Crew Served Weapons Flashcards
GAU-21 Characteristics
.50 Caliber 950-1100 Rounds/minute Air-cooled, short recoil operated, fires from open bolt position.
The GAU-21/M290D is not authorized to be installed in the following configurations:
- With RHEP and RIB Aux fuel tank installed
- With a torp on the RHEP
M240D Characteristics
- Air Cooled, Gas-operated
- fires from open bolt position
- 7.62mm round
- Rate of Fire: 650-950 (Gas Plug dependent)
- 3 Gas Plug settings
Ammunition Types
- Ball
- Tracer
- Dim Tracer
- Armor Piercing
- Armor Piercing Incendiary
- Armor Piercing Incendiary-Tracer
- Armor Piercing Explosive Incendiary
- Blank
- Dummy
Ball Ammo
- Used in rifles, pistols, machine guns, SMG, etc against personnel and unarmored targets.
- Normally a lead slug with soft steel core
- Markings: None
Tracer Ammo
- Allows gunner to see line of fire.
- Flame generated at the aft end of the round
- Markings:
- .50 Cal: Brown Tip
- 7.62mm: Orange Tip
Dim-Tracer Ammo
- Gunner sees line of fire on NVGs (invisible to naked eye)
- Markings:
- .50 Cal: Lavender Tip
- 7.62mm: Green Tip/White Ring OR Pink Tip/Purple Ring
Armor Piercing
- Used in machine guns against bullet resistant targets.
- Jacket and core of hardened steel alloy
- Markings:
- .50 Cal and 7.62mm: Black Tip
Armor Piercing Incendiary
- Bullent has the configuration of armor piercing
- Mixture inside ignites upon impact
- Markings:
- .50 Cal: Silver Tip
- 7.62mm: N/A
Armor Piercing Incendiary-Tracer
- Same as API (Armor Piercing Incendiary) with tracer
- Markings:
- .50 Cal: Red/Orange Tip, Silver Ring
- 7.62mm: N/A
Armor Piercing Explosive Incendiary
- Contains a mixture of zirconium, I-36, and Composition A-4
- Provides penetration, fragmentation, and fire starting
- Markings:
- .50 Cal: Green Tip, Grey Ring
Blank
- Absence of bullent identifies a Blank
- Dangerous to fire a blank at personnel at distances less than 20 yds
- Markings:
- .50 Cal: N/A
- 7.62mm: No Bullet
Dummy
Consists of:
- Casing and Ball Bullet
- 2 drilled holes in the case
- Training for loading, unloading, and firing weapon (inert)
M240D Ranges
- Maximum Range: 3,725m
- Max Effective Range: 1,200m
- Tracer Burnout: 900m
GAU-21 Ranges
- Maximum Range: 6,500m
- Max Effective Range: 1,850m
- Tracer Burnout: 1,110m
Gas Plug Settings for M240D
- Setting 1 is used for normal operations
- Settings 2 and 3 used when:
- There’s Carbon Build-up
- Cold Wx
- Dusty conditions
- Exceeding 650 Rounds/min in settings 2 and 3 when conditions do not warrant may result in cracked bolt guide rails.
GAU-21 Fields of Fire
M240D Fields of Fire
Cycle of Operations
- Feeding
- Chambering
- Locking
- Firing
- Unlocking
- Extracting
- Ejecting
- Cocking
Weapons Free
Fire only at targets not positively identified as FRIENDLY IAW current ROE and SPINS.
Weapons Tight
Fire only at targets positively identified as HOSTILE IAW current ROE and SPINS.
Weapons Hold
Fire only in self-defense or in response to a formal order.
METT-TC
- Mission
- Enemy
- Terrain
- Troops
- Time
- Civilians
Trajectory Shift
When the boreline axis of the weapons differs from the flight path of the aircraft, the forward velocity of the aircraft causes a change in the direction and velocity of the projectile.
Projectile Jump
When a projectile’s elevation is altered by the slip stream.