Why does the German Army like 20mm auto cannons so much?

[davebender]

The Rh.202 cannon is a ground based weapon that fires 1,000 rounds per minute. How do they cope with barrel heat?

[Shortround6]

A heavy barrel (28KG) and short bursts. Most guns will stand 2-3 second bursts or even several in a row. What they won't stand is 5-10 second bursts in rapid succession. Some modern cannon may use chrome lined bores or even stelite linings.
If the "practical" rate of fire is under 200rpm due to cooling issues then trying to use high cycle rate guns (aircraft type) for ground support really doesn't buy much. High cycle rate is useful for fleeting targets like aircraft to increase hit probability for the few seconds the target is within firing range of the ground gun but for use against ground targets high cycle rates don't have much advantage.

[psteel]

According to the 'Rheinmetal hand book on weaponary', most firing sequences are patterned on the French method at 12 bursts of fire followed by 2 second cool down plus another 12 burst pattern and another cool down period.

[davebender]

How many rounds in a burst? With a rate of fire that high it must be at least 10.

[tyrodtom]

I think they mean a 12 round burst, followed by a 2 second cool down. Translations can be confusing sometimes.

[vanir]

I naturally assumed IFV were initially largely AAA armed anyway, I mean anybody else using IFV in the 50s had HMG on board, a markedly dual purpose armament.
I should think at this point the IFV was less an assault AFV like a StuG or a tank-killer (at least until AT-missiles were widespread), it was more like a scout with some light-AAA or infantry support capability.

Later on IFV continued with dual purpose armaments, NATO tended to go with things like DP Bofors whilst the Soviets went AT-missiles and lightened field guns on theirs with coaxial HMG or light, rapid cannon, obviously the motorised rifle brigade utilised different combat doctrine and deployment to the west. Later Soviet IFV are more like lightened MBT amphibs than IFV, the whole fleet is fully NBC sealed too.

The later Marder II SPG is an AAA complex. Marder was originally an AT-field gun. I was just naturally thinking this general shift in thinking represented NATO influence of IFV becoming dual purpose AFV with strong AAA leanings, rather than infantry assault guns with an anti-tank emphasis.

[Shortround6]

During the 1950s a 20mm gun on a IFV was hot stuff. It wasn't meant to be anti-tank but anti-APC. With a number of armies still using large numbers of essentially armored trucks, or tracked armored boxes with 1/2in (12mm) armor a 20mm gun could take out quite a number of battle field ground targets when you add the vehicles to the fire support targets like MG positions and such.
AA capability was limited. May work against helicopters but most mounts didn't have the traverse or elevating speeds needed to track jet attack aircraft, while the Marder IFV does it's predecessors used manual turrets. Anything is better than nothing but the US .50 cal MG AA capability was pretty dismal in WW II. It may have scared off a number of attackers but the number of rounds fired vs the number of aircraft brought down would have any accountant looking for another solution. There is a huge difference in the effectiveness of a power operated quad .50 and four separate .50s on pintle or ring mounts.

[davebender]

Or anti-infantry as the flakvierling was employed during WWII. 20mm mine shells have a small casualty radius but the high rate of fire allows you to quickly smother an entire enemy infantry squad. The 20mm M197 gatling gun employed on some Cobra gunships would have a similiar effect vs infantry.

[futuredogfight]

They are highly effective, thats why. BTW 50th post w00t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!