Fire hedgehog

[Sergei]

This was the name of a system to mow down infantry. It consisted of 88 PPSH guns located in the Tu-2 bomb bay.

http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/54/proton-xx.27/0_11a50_571ddf00_XL.jpg


http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/54/proton-xx.27/0_11a4f_3f27b544_XL.jpg
The system is lowered for reloading.

[Major_Ass]

Wow, Ive never ever seen anything like this b4 from WW2 era, that's certainly a rather amazing concept for the time.. what would the firing time be? 10secs? then fly back for reload?

thanks for the pics:)

[Paddy51]

Never heard of this weapon. Very interesting and thanks very much for sharing.

[flanker7]

MetalStorm uncestor :-)

[Supplanter]

Is this right? PPSH fires 900 rounds per minute X 88 guns = 79200 rounds per minute, wow

[LRPV]

Nice find, was it ever deployed? The 7.62x 25mm pistol cartridge leads me to wonder just how low the pilot had to fly.

[Birger]

Whoa.. certainly wouldn't mind to see a testfire :)

[Nephilim]

Wow. Thats pretty overkill :D

i remember reading that the germans back then installed a similar mechanism on fighters like the 109ers to destroy allied bombers.
dont think it were THAT much guns installed, but it was similar.
the guns faced upwards and were activated through foto-cells.

[Squeezee]

Yeah. The Nazis also had a plane that flew up over bomber formations and shot rockets into them from rocket pods. I want to say the ME-163 Komet, but I can't find anything to say that it was.

LRPV, I agree with you, but when things fall from the sky then gain speed. Anyway, that thing is neat looking. I wouldn't mind seeing it in action.

[Nephilim]

the komet had only guns afaik.

the rocketplane with the rocketpod in the nose was the natter.

[Britboy]

Woah... it would suck to be underneath one of those things...

Wonder if it was as noisy as a Phalanx shoot? 88 SMGs all at once - nasty!

[Squeezee]

I know the Natter had rockets in the nose, but didn't it dive down on top if its targets? I am pretty sure it did, not like th plane I am thinking of.

[JJB1970]

Nice post, Sergei. That's certainly a variant of the Tu-2 I had not seen before!

Reminds me of all the things the Luftwaffe tried with the Henschel Hs 129--multiple recoiless rifles, 75mm cannon, and I think they even experimented with a mortar system.

Many thanks for the info!

[Fade]

Impressive, thanks Sergei!

[Seraphim]

Yeah. The Nazis also had a plane that flew up over bomber formations and shot rockets into them from rocket pods. I want to say the ME-163 Komet, but I can't find anything to say that it was.

LRPV, I agree with you, but when things fall from the sky then gain speed. Anyway, that thing is neat looking. I wouldn't mind seeing it in action.

Terminal velocity. Look it up.

[IDF_TANKER]

Terminal velocity. Look it up.

Up until an object reaches the terminal velocity it accelerates (when falling down), doesn't it?

[LRPV]

^^^

Yes. Thats how the "terminal" part comes in....

[Hispeed1]

Very interesting...

[Sergei]

I don't really know how useful this system was but with the density of fire like this I guess nobody really cared.

[Para]

The German Comet aircraft was fitted with upward firing rockets. these rockets would be set off by a photo electric cell when the shadow of the B17 went across it. It had recorded a few kills before they gave up using the Comet

[Para]

There was also a Hedgehog weapon on many Royal Navy ships that was used for Anti Submarine work

[LineDoggie]

I'm wondering that unless each PPsh41 has a different angle set to it that the beaten zone would be very narrow and not very useful.

The Ju-88 (A-4) had Podded MG81's set with different angles of fire for strafing ground troops. The Night Fighter Variant used the Schrage Musik MG151/20's set to fire obliquely forwards and upwards.

[orionhawk]

holy crap. this thing reminds me of the B-25J. 12 50-cal M2's in forward-firing fixed mounts for strafing...

[StukaJr]

Wow - that is most interesting... Thanks for the find!

[TR1]

good find, very interesting!

[orionhawk]

Up until an object reaches the terminal velocity it accelerates (when falling down), doesn't it?
Terminal Velocity for most, if not all, bullets is slower than their muzzle velocity.

[davidr]

Wow. Thats pretty overkill :D

i remember reading that the germans back then installed a similar mechanism on fighters like the 109ers to destroy allied bombers.
dont think it were THAT much guns installed, but it was similar.
the guns faced upwards and were activated through foto-cells.

See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%A4ge_Musik for information on upward firing aircraft guns, called "Schrage Musik". It was also used for upward firing rockets, the GO 229 flying wing fighter was fitted with "Schrage Musik" - an upward firing array of rockets, triggered by an aircraft overflying a photo-electric cell in the upper side of the aircraft (Reference "Last Talons of the Eagle" by G Hyland and A Gill)

[MeiJoa]

Terminal Velocity for most, if not all, bullets is slower than their muzzle velocity.

Yes, but still enough to be deadly for most bullets. And veloicity decreases slower with gravity force in direction of firing.

Google "air dropped flechettes"...