Freaking Awesome

[Lighthawk]

An idea that came to me after posting in the joke thread about the avenger gatling cannon. While the description was a case of humorous exaggeration, the truth behind it is fairly spot on, the avenger really is a freaking bad ass gun. It's a 20ft, 600lb seven barreled monster that fires seventy 30mm per second, with each depleted uranium round being a foot long and weighing a pound and a half. That's 105lbs of metal leaving the barrels at 3,500 feet per second, per second. It literally shreds tank armor, and pretty much anything that's on the wrong end of this thing when it goes off is getting obliderated.

I declare the GAU-8 avenger to be worthy of the title, "Freaking Awesome."

Who else would like to declare a weapon or vehicle worthy of this title, and why?

[Aaron]

The C-130 Hercules. In continuous production for 50 years, it's filled roles from transport to gunship to bomber and done so effectively. It's still virtually the only tactical transport (fixed wing) in use by NATO.

[Deepcrush]

I would like to throw in the .50 rifle round. From AA to sniping, this thing does it all. Nothing says fun like shooting someone and watching them burst from over pressure!

[Lighthawk]

The C-130 Hercules. In continuous production for 50 years, it's filled roles from transport to gunship to bomber and done so effectively. It's still virtually the only tactical transport (fixed wing) in use by NATO.

Full agreement here, especially in the gunship role. I mean come on, an aircraft that fires broadsides, you can't argue against that.

I would like to throw in the .50 rifle round. From AA to sniping, this thing does it all. Nothing says fun like shooting someone and watching them burst from over pressure!

A very good way of reaching out and touching someone

[Aaron]

May as well throw in the M2HB, one of the (if not the) greatest HMG's ever designed. In service from 1919 to the present, served on aircraft, ships and the ground and still going strong thanks to modern ammo developments.

Plus it sounds freaking cool when it fires.

[Tyyr]

Bastard, took my addition. It's damn near perfect as well. It fires a big ass round, does it at a good rate, relatively accurate (in Vietnam snipers put scopes on them and used them for extreme range sniping) and reliable as hell. It's one of those weapons that a replacement is going to be very hard to find.

[Aaron]

Indeed. IIRC a couple replacement programs have already failed.

[Tyyr]

Aside from getting something to fire exotic grenade type rounds what really can you do with it? It's not unlike a combat knife, what is there to really upgrade on it? I can see someone wanting the fancy 25mm cannon they tried to replace it with if only to use the more exotic types of ammo but for the rank and file it's the perfect big MG and will likely stay that way for a long long LONG time.

[Captain Seafort]

HMS Warspite.

A member of one of the two best-balanced battleship classes ever built, turned a 720-degree circle at Windy Corner under the concentrated fire of the entire Hochseeflotte at Jutland, received more battle honours in WW2 than any other British warship, holds the record for the longest-ranged gunnery hit, survived a direct hit from one of the first precision munitions, and then ran around rather than go to the scrapyard.

Beat that. 8)

[Captain Seafort]

Also, moving the thread - this is for Other/General Sci-Fi, rather than real stuff.

[kostmayer]

Do we need to start attaching an FA rating to weapons now? What unit of measurement would we use?

[Mikey]

The C-130 Hercules. In continuous production for 50 years, it's filled roles from transport to gunship to bomber and done so effectively. It's still virtually the only tactical transport (fixed wing) in use by NATO.

And there's a variant with a howitzer on board. An airplane with an artillery piece. Read that again, slower.

[Captain Seafort]

The concept isn't that unusual - both the Ju 88 P-1 and B-25G and H were equipped with 75mm cannon. Nonetheless, Puff carried the heaviest gun I'm aware of an aircraft having.

[Deepcrush]

HMS Warspite.

A member of one of the two best-balanced battleship classes ever built, turned a 720-degree circle at Windy Corner under the concentrated fire of the entire Hochseeflotte at Jutland, received more battle honours in WW2 than any other British warship, holds the record for the longest-ranged gunnery hit, survived a direct hit from one of the first precision munitions, and then ran around rather than go to the scrapyard.

Beat that. 8)

USS Enterprise CVN 6

Survived more damage, more battles and earned more awards then any ship in history. Beat that.

[Captain Seafort]

USS Enterprise CVN 6

Survived more damage...then any ship in history. Beat that.

What about the Franklin?

Though I agree with the general point that the Big-E was your answer to Warspite.