325:
458:
437:. It weighed only 30 kg. It was fed by a somewhat awkward, curved box magazine, available in versions that held 10 or 15 rounds; the latter weighed another 5 kg. As the rate of fire was 325 rounds per minute, this magazine could be emptied very quickly. The muzzle velocity was 490 m/s, which was low compared to the rifle-calibre machine guns of the period such as the German
31:
299:, Germany. Development commenced in 1913 and was therefore already advanced when the War Ministry issued a specification in June 1915 calling for an aircraft cannon of under 37 mm caliber and 70 kg weight capable of firing a 10-round burst. Tests commenced shortly thereafter with the weapon mounted in a
357:
in
December 1917. Due to the gun's operating principles, it could not be synchronised and this posed an immediate problem for its installation in this type of aircraft. The solution adopted after the tests with the Albatros J.I was to mount the gun at an angle to fire downwards. Fitting the gun to a
307:
was engaged to help develop and fine-tune the design, leading to a production contract for 120 Becker Type M2 guns in June 1916. In addition to the orders for aircraft guns placed with Becker, Spandau and
374:(LZ 112), were armed with the Becker cannon. Total production figures are not known, but were in excess of 539 (111 by Becker and 428 by MAN); 362 were surrendered to the Allies.
274:, which is in service to this day, and in a later form, was the original inspiration, through the Swiss design after World War I, for the World War II German Luftwaffe's
353:
ground-attack machine. Tests in smaller, single-engined aircraft were not so successful but were carried out extensively through the rest of the war, commencing with an
800:
267:. It was first mass-produced in 1916 and was installed in a variety of aircraft. It was the only German autocannon to see service in the air during the war.
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also received a contract to build Becker cannon for the Army. The
Spandau works developed the gun further, producing it as the
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891:
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545:
During World War I, at least two other German 20 mm autocannons were designed and had limited production. One was the
562:
295:
The original design was based on the 19 mm Becker cannon cartridge by the
Coenders brothers at Stahlwerke Becker of
442:
69:
917:
964:
769:
The
Machine Gun, History, Evolution and Development of Manual, Automatic and Airborne Repeating Weapons, Vol. 1
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and the Hansa (Caspar) D.I, but these were not carried out before the armistice. Some rigid airships of the
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fighter with a pusher configuration was another obvious solution and trials were carried out with an
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844:
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Flying Guns World War I, Development of
Aircraft Guns, Ammunition and Installations 1914β32
383:
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304:
229:
96:
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441:, but a respectable performance compared to other autocannon of the period, such as the
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328:
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54:
567:
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The main types to use the Type M2 were large, twin-engined aircraft, initially of
303:, but proved unsatisfactory. Despite this, the potential of the gun was such that
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79:
30:
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393:) in 1921, which continued development with a more powerful cartridge as the
529:
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350:
300:
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took over the SEMAG assets in 1924, marketing improved versions as the
363:
282:, "fixed wing-mount automatic ordnance") 20 mm autocannon design.
189:
137:
309:
938:
756:
Grosz, P. "The 2 cm Becker
Aircraft canon - development and use."
549:; the other was the 19 mm (sometimes reported as 20 mm)
438:
331:
operated a 20 mm Becker cannon in the front cockpit of a Gotha G.I
323:
275:
270:
The Becker also served as the pattern for the famous Swiss-built
468: with: text from Williams (2003) pp. 96-97. You can help by
782:
704:
The Chaco War 1932β35: South
America's Greatest Modern Conflict
570:-the final German World War II development of the Becker design
627:(1st ed.). Ramsbury: Airlife Publishing. pp. 89β90.
452:
316:, which was heavier and had a slower rate of fire at 250/min.
433:
The Type M2 was a slim weapon working on the principle of
252:
was a German autocannon developed for aircraft use during
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623:Williams, Anthony G.; Gustin, Dr. Emmanuel (2003).
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35:An artist's rendering of a Becker antiaircraft gun
417:bought eight 20 mm SEMAG rifles. During the
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362:. Other intended installations were for an
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701:Quesada, Alejandro de (20 November 2011).
29:
18:
580:
382:The patent for the gun was bought by
7:
771:. U.S. Government Printing Office.
707:. Oxford: Osprey. pp. 33β34.
