M242 Bushmaster 25-mm

Cannon

The M242 Bushmaster Chain Gun is the principal US light armored vehicle main armament.

Although somewhat less powerful than the 30-40-mm cannon fitted in many light combat

vehicles, the M242 has proven to be reliable and potent

against many types of targets. The LAV-25 uses the Delco turret, and the M2/M3 Bradley AFV

series vehicles use the TBAT-II. Several other turret designs can accommodate the M242,

including Creusot-Loire T.25 (France), SAMM TTB 125 (France), Helio FVT 925 (Great

Britain), Arrowpointe (Southfield, Michigan), Cadillac Gage (Warren, Michigan), ESCO TAT-

251 and TAT-252 (St. Louis, Missouri), and the FMC two man autocannon turret. The gun can

fire M792 High-Explosive Incendiary with Tracer (HEI-T) and M758 Point Detonating Self-

Destruct (PDSD) fuze, M791 Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS-T), M793 Target

Practice with Tracer (TP-T), and M910 TPDS-T projectiles.

DEVELOPMENT •

Contract awarded to Hughes Helicopters (since acquired by McDonnell Douglas) in February

1976, with the first prototype beginning tests in early 1977. The gun achieved initial operational

capability in 1983.

VARIANTS •

Mk 38 Sea Snake is an M242 carried in a Mk 88 gun mount and fitted in patrol craft and new

construction amphibious and auxiliary ships as general-purpose, short-range armament.

Bushmaster II is a 30-mm cannon under development; 70% of the parts are from the original

Bushmaster. It fires standard GAU-8 ammunition, or RARDEN and KCB ammunition with

modification.

COMBAT EXPERIENCE •

The Bushmaster cannon was said to have been very effective against many types of soft and

light armored targets during Operation Desert Storm's ground war in February 1991. Anecdotal

reports even credited the M242 with knocking out some T-55 tanks with the APDS round.

Nevertheless, some Army analysts were reported to be suggesting that the main gun be upgraded

to 30- or 35-mm.

SPECIFICATIONS •

FIRING WEIGHT 244 lb (110.5 kg), barrel 95 lb (43.0 kg)

DIMENSIONS

length overall

9 ft 1 in (2.76m), gun

tube 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)

width 12 in (330 mm)

height 15 in (380 mm)

EFFECTIVE RANGE more than 2,187 yd (2,000 m) against BMP-1 armored personnel carrier

MUZZLE VELOCITY

APDS-T M791 4,412 fps (1,345 mps); HEI-T M792 3,609 fps (1,100 mps); API-T PGU/20

3,363fps (1,025 mps) RATE OF FIRE 100, 200, or 500 rounds/min, cyclic

ROUND WEIGHT API-T PGU/20 18.8 OZ (533 g); HEI-T M792 17.7 oz (493 g); APDS-T

M791 16.0 oz (454 g) with 3.7-oz (104.5-g) su-projectile

M242 Bushmaster

U. S. Army photograph

Type Chain gun , dual feed.

Place of origin United States

Service history In service 1972–present

Used by See operators

Production history

Designer McDonnell Douglas

Manufacturer Alliant Techsystems

Number built 10,500+

Specifications

Weight 119 kilograms (260 lb)

Length 2,527 mm (99.5 in)[1]

Barrel length • Overall: 2,672 mm (105.2 in)

• Bore: 2,175 mm (85.6 in)

Width 318 mm (12.5 in)

Height 373 mm (14.7 in)

Shell 25×137 mm

Caliber 25 millimetres (0.98 in) caliber

Barrels Single barrel (progressive RH parabolic twist)

Rate of fire • Cyclic: 200rpm with 1hp or 500rpm with 8hp

Muzzle velocity 1,100 metres per second (3,600 ft/s)

Effective range

3,000 metres (9,800 ft) Maximum range 6,800 metres (22,300 ft)