The Quicklaunch cannon would float at sea at the equator. The proposed firing system works by burning natural gas inside a heat exchanger. The heat from the burning natural gas is used to heat hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas expands quickly and pushes the projectile out of the barrel. Release valves prevent over pressure inside the barrel. There is a photo at the PopSci website.

The idea of launching objects into space from a cannon is not new. In the 1960s Canada and the United States attempted to develop a Space Gun as part of the High Altitude Research (HARP) Project. The most infamous attempt at building a Space Gun was Saddam Hussein's Babylon Project which fortunately never came to fruition before the project was dismantled following the fist Gulf War.

Barrel sections of Iraqi supergun Big Babylon at the Imperial War Museum

[ Many thanks to root for emailing me the link. ]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intends to award a non-competitive, sole source purchase order to Anzio Ironworks Corporation, 1905 16th Street N, St. Petersburg, FL 33704 for two (2) Magfed 20mm Rifles and accessories in accordance with FAR 6.302-1, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

The FBI intends to procure the following items:

Magfed 20mm Rifle with Belgian Camo Overcoat finish. Includes bipod, brake, handguard, free floated barrel and case (Qty: 1 each)

Magfed 20mm Rifle with Navy NWV Camo Duracoat finish. Includes bipod, brake, handguard, free floated barrel and case (Qty: 1 each)

Non-firing bolt assemblies (Qty: 2 each)

Extra magazines (Qty: 4 each)

Suppressors in 20mm (Qty: 2 each)

The solicitation number is 10-Q-LDQ002768.

4 foot barrel (49")

Anzio's rifles are chambered for the 20x102mm Vulcan cartridge. When loaded with a non-explosize 1543 grain projectile the round can achieve 3395 fps, generating 39500 ft/lbs of muzzle energy (compared to 14,000 ft/lbs of the .50 BMG).

At longer ranges the relatively poor ballistic coefficient of these large rounds will cause a significant decrease in energy but when used with high explosive ammunition this is not a problem as the on-target kinetic energy is less important than the chemical energy contained in the warhead.

It would be interesting to find out what these rifles will be used for. With just two rifles being purchased they might be destined to just training and / or evaluating the usefulness of this class of weapon.

More about it at Snowflakes in Hell.

20mm vulcan projectile vs. .308!

Lahti L-39 … Idiot is one brave man

More photos here and here

I tried to calculate the weight of each ball. It depends on how pure the balls are. My calculations, based on a company that makes tungsten balls that weigh 18 grams per cm3, indicate that each ball will weigh about 145 grains. That is a combined weight of 159,500 grains / 10 kilograms / 22.8 pounds!

(4/3) x pie x 0.5cm ^ 3 = 0.52 cm3
0.52 * 18 = 9.42 grams (145 grains)

Please correct me if I am wrong.

The requirements of the round were:

• Defeat >50% Advancing Squad w/ 1 Shot
• Defeat >50% Advancing Platoon w/ 2 Shots
• 200-500M (threshold)/100-700M (objective)
• Muzzle Action (i.e. No Fuze)
• No orientation of the projectile
• Vulnerability no worse than current fielded

The M1028 cross section.

Here is a before and after shot taking during the testing of the round. I am not sure of the range.

Before

Two dummies survived, the wall did not.

The concept of shot is not new. Grape shot or loose stones, metal and glass have been used for as long as cannons have.

American Revolution grapeshot

Sources of information:

M1028 – GARM Final (PDF)
Military.com
PSMVCC (PDF)
JinJu Powder Metallurgy

The MasterBlaster system is the most productive and cost-efficient way to remove virtually any type of build-ups in boilers, kilns, silos, quarries or mines. Both the gun and the ammunition provide superior power, accuracy and dependability, shot after shot, at distances up to 300 feet

“Rapid Firing” nice

It fires special remington 8 gauge slugs weighing up to 3 oz. / 1312.5. 8 gauge has a caliber of 0.835″ / 21mm.

Zinc Build-Ups With Hard Exteriors and Soft Interiors

Perfect for self defense

More info here.

Certainly, the first uses of gunpowder are psychological – loud bangs and sausage-shaped rockets snaking across the battlefield to terrify men and horses. This is the role we can see for the fire lances of 1132. It is a short step from here to the early handgonne. I believe that while the bamboo pellet throwers of 1259 did not use true gunpowder, they certainly were a first application of the principle of using burning gases to throw a projectile…

Serpentine lock firearm, 1411

More here.

Featuring a 49″ long barrel (4 feet)

Bullet comparison of the .223 Rem (left), .338 lapua, 50BMG and 20mm Vulcan

Here is a video of it being fired: