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What is the technical name...
14 years ago
for heavy aircraft mounting large-bore cannon (i.e., >70mm)? There have been a few, in history, that mounted the guns roughly parallel to the spine of the aircraft, like in typical fighter aircraft; but you can't call a bomber an attack fighter just because it has a forward-mounted big gun. The essence of it, you might say, is that it is a heavy, relatively slow and possibly poorly-maneuverable aircraft that carries all manner of heavy weapons, specialized for low-altitude runs.
Because, you see, reading about bats of late (U of MD has a neat neuroethology lab working with them, and my wife is playing Chrono Trigger, which has lots of bats in it) I dreamed up something.
I am not a physicist so I don't know these things: what are the design limits imposed by a desire to make an aircraft hard to detect? I mean, obviously it needs to be comparatively quiet, and have comparatively cool-running engines, but I mean specifically the shape of the airframe.
Because, you see, reading about bats of late (U of MD has a neat neuroethology lab working with them, and my wife is playing Chrono Trigger, which has lots of bats in it) I dreamed up something.
I am not a physicist so I don't know these things: what are the design limits imposed by a desire to make an aircraft hard to detect? I mean, obviously it needs to be comparatively quiet, and have comparatively cool-running engines, but I mean specifically the shape of the airframe.
The AC-130 series carries a multitude of weapons, but in the side and is referred to as a 'gunship', but if yer thinking of putting several large-bore guns in the nose of say a multi-engine medium or light bomber, it'd most likely be an attacker or strike bomber.
The USAAC made strafer variants of the B-25 and A-26 medium bombers. The B-25 strafers had ten .50 caliber MGs in the nose, along with two more on either side of the fuselage in sponson-blisters. They were used primarily against shipping and ground convoys.
One unique craft had been modified by it's pilot and a USMC armorer to carry a single 76mm tank gun taken from a Sherman tank knocked-out during the taking of one of the islands. It was set slightly off-center and was loaded by the copilot. They only carried seven rounds for it due to weight, but they report it was rather effective against shipping.
That's the only one I've heard of to carry a truly large gun in a forward facing mount. The Germans had a few under-wing mounted 50mm cannon for anti-bomber missions, and the P-39 Airacobra had a 37mm running through the propshaft, but it wasn't very effective in the air-to-air role.
The tank gun-armed B-25 was first employed as the B-25G, but was standardized as the B-25H which was equipped with a lighter 75mm gun designed specificaly for the aircraft. Standard armament for the G model was 2 M2 .50-Caliber Machine Guns and a M4 75mm Tank Gun. The H model added 2 additional fifties in 1944 with an option for twin 'cheek blister' gun mounts on either side just below the cockpit. The aircraft saw service mostly in the Pacific Theatre for Anti-Shipping duties.
The British had such an aircraft, but it wasn't very successful. The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito Mk.XVIII (sometimes known as the Tsetse) of which 18 were built and a total of 27 were made by converting Mk VIs. These were fitted with a Molins "6-pounder Class M" cannon, a modification of the QF 6-pounder (57 mm) anti-tank gun weighing 1,580 lb (716 kg) fitted with an auto-loader to allow both semi- or fully-automatic fire, in the nose, along with two .303 in (7.7 mm) sighting machine guns.
The Germans LOVED large-caliber guns and they could be found everywhere, especialy in prototypes and rough drafts captured after the war, such as their Landkreuzer P 1500 Monster Seige Tank which was designed to carry a EIGHTY-CENTIMETER Railway Gun as main armament! The Junkers Ju-88P-1 Attack Bomber was a specialized variant for ground attack, design starting in 1942. Prototypes were converted A-4 series bombers with plated over noses and a conformal housing in place of the bomb bay containing a modified PAK-40 75mm Anti-Tank Gun designed for the Henschel Hs-129B-3 dedicated anti-armor aircraft. They were issed sparingly as by the time they entered production, the war was going against Germany and the Luftwaffe was shattered and running low on gas.
I think the standard terminoloy used today is "Gound Attack Aicraft."