Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:08:15-1:11:19

Anti-aircraft machine-gun farms without autocannons

Without autocannons, ships could multiply heavy machine guns, but anti-aircraft capacity would eventually be limited by crew and ammunition volume.

Anti-Aircraft GunsMachine GunsWarship Design
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Question

How far could machine-gun farms have developed if autocannons had never existed?

Short answer

Navies could mount many more heavy machine guns, but manpower, accommodation, and ammunition volume would become the limiting factors.

Notes

Autocannons are mechanically close relatives of machine guns scaled for larger ammunition, and one cited study considered extending the principle to much larger weapons. A synchronized mounting with roughly twenty .50-calibre guns shows how far the anti-aircraft farm idea could be pushed in practice. If navies had been stuck below .50 calibre, deck space would cease to be the main practical ceiling. Crew berths, magazine capacity, and the logistics of feeding mounts would become the main constraints.