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Friday Firearm Foto Quiz 4


Charlie Flick
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Charlie Flick

Gentlemen:

 

It is that time again! Today's Friday Firearm Foto Quiz is one that I think will stump a lot of us. Frankly, I'll admit that it stumped me when I first saw it. This entry was supplied by one of our Members here who I will identify after there is a winner. This is indeed a USGI item, by the way.

 

Can anyone identify it?

 

Quiz gun ed.jpg

 

Regards,

Charlie

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My best guess is that before lasers were used to boresight this was used. This looks like it screws into a fitting, is inserted into the breech and then fired with an electric switch to boresight some caliber ( or multiple calibers? ) main gun. If not to boresight it could have been used as an inexpensive training round - for use with MILES gear perhaps.

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some sort of quality control revolver cylinder instrumentation used to check/gauge new ones prior to assembly. or its a old style death ray gun.

tim

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Charlie Flick

RD12:

 

Good guess, but that is not it.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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Charlie Flick

Airplane engine starter.

 

Der Finn:

 

Nice guess, and you are closer than you might think, but it is not an engine starter.

 

Charlie

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Charlie Flick

some sort of quality control revolver cylinder instrumentation used to check/gauge new ones prior to assembly. or its a old style death ray gun.

tim

 

Nope, Timmymac, neither one.

 

Here is a clue: this thing definitely goes "BANG!"

 

Charlie

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Charlie Flick

Was it used in aircraft ejection, perhaps blowing off the canopy before leaving the aircraft?

 

B24AT6:

 

Nope, but you are getting much warmer. Another clue: This item definitely spent time in the wild blue yonder.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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Charlie Flick

Is it used for priming or detonating a bomb? Eric

 

Nope. Another clue: It is indeed ordnance related but not a bomb.

 

Charlie

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Charlie Flick

Parachute deployment system on reentering space craft??

 

Leigh

 

No, Leigh. Good guess, but to be in the Quiz it has to be a firearm. (That's another clue.)

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Charlie Flick

Is it a triggering mechanism for a large bore aircraft cannon.

 

Oh, Flash. You are good, and very close, but this would not properly be described as a "triggering device".

 

Charlie

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Charlie Flick

Charlie



Is it a cocking device for a 20mm. Eric

 

YES! You got it, Eric. Nice going. You win the Quiz.

 

What we have here today for the Quiz is actually the M8A1 "charging pistol" on a Pontiac designed M39 20MM single barrel revolving aircraft cannon. It is chambered to shoot M1 Carbine blanks, with a tapered chamber to prevent use of ammo with projectiles.

 

The pic below is from the Air Force manual for this gun. More to follow.

 

Quiz pic M8A1 ed.jpg

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Charlie Flick

The charging pistol is a component of the M39 gun, which was derived from a late WW2 German design. It was adopted and widely used in US aircraft in the 1950s and '60's. It was supplanted by the M61 Vulcan. The following description and photo were taken from the Hill Air Force Base site:

 

The United States developed the M39 series gun from the German Mauser MG213C design following World War II. The M39A3--originally known as the T160 when tested on modified F-86Fs in Korea--was a "revolver" type aircraft gun developed for the United States Air Force.

Various manufacturers produced over 35,500 copies of the cannon for use on versions of the F-100, F-101, and other American fighter aircraft. The Pontiac Motor Company in Michigan made this particular example.

In the M39A3, a five-chamber cylinder revolved about an axis parallel to the single gun bore. The weapon was gas-operated and fired from the six-o'clock position at a rate of 1,500 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 3,300 feet per second.

 

The M8A1 charging pistol can be seen in the photo below close to the barrel.

 

Pontiac M39A3 20MM gun Credit Hill AFB.jpg

 

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Charlie Flick

Here is a better photo of the M39 gun. Photo credit to Bill Maloney/New England Air Museum.

 

M39 20mm Guns.jpg

 

Special thanks for our Member CopDoc, who introduced me to the M8A1 charging pistol and provided the photo of the example shown above, and the manual excerpt. I'll admit that I had never heard of it before and would not have been able to have guessed the answer to today's Quiz.

 

Congrats again to Eric as today's winner. You get a virtual handshake. ;)

 

Regards,

Charlie

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Rakkasan187

Charlie,

 

Thank you very much for these fun and informative posts. I now have another reason to look forward to Friday's..

 

Leigh

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That was a fast ID. These devices are apparently only used on T160 and early M39s, 20mm cannon. The later M39a1-a4 had pneumatic cocking. They were also used on the revolving 60 cal aircraft MGs. It is a very interesting device. The dealer I bought it from told me it was for starting an aircraft engine. I like interesting devices using cartridges so I could not turn it down. Most of the early guns were destroyed and sold for scrap from what I have been told. The electrical feed is reversible.

 

I enjoy these Friday exercises also. Thanks Charlie

 

IMG_00369.JPG

 

 

IMAG2661.jpg

 

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Charlie Flick

I am glad that you guys are enjoying these little Friday brain teasers. We'll keep it up as long as you guys are interested. And if anyone has an interesting candidate for a future Quiz, just send me a PM about it. Thanks again for CopDoc for this week's Quiz gun.

 

Regards,

Charlie

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I am glad that you guys are enjoying these little Friday brain teasers. We'll keep it up as long as you guys are interested. And if anyone has an interesting candidate for a future Quiz, just send me a PM about it. Thanks again for CopDoc for this week's Quiz gun.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

You are always welcome. Thanks for moderating the forum.

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