The MG 151 machine gun reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

MG 151 machine gun

The Waffenfabrik Mauser MG 151 was a 15 mm machine gun later developed into the MG 151/20 cannon whcih was widely used on many types of German fighter aircraft used in World War II.

The 15 mm weapon was experienced as having a lackluster performance as the main gun on the early Messerschmitt Bf 109 F series and was soon replaced by the 20 mm version to become the standard cannon for the F-4 series onwards until it was surpassed by the 30 mm MK 108 cannon . Lather versions of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 also carried this gun as their main armament.

It had a high muzzle velocity which makes for a stable trajectory and high impact speed/longer range than the low(er) muzzle velocity of the Oerlikon MG FF/M cannon. This made it a better gun compared to the latter which was also widely used on German fighter planes in the first half of the war.

Data on the MG 151 (a.k.a. MG 151/15):

• Manufacturer: Waffenfabrik Mauser AG
• Caliber: 15mm (15x96 cartridge)
• Weight: 42 kg
• Muzzle Velocity: ± 830 m/s
• Rate Of Fire: 900 rounds/min
• Round Types: Armour Piercing and High Exposive
• Round Weights: 166 g (AP) / 151 g (HE)

Data on the MG151/20:

• Manufacturer: Waffenfabrik Mauser AG
• Caliber: 20 mm (20x82 cartridge)
• Weight: 42 kg
• Muzzle Velocity: ± 860 m/s
• Rate Of Fire: 750 rounds/min
• Round Types: Armour Piercing and High Exposive - 2 types: standard HE and HE(M) "Mine shot" with more explosive charge on board and thinner shell walls.
  
• Round Weights: 117API / 115 HE / 92 HE(M)

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