Some on-line references for aircraft gun systems:
Wikipedia - U.S. helicopter armament subsystemsWikipedia - U.S. aircraft gun pods Weapon Systems Net (weaponsystems.net==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Well that's pretty darn cool! Odd as well considering they carried an internal 20mm Vulcan. Mmmmmmm 5 20mm Vulcans.... Reminds me of those shots of the USMC Phantoms carrying 3 SUU-23s during Vietnam. Club Shred indeed!
Odds are that any aircraft so equipped with a quantity of gun pods such as the SUU-23 or similar would not be firing all pods in one pass. That would be a bit much and a definite waste of resources. The more likely scenario would see the aircraft firing the guns in pairs and probably expending the gun pod ammunition and using the on-board gun for any follow up on the target if it were not already obliterated. I have wanted to do an A-10 armed with the GPU-5 30mm Gun Pod or the SUU-23 in quantities of four. Not sure about how well the aircraft would handle with hot gun gas being introduced directly in front of the engines but it would look intimidating.
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More for "Club Shred"
A-4A Skyhawk BuNo 137818 armed with three Mk-4 HIPEG gun pods at Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) China Lake, California (19640124)
(image source:
A Photographic History of NAF and VX-5 at NOTS China Lake)
(From Wikipedia - Gun Pods)
Mk 4 Mod 0
Developed by the US Navy, this pod is fitted with the Mk 11 Mod 5 20 mm cannon, along with 750 rounds of ammunition. This pod is said to have been used on a variety of US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft including the A-4 Skyhawk, F-4 Phantom II, A-7 Corsair II,and OV-10 Bronco. Approximately 1200 Mk 4 Gun Pods were manufactured by Hughes Tool Company, later Hughes Helicopter, in Culver City, California. While the system was tested and certified for use on the A-4, the A-6, the A-7, the F-4, and the OV-10, it only saw extended use on the A-4, the F-4, and the OV-10. In the case of the OV-10, the unit was used by VAL-4, a Navy squadron assigned to Binh Thuy, Vietnam, and was used extensively for close air support missions.
Attached is a second image of the A-4 Skyhawk posted above during a firing run with one of the three gun pods spewing destruction. What is amazing is the shower of spent cartridges and links that fill the air as the gun pod is firing.