North American OV-10A "Bronco" GPU-2/A Aircraft Gun Pod
Hill Aerospace Museum
GPU-2/A Aircraft Gun Pod
The GPU-2/A is a lightweight self-contained gun pod fitted with the three-barrel M197 20mm rotary cannon, the lighter version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan gun. The M197 features selectable rates of fire, either 750 or 1,500 rounds per minute. The gun pod weighs only 586 pounds loaded with 300 rounds of ammunition. It is self-contained and powered by a rechargeable 32 volt nickel- cadmium battery, with sufficient charge to expend three complete loads of ammunition before needing to be recharged. Only an external trigger signal from the host aircraft is required for operation of the weapon.
The GPU-2/A has been tested and employed on a wide variety of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft using standard NATO suspension racks. The pod has flown on the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly and North American OV-10 Bronco. M197 cannons are used today on Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra helicopters.
The 309 Maintenance Wing at Hill AFB rebuilds and test fires the M197 cannon. The organization maintains a gun shop and test firing facility on base.
LAU-131/A Rocket Launcher
The LAU-131/A rocket launcher carried seven unguided 2.75 inch wrap-around fin aerial rockets and was used on a variety of U.S. Air Force aircraft. The reusable aluminum launcher allowed for single or ripple firing of the rockets. Its design allowed the rockets to stay in the same container from their manufacture, through shipping and storage, to their final firing. Wrap-around fin aerial rockets were based on the Mk 66 universal rocket motor and were developed from the previous 2.75 inch Mk 40 motor-based folding fin aerial rocket.
History of the OV-10A "Bronco"
The OV-10A is a turboprop, light attack aircraft developed under a U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps tri-service program to create a versatile counter- insurgency airplane. After these aircraft first took flight in 1967, some of their missions included observation, forward air control, armed reconnaissance, interdiction missions on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and limited ground attack during the Vietnam War.
The OV-10A "Bronco" at Hill Air Force Base
The first OV-10 arrived at Hill Air Force Base in 1988 for structural refurbishment, rewiring, and installation of a secure voice radio. Personnel at Hill performed work on 48 OV-10s within five years. After the main workload for OV-10s at Hill ended in 1990, the Mature and Proven Aircraft Division on base continued to manage this airframe. The OV-10A on display was manufactured in 1968 and was assigned to the Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, the following year, in 1991, after several base transfers, the aircraft was sent to and modified by the Ogden Air Logistics Center to support a United States State Department drug-interdiction project for the Colombian Air Force. In 2006, the aircraft was put on display here at the Hill Aerospace Museum.
Interesting Fact
The aircraft is painted to closely resemble its appearance while serving with the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron in Thailand.
Specifications
S/N 67-14675
Manufacturer: North American Aviation
Crew: One
Engines: Two Garrett-AiResearch T76-G turboprops: 715 horsepower each
Wingspan: 40 ft
Length: 41 ft 7 in
Height: 15 ft 1 in
Weight: 7,190 pounds (empty): 14,444 pounds (maximum)
Speed: 281 mph (maximum); 223 mph (cruising)
Range: 1,240 miles Ceiling: 26,000 ft
Armaments Centerline station for 20 mm gun pod, or stores; four 7.62 mm M60 machine guns in sponsons; four sponson stations for rockets, mini guns or stores; two wing stations for rockets or missiles
North American OV-10A "Bronco" GPU-2/A Aircraft Gun Pod
Hill Aerospace Museum
GPU-2/A Aircraft Gun Pod
The GPU-2/A is a lightweight self-contained gun pod fitted with the three-barrel M197 20mm rotary cannon, the lighter version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan gun. The M197 features selectable rates of fire, either 750 or 1,500 rounds per minute. The gun pod weighs only 586 pounds loaded with 300 rounds of ammunition. It is self-contained and powered by a rechargeable 32 volt nickel- cadmium battery, with sufficient charge to expend three complete loads of ammunition before needing to be recharged. Only an external trigger signal from the host aircraft is required for operation of the weapon.
The GPU-2/A has been tested and employed on a wide variety of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft using standard NATO suspension racks. The pod has flown on the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly and North American OV-10 Bronco. M197 cannons are used today on Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra helicopters.
The 309 Maintenance Wing at Hill AFB rebuilds and test fires the M197 cannon. The organization maintains a gun shop and test firing facility on base.
LAU-131/A Rocket Launcher
The LAU-131/A rocket launcher carried seven unguided 2.75 inch wrap-around fin aerial rockets and was used on a variety of U.S. Air Force aircraft. The reusable aluminum launcher allowed for single or ripple firing of the rockets. Its design allowed the rockets to stay in the same container from their manufacture, through shipping and storage, to their final firing. Wrap-around fin aerial rockets were based on the Mk 66 universal rocket motor and were developed from the previous 2.75 inch Mk 40 motor-based folding fin aerial rocket.
History of the OV-10A "Bronco"
The OV-10A is a turboprop, light attack aircraft developed under a U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps tri-service program to create a versatile counter- insurgency airplane. After these aircraft first took flight in 1967, some of their missions included observation, forward air control, armed reconnaissance, interdiction missions on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and limited ground attack during the Vietnam War.
The OV-10A "Bronco" at Hill Air Force Base
The first OV-10 arrived at Hill Air Force Base in 1988 for structural refurbishment, rewiring, and installation of a secure voice radio. Personnel at Hill performed work on 48 OV-10s within five years. After the main workload for OV-10s at Hill ended in 1990, the Mature and Proven Aircraft Division on base continued to manage this airframe. The OV-10A on display was manufactured in 1968 and was assigned to the Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, the following year, in 1991, after several base transfers, the aircraft was sent to and modified by the Ogden Air Logistics Center to support a United States State Department drug-interdiction project for the Colombian Air Force. In 2006, the aircraft was put on display here at the Hill Aerospace Museum.
Interesting Fact
The aircraft is painted to closely resemble its appearance while serving with the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron in Thailand.
Specifications
S/N 67-14675
Manufacturer: North American Aviation
Crew: One
Engines: Two Garrett-AiResearch T76-G turboprops: 715 horsepower each
Wingspan: 40 ft
Length: 41 ft 7 in
Height: 15 ft 1 in
Weight: 7,190 pounds (empty): 14,444 pounds (maximum)
Speed: 281 mph (maximum); 223 mph (cruising)
Range: 1,240 miles Ceiling: 26,000 ft
Armaments Centerline station for 20 mm gun pod, or stores; four 7.62 mm M60 machine guns in sponsons; four sponson stations for rockets, mini guns or stores; two wing stations for rockets or missiles