanese forces use them in their intended role as Anti-Air guns, both on land and on ships.
- The standard Japanese Anti-Air gun in Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault. They're shown on Makin Island, and later used by Conlin to shoot down Zero fighters attacking his squad's position.
- The standard short-medium range Anti-Air gun for all Imperial Japanese Navy ships in World of Warships. Much like in Real Life, all variants of this gun are considered the worst out of all short and medium range AA guns, and only do mediocre damage at best to enemy aircraft.
- Both the battlecruiser HIMS Amagi and the destroyer HIMS Hidoiame in the Destroyermen series have Type-96s in single, double, and triple mounts. These are later salvaged by the Alliance to equip USS Walker and newer US/Allied ships. They might not be up to snuff against WWII-era aircraft, but they’ll knock down flying grikbirds just fine.
- Appears in KanColle in a variety of forms, as standard equipment for all IJN ships.
- Several examples of the triple-barreled variant, both intact and destroyed, can be seen on maps where the Japanese are defending in Rising Storm. Here, they're unusable, and only serve as setpieces.
- The two-gun mount variant is shown in Midway (2019), being used by the crews of IJN ships as well as Naval infantry to shoot down attacking American aircaft.
- Beach Invasion 1945 - Pacific: The triple-mounted version of this gun is available as an unlockable gun emplacement for the Imperial Japanese Forces on the Iwo Jima map. Notably, it's effective against infantry, light vehicles, armored vehicles, and low-flying aircraft. In exchange, however, the weapon constantly overheats when fired for too long, and is ineffective against aircraft flying at higher altitudes.
ZU-23-2
The ZU-23's features made it extremely popular, and it has seen service all over the world, in almost every conflict from 1960 onward, and will likely continue to be seen for many years to come. Numerous countries also produce the weapon, licensed or otherwise.
Fun fact: Any cannon barrels that were rejected at the factory were used to make KS-23 barrels.
- ZU-23s can be encountered in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, where Snake can commandeer them to shoot at helicopters, or, during the base battle, the Shagohod.
- A few appear in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain as the Zhizdra-45. You can Fulton them out to add to your own base.
- A Chinese-made copy of the ZU-23 chambered in 25mm, the Type 87, appears as a usable weapon in Battlefield 2. The regular version also appears in Battlefield: Bad Company, where it can be used, while the Type 87 reappears in Battlefield 4, mounted on the Chinese Type 95 self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle.
- The Chinese-made Type 87 25mm version appears in Project Reality, while the standard ZU-23 can be seen mounted on flatbed trucks.
- Some are encountered as enemy units in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.
- ZU-23s are used as anti-aircraft guns by Soviet fortifications in World in Conflict.
- ZU-23s can be used in ARMA, in standalone form, mounted on flatbed trucks, or in the ZSU-23-4.
- The player is tasked with destroying some ZU-23s in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2.
- A ZU-23-2 mounted on a tracked APC is used to shoot down Koko's AN-12 in "Dragon Shooter, Part 2" in Jormungand.
- Many anti-aircraft vehicles in Wargame: Red Dragon mount ZU-23-2s as armament.
- Al-Qaida fighters in Medal of Honor (2010) use ZU-23s to try and shoot down the AC-130 gunship "Reaper 31," which you stop by blowing up the ammo dump it's next to. Another ZU-23 is poised to shoot down the Apache helicopter Gunfighter squadron until the cannon's operator is sniped by Deuce.
- GoldenEye Reloaded adds ZU-23-2s alongside the dam and nearby airfield in the prologue mission, though since they weren't present in the original Wii version, nobody can use them here, with Bond instead being forced to use inappropriately-placed American MIM-23 Hawk missiles to shoot down a pursuing Hind.
- ZU-23-2s appear in Wargame: Red Dragon onboard the Soviet BTR-ZD AA APC, Polish Sopel SPAAG, and captured models appear on South African Bosvark SPAAG. The USSR, Finland and Poland also get the option to deploy trucks carrying ZU-23-2s.
- The BTR-ZD, a BTR-D air-droppable APC with a top-mounted ZU-23-2, along with the Bosvark, a South African SAMIL 100 truck mounting a captured ZU-23-2 at the back, are playable in War Thunder. The BTR-ZD is found in the Soviet tree as a Rank IV SPAA option, with the Bosvark being similarly Rank IV in the British tech tree.
