XM214 Microgun

The XM214 was a prototype 5.56 mm rotary-barreled machine gun. It was designed and built by General Electric, but it never reached mass production. Also known as the Microgun, the XM214 was a scaled-down version of the M134 "minigun", firing M193 5.56×45mm ammunition.

Development

The XM214 was first developed for aircraft applications. Later General Electric developed it into a man-portable weapon system, known as the GE Six-Pak. The complete Six-Pak system weighed 85 pounds (38.5 kg) with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, comparable in weight to some heavy machine guns. The basic gun in the Six-Pak weighed 27 pounds, or 12.2 kg. The system could be carried by a team of two soldiers and mounted either to an M122 tripod or a vehicle's pintle mount. Length overall is 104.1 cm, gun only is 68.6 cm long. Width (including ammunition case) is 44.4 cm. Sighting was usually by optical telescope.

The Six-Pak consisted of the XM214, the ammunition package, and the power module, and the ammunition module consisted of two 500-round, factory packed, and disposable cassettes mounted to a holding rack. Linked ammunition was fed through a flexible chute to the gun; when the first cassette was empty, ammunition would then feed from the second cassette, tripping a visible signal that a new cassette needed to be added to the rack.

The power module contained a 24-volt nickel-cadmium battery, a 0.8 horsepower (0.60 kW) motor, and solid state electronic controls. Unless the battery was plugged into a vehicle's power supply, the battery's charge would be depleted after 3,000 rounds. The system could be broken down quickly into two portable loads of roughly 42 pounds apiece. This was accomplished by means of a quick-release fitting at that end of the belt chute fastened to the gun.

Electronic controls contained a burst limiter and handled the automatic clearing of the gun after bursts. Using the electronic controls, the weapon's rate of fire could be adjusted from 400 rpm all the way up to 4,000 rpm. Later editions of Jane's Infantry Weapons claimed a theoretical cyclic rate of up to 6,000 rpm. George Chinn, author of The Machine Gun Volume V, contended that the XM214 prototype had a rate of fire of up to 10,000 rpm, but the man-portable Six-Pak was limited to 4,000 rpm.

Microgun Pod

An 88 by 10 inch (224 x 25 cm) 5.56mm Microgun Pod was also developed for external use on light aircraft and helicopters. The unit had an ammunition capacity of from 1,500 to 3,500 rounds and loaded weight of 186 to 300 pounds. The feed system was linkless, via a helical drum, with a nominal rate of fire of 6,000 rpm. However, adjustments to 1,000 or 10,000 rpm were possible, if desired. Power could be provided by a built-in battery pack, or from the aircraft itself.

Promotion and reception

The ability to fire the 5.56 mm round used by the M16 rifle was the major selling point for the Microgun. With a fast-firing gun using standard assault rifle ammunition, the US Army and US Air Force showed interest for use of the XM214 on aircraft, helicopters, and armored vehicles. The smaller and lighter Microgun could replace the Minigun on heavily armed gunship aircraft and attack helicopters, freeing up space for ammo, equipment, and even more guns. Certain small aircraft that could not handle the larger Miniguns could be given the XM214 in a 300-round pod. General Electric pitched the weapon to the US Navy for use on riverine craft. Company engineers proposed many mounting arrangements including open doors, in an aircraft's wings or nose, putting half a dozen guns in a modified bomb bay, and even in turrets of an automated defense network. However, the Microgun's prominent feature of using 5.56 mm ammunition was also its downfall. For aircraft gunners, accuracy suffered at high speeds, and range compared to the 7.62 mm Minigun was limited. General Electric tried to refocus its efforts by making the Microgun an infantry weapon, but the Army showed no interest.^[3]

See also

• XM133, a gas-operated variant.
• EX-17 Heligun, a rival to the M134.
• Slostin machine gun, a weapon of Russian origin.

Non-NATO

• Fokker-Leimberger, a weapon of Imperial German origin.
• GShG-7.62, Russian equivalent to the M134.
• Hua Qing Minigun, Chinese equivalent to the M134.

General

• List of multiple barrel firearms
• Multiple barrel firearm

References

Notes

1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012. 
2. ↑ http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg70-e.htm
3. ↑ The Minigun’s Smaller Cousin Was a Flop - Medium.com/War-is-Boring, 25 November 2014

External links

• XM214 at Modern Firearms
• Rare guns: XM214
• Collector's photo
• Size comparison with M61 and M134

Modern rotary cannon
German Empire 7.92×57mm Fokker-Leimberger
China 7.62×54mm CS/LM12 Hua Qing Minigun Various other 7.62×54mm weapons 12.7×108mm CS/LM5 Various other 12.7×108mm rotary guns 14.5×114mm Various other 14.5×114mm rotary guns 30mm Type 1130 CIWS Type 730 CIWS
Iran 7.62×51mm Akhgar 12.7×108mm Muharram 23×115mm Asefeh
Soviet Union  Russia 7.62x54R Slostin GShG-7.62 12.7×108mm Yak-B 12.7 23×115 mm GSh-6-23 30×165mm GSh-6-30
United States .22LR Neal submachine gun 5.56×45mm NATO XM214 Microgun Aeroknox XM556 7.62×51mm NATO XM133 Minigun M134 12.7×99mm NATO GAU-19 20×102mm M61 Vulcan M195 M197 XM301 25×137mm GAU-12 Equalizer GAU-22/A 30×113mm XM188 30×173mm GAU-8 Avenger GAU-13/A 37×219mm/35×228mm T250