General Electric M134 Minigun

The US Army General Electric M134 minigun six-barrel 7.62mm gatling gun was a derivative of the original General Electric M61 20mm gatling system technology. The M134 was designed to fire 7.62x51mm NATO standard ammunition from a disintegrating link belt as opposed to the 20mm munition utilized by the larger M61 system. Like all other Gatling guns in the "Vulcan" project family, the M134 makes useof an external powerpack to deliver electrical service needed for the rotation of the barrels. The system was utilized in helicopter gunships and light aircraft throughout the Vietnam Conflict and noted for its impressive suppression effects, spewing out a cyclic rate of fire of up to 6,000 rounds-per-minute. The M134 saw action from both American helicopter gunships and armed patrol boats as well as some fixed wing light aircraft systems in the Vietnam War and sees continued use even today.

Ammunition for the M134 is in a belt-fed form originating from a 4,000-round ammunition box. The ammunition is held in a linked belt to which the firing action strips the cartridge from the belt and fires the round through the available barrel and ejects both casing and link belt components. The completion of the cycle brings the next barrel to bear and loads another round into the chamber to repeat the process. Each barrel is consecutively fed in this fashion, producing the impressively high volume of fire identified with this type of weapons system. "Cook off" is contained by design in that once the trigger is depressed, the feed is automatically shut off from the bolt and barrel assembly - keeping fresh ammunition from being brought into play - while the spinning barrels come to full rest.

Producers of the M134 minigun systems have included both General Electric and Lockheed Martin Armament Systems.

History text ©2003-2009 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Without Permission • Corrections / Comments to MilitaryFactory at Gmail dot com

Last Updated: 3/13/2009