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I've been watching some videos of A-10 strafing runs in Afghanistan. The ground seems to explode as the shells hit, and then the gun's sound can be heard a few seconds later. What would happen if a human was hit by one of these shells? Would they explode, would it pass straight through them, or what?
I would think that that amount of hydrostatic shock would cause the target to burst like a balloon. 40mm projectile traveling at that velocity.....would really ruin your day.
I've seen photos of WWII casualties hit by .50 cal or 20 mm. VERY gruesome sight. Holes you could put basketball through, missing body parts, sometimes straight out fragmentation. 30mm KCA have, like, five-six times more energy than WWII 20mm Oerlikon S. So, I would think that silenus "popping like balloon" description is quite adequate.
A-10s are pretty wicked awesome tank killers. I'd expect a human hit by the gun to look something like a goldfish run through a blender. There are worse things out there though. If you ever find yourself on a battlefield, and you notice an AC-130 circling your position, when the left wing is dipped, you may as well kiss your ass goodbye. I've heard that those things can put a round in every square foot of a football field sized area They have 20mm cannon and other weapons available...not sure what all is onboard.
A Spectre carries several miniguns at the least. Let's see....the AC130E comes equipped with:
* 4× 7.62 mm GAU-2/A miniguns
* 2× 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon
* 2× 40 mm (1.58 in) L/60 Bofors cannon
Enough to ruin any number of people's days.
Heh....I almost got to experience Spectre firepower first hand, thanks to a range scheduling error. I did aerial photography, documenting weapons tests back in the day. I was chasing a bomb drop mission, and part of our mission profile overlapped the Spectre's live fire profile. Damn controllers vectored us in right under the guy, right about the time he was cleared for a hot pass. Somebody...possibly one on the ground guys, came up on Guard frantically calling"Skip it, Skip it, Skip it" just in time.
Also chased some A-10 missions...usually AGM 65 Maverick shots. Other fighter bombers routinely did shots in 45 degree dives. No biggee. A-10s do 70 degree dives. Those are pretty sporty when you're blasting down the chute....