Weapons Effectiveness Testing–25 vs 30mm

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This is old. It goes back to 1992, but if they knew the results here, it raises a question, why are we still equipping the Mk38s with 25mm guns instead of 30mm (or 35mm or 40mm) guns which also fit the same mount? The results are discussed beginning at time 8:00. The 30mm does nine times the damage to the hull and five times the damage inside the hull.

At the very least we need to make sure we have available rounds that do not detonate on impact. The 25mm rounds, exploding on impact, failed to even penetrate the 1/4 inch aluminum hull of the Mk3 target boat.

Thanks to Luke for bringing this to my attention. 

13 thoughts on “Weapons Effectiveness Testing–25 vs 30mm”

  1. I am providing the below comments for GMCM Bob Stoner USN who passed away earlier this year. He was the Warboats.org resident expert on all things ordnance:

    “I would replace the Mk 46 Mod 1 30mm Chain Gun with 40mm L70 Bofors Mk 3 mounts. The Mk 3 40mm Bofors brings more and faster punch to the fight. Replace the majority of manual .50 mountings with Mk 49 Mod 0 ROSAM mountings………..”

    IRT to the new Mk38, Mod 3 Bob observed:
    “the Mod 3 uses a 30 mm ATK cannon with a coaxial .50-caliber M2 heavy machine gun in place of the 25mm M242 cannon that is typically fitted on the Mod 1 & 2 mounts. The 30mm cannon permits a 500-meter greater effective range over the M242.
    The Mod 3 has a greater range of elevation: -20 degrees to +75 degrees to engage air targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and helicopters. Legacy mounts have a much more limited elevation: -20 degrees to +40 degrees.
    More importantly, the Mod 3 mount carries about three times the ammunition load of the existing gun mounts, which is 165 25mm rounds or 120 30mm rounds. The Mod 3 load-out is 420 rounds of 30mm ammunition or 500+ rounds of 25mm ammunition. The dual feed ammunition chutes, which can be loaded with HE, AP and training rounds, are revised items.”

    This was stated at the Navy League SAS Expo 2012:
    “BAE is looking to incorporate additional weapons on to the Mod 3, such as a 7.62mm chain gun, 2.75-inch rockets such as the newly fielded APKWS II, and the tactical laser system.”

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  2. I too don’t understand why 25mm is still being used. Makes sense to me to go to 30mm – greater range, greater effectiveness, lower rate of fire, but probably less rounds needed to be effective.

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  8. Adding some reference information below.

    https://www.gd-ots.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/30x173mm-Ammunition-Suite-MK44-Cannon-Version-3.pdf?fbclid=IwAR21GEN0AWFVStu62Q12x2N7aY_TZuUlNIiN0k2gPyW6OwD6cWUWo-3TfbQ

    https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2005/garm/tuesday/reynolds.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0uUvkikyf4jmpMJ7w47u8itlhJOHseb6QfNV-VgBLHD3jDQtOxvh5WNpk

    https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2007/gun_missile/GMThurAM2/MasonPresentation.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3sFb5Gh3E91KjkH7bIy7fLD3yqLlOZlo4L44Bi4zaHStLFlrWTpiGIBdo

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