Or does it just fire at twice the speed of sound?
2007-10-27 06:47:36 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Sorry meant cannons, not turrets
2007-10-27 06:49:27 · update #1
A bullet shot out of an airplane that is traveling at Mach 1 would be shot, in relation to the ground, at Mach 1 plus the fire speed of the gun... The speed is all relative... The bullet will be 1/2 mile from the airplane in the same time regardless of if the airplane was not moving or if it was traveling more than the speed of sound...
Let A= the speed of the airplane
Let B= the launch speed of the cannon
Let C=the groundspeed of the bullet leaving the barrel
A+B=C
As you can see, if the airplane is not moving, B=C as it would if the gun was on the ground... if the airplane is going 500 mph and the gun shoots at 500 mph... (just an example) the bullet would be fired at 1000 mph groundspeed but still 500 mph relative to the position of the airplane...
Its a tough concept to explain... hope I helped out out...
2007-10-27 06:57:14 · answer #1 · answered by ALOPILOT 5 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Fast jets often do have cannons. However they're not terribly effect against targets engaged at high speeds, so they're used for slower, closer engagements and for strafing ground targets.
Also, since the bullets are not propelled once they leave the barrel, they quickly lose speed if fired by an aircraft with a high airspeed. There have actually been cases where supersonic aircraft have shot themselves down by out running their own bullets.
As for the turret question, the turret would have to be aerodynamically smooth in any position in it's arc so it didn't disrupt the air flow around the plane. Since turret armament has been considered ineffective for quite a few years, it's not likely they'd bother with the weight and complexity it would take to install a turret in a high speed aircraft.
2007-10-27 14:45:59 · answer #2 · answered by rohak1212 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fixed cannons on modern fighters have high muzzle velocities (20mm M61 Vulcan on F-15, F-16 & F-22, 3450 ft/s (1,050 m/s), ~Mach 3). This is in addition to the relative speed of the plane. Generally, fighters in dogfights (when you would be using cannon at close range) are flying below Mach 1 and only use supersonic dash speeds to transit to a target area or to clearout from a dogfight.
2007-10-27 14:08:27 · answer #3 · answered by Chun M 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Good answers on the corrected question regarding cannon.
Jets still have "turrets" though... in FLIR and other forms of targeting and reconnaissance pods. They are just wonderfully faired and aerodynamic.
2007-10-27 14:40:22 · answer #4 · answered by mariner31 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://photo.net/attachments/bboard/00C/00CcXk-24251684.jpg
Galin gun with plane built around it
fires armor piercing nuclear tipped ammo
18000 rounds later you are dead meat!
ANY MORE QUESTIONS?
2007-10-27 15:18:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