In 1949, the General Electric company produced a prototype 15.24mm caliber six-barreled gun based on an idea developed by Richard Gatling, the originator of the famous Gatling gun. This new weapon possessed a maximum rate of fire of 6000 rounds per minute. The caliber was increased to accommodate high-explosive shells, and the M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon entered service on F-104 Star-fighter aircraft in 1965.

 

The rotary gatling-gun principle was also extended further down the caliber scale, resulting in the M134 7.62mm minigun. In tandem with the M61 cannon, the minigun was mounted on a variety of gunships during the Vietnam War, including the AC-47 “Puff The Magic Dragon” or “Spooky,” the AC-130 “Specter,” and the AC-119 “Shadow”.

 

In addition to its use as a fixed, externally-powered weapon on the gunships, a self-powered variant of the M134 minigun, designated the GAU-2A, was used as the basis for the SUU-11BA pod installation. Housed inside this pod, the GAU-2 was an extremely versatile weapon system compatible for use on a variety of mountings, ranging from helicopter turrets to fixed-wing gunships. When connected to the pilot’s sighting and delivery systems, (comprising target-acquisition, night observation, infra-red and computer equipment), the concentrated firepower of the side-mounted GAU-2s was devastating. During a sweep over suspected enemy territory or a supply convoy, a battery of minigun pod installations was capable of putting one round into every square foot of an area the size of a football field. Fifteen seconds of sustained firepower at the high firing rate of 6000 rounds per minute was enough to ensure that nothing was left standing in the target area.

 

The gun pod itself utilized a MAU-57 linkless ammunition feed system, with an average stoppage rate of once every 35,000 rounds fired. A battery of three SUU-11BA pod installations would be mounted on the portside of each gunship, with a total ammunition capacity of 4500 rounds, both tracer and ball. Extra ammunition for the minigun pod installations was stored in the forward cargo hold of the gunship, and the pod could be reloaded without the need for special ground-support equipment. Belted in standard M13 links, the rounds were loaded into the pod with the aid of an MAU-69 delinker, the latter being stowed within the pod structure itself.

 

GAU-2A Minigun Specs: