CIWS is not a “Machine Gun”. Come on CNN. Don’t Be Sloppy with Facts.

[Zbench]

Mk19 was my primary mounted weapon, I received a brand new one in cosmoline to replace my M67 recoilless rifle. Primary dismounted weapon for me was the M60 machinegun. I was an MP we also received M16A2's at about the same time to replace our triangular handgaurd M16A1s. Mk19 Mod3 is an awesome weapon system, with a good spotter it was easy to place the second or third round on target at over 1500 meters, then fire for effect, usually it was fire..adjust...impact...fire..adjust...impact...repeat or fire for effect. One of my spotters was good enough to call the adjustment long or short before impact and roughly how much and usually how much left to right was covered in the first round.

That’s awesome. We both were likely trained at Ft McClellan, garden spot of the South. As a Chemical Officer and Smoke Platoon leader, we had 50% more firepower than a mech infantry platoon. We could lay down some serious hurt with all three Mark 19s firing at once. Fantastic large area defense weapon. We were very popular in the Division Rear area to pull security when not on the front lines blowing smoke.

 

[rharshberger]

That’s awesome. We both were likely trained at Ft McClellan, garden spot of the South. As a Chemical Officer and Smoke Platoon leader, we had 50% more firepower than a mech infantry platoon. We could lay down some serious hurt with all three Mark 19s firing at once. Fantastic large area defense weapon. We were very popular in the Division Rear area to pull security when not on the front lines blowing smoke.

Fantastic Ft. McClellan 2nd platoon A Co. 787 MP Bn, iirc the gas chamber at McClellan instead of a big ass oak tree outsdie the exit had a huge pine tree....

Still have a Dragon Run tshirt in my collection of memorabilia which was sponsored by the Gloworms irrc.

We had a Mk19 per three person team, 3 per squad, 9-12 per platoon

 

[bjphoenix]

How it goes. Breech-bolts slide on tracks.
Round bearing on the outside of the breech-bolt rides in angled channel on exterior casing.
Rotor spins and breech-bolts load and fire the rounds.

The mechanism of the gun is surprisingly simple. As used in airplanes, at least some of the models, the mechanism for feeding the loaded rounds into the gun is the complicated part.

 

[Alan15578]

Gun has replaced cannon in artillery for the most part....and guns used for artillery are considered to be 20mm or larger. Artillery is split into 2 classes Guns and Howitzers with Mortars being their own class. Guns are high velocity flat shooting, howizters are lower velocity (generally) with a more arcing shot for better indirect fire. The Navy has little need for Indirect fire USUALLY, hence they would use more weapons that would be classed as Guns under modern terminology. Guns tended to have longer range than Howitzers bore for bore size due to ballistics and better armor penetration against other ships, the Army on the other hand tends to employ more Howitzers as they need the indirect fire capabilities to shoot over hills, over defensive postions etc hence they use fewer Guns, though they did employ a number of them during the WW2 to Vietnam eras including the Nuclear Cannon and the 8" Self Propelled Gun aka 203mm SP Gun.

I don't always find Wikipedia to be the most accurate but the first few paragraphs of the link below pretty well describes why Cannon has mostly fallen out of use except for auto-cannons
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon

I an not a gun guy, but I thought a Howitzer was a cannon with a French design recoil mechanism?

 

[cwbullet]

I an not a gun guy, but I thought a Howitzer was a cannon with a French design recoil mechanism?

Yes and no. Today, they are much more complicated,

 

[modeltrains]

I thought a Howitzer was a cannon with a French design recoil mechanism?

Howitzer word usage and weapon design here in the US dates back to at least the 1830s before there was any recoil mechanism in the design; look up US Mountain Howitzer.
That should find the 1830s reference and the successful1841 design.
Worldwide --
both the word and the weapon may well date back to the 1400s with the word being of Czech origin.
More recently ...

howitzer (n.) 1690s, hauwitzer, 1680s howitts, via Dutch houwitser (1660s), an extended borrowing of German Haubitze, from Bohemian houfnice "a catapult," from houf "heap, crowd," a loan-word from Middle High German hufe "heap." Introduced to German during the Hussite wars, 14c.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/howitzer
EDIT: I went playing in Google and just found this,

 

[cwbullet]

Howitzer word usage and weapon design here in the US dates back to at least the 1830s before there was any recoil mechanism in the design; look up US Mountain Howitzer.
That should find the 1830s reference and the successful1841 design.
Worldwide --
both the word and the weapon may well date back to the 1400s with the word being of Czech origin.
More recently ...

https://www.etymonline.com/word/howitzer
EDIT: I went playing in Google and just found this,

That is a great historical example of a howitzer.

 

[ksaves2]

I remember some years ago in the early 80's or late 70's that an A-10 did one heck of a low level performance at a Peoria, Illinois airshow. There were no pods on the wings and I think there was a smooth nosecone where the 30mm was supposed to be but it might have been in there unloaded. I wasn't able to get up close and look.
I remember the A-10 coming in with the engines roaring and seeing these absolutely beautiful slow rolls, some of them four point with loops and vertical figure eights way down low too!
It could do all the maneuvers in "slow motion" and low to the ground. Was so cool to see as opposed to the 800hp "bull" Stearmans, Pitts specials and De Havilland Chipmunks which had the perception of flying very fast.
Without guns and pods, can do one heck of an aerobatic show that has stuck in my head since I was a teenager.
Yeah it's a big plane so the perception of the maneuvers seems slower but it stuck in my now old head as a really cool thing to see.
And to think they wanted to "RETIRE" the danged thing some years ago. Best air gunnery platform for a "dumb" war and glad its' been kept around!

 

[cbrarick]

Airshow memory: I was in the Navy on a Med deployment and our F-14's did a airshow for some VIP's. We were allowed on the flight deck for it. One of the Tomcats came in directly from the aft end of the ship at about 100 feet, accelerating to well over mach. It really moved you (most literally)

too cool