14:
435:advanced primer ignition blowback
456:
314:Spandau Type 3 20 mm cannon
250:Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon
397:. After the collapse of SEMAG,
234:490 m/s (1,600 ft/s)
121:
1:
563:List of API blowback firearms
421:, seven were captured by the
749:Williams, Anthony G. (2000)
443:Vickers QF 1 pounder pom-pom
280:Maschinengewehr FlΓΌgel Fest
70:Imperial German Air Service
991:
653:www.armorypublications.com
370:, such as the most modern
194:20 mm (0.787 in)
970:World War I aircraft guns
918:Atchisson assault shotgun
173:
51:Place of origin
28:
541:Competing German designs
378:Postwar use and patterns
169:30 kg (66 lb)
902:Mk 19 grenade launcher
897:Heckler & Koch GMG
727:Williams (2003), p. 91
332:
291:Design and development
242:15-rounds box magazine
220:Rate of fire
960:API blowback firearms
810:API blowback firearms
736:Chinn (1951), 523β525
673:"THE CANNON PIONEERS"
388:Seebach Maschinenbau
347:Friedrichshafen G.III
327:
272:Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
368:Imperial German Navy
230:Muzzle velocity
649:"Untitled Document"
525:Friedrichshafen G.I
845:Solothurn S-18/100
677:www.quarryhs.co.uk
390:Aktiengesellschaft
333:
86:Production history
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946:
885:Grenade launchers
714:978-1-84908-901-2
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258:Stahlwerke Becker
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184:20x70mmRB (130 g)
115:Stahlwerke Becker
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833:Anti-tank rifles
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758:Over the Front 7
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239:Feed system
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765:George M. Chinn
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744:Further reading
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320:Operational use
305:Spandau arsenal
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97:August Coenders
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94:Reinhold Becker
66:In service
61:Service history
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23:Becker Type M2
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861:Becker Type M2
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840:Oerlikon SSG36
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161:Specifications
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876:MK 108 cannon
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510:Albatros D.VI
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505:Albatros D.II
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464:This section
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372:Zeppelin L 70
369:
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360:Albatros D.VI
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348:
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343:Grossflugzeug
341:
339:
330:
329:Oskar Ursinus
326:
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306:
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297:Reinickendorf
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55:German Empire
53:
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32:
27:
20:
934:Sterling SMG
860:
768:
757:
753:Airlife, UK.
750:
732:
723:
703:
696:
685:. Retrieved
681:the original
676:
667:
656:. Retrieved
652:
643:
624:
568:MG FF cannon
547:2cm Ehrhardt
544:
515:Albatros J.I
474:
470:adding to it
465:
449:Applications
432:
394:
387:
381:
355:Albatros J.I
342:
337:
334:
313:
294:
279:
269:
249:
247:
213:API blowback
111:Manufacturer
854:Autocannons
774:web version
429:Description
423:Paraguayans
349:bomber and
261: [
254:World War I
124: built
80:World War I
975:Autocannon
954:Categories
751:Rapid Fire
687:2017-09-02
658:2017-09-02
575:References
520:Caspar D.I
411:Oerlikon S
407:Oerlikon L
403:Oerlikon F
153:Oerlikon S
148:Oerlikon L
143:Oerlikon F
45:Autocannon
16:Autocannon
892:Daewoo K4
530:Gotha G.I
477:June 2013
419:Chaco War
351:AEG G.IVk
340:"G"-class
338:IdFlieg's
301:Gotha G.I
180:Cartridge
911:Shotguns
767:(1951).
557:See also
495:AEG J.II
490:AEG G.IV
399:Oerlikon
132:Variants
103:Designed
91:Designer
551:Szakats
535:LVG C.V
500:AGO S.I
415:Bolivia
395:SEMAG L
364:AGO S.I
286:History
224:325 rpm
199:Barrels
190:Caliber
138:SEMAG L
711:
631:
409:, and
208:Action
939:TZ-45
439:MG 08
384:SEMAG
276:MG FF
265:]
760:(2).
709:ISBN
629:ISBN
248:The
166:Mass
127:539+
106:1913
76:Wars
41:Type
824:APT
472:.
310:MAN
256:by
122:No.
956::
675:.
651:.
583:^
553:.
445:.
425:.
413:.
405:,
263:de
802:e
795:t
788:v
717:.
690:.
661:.
637:.
479:)
475:(
386:(
278:(
202:1
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