Shipbucket

Can someone tell me the feasibility of having a 20mm or maybe even 40mm belt-fed AA gun? Fire rate doesn't have to be as high as a machine gun, but rather more as an improvement over the standard clip fed guns of WWII. I was thinking that the fire rate for the 20mm mount would be 600-750 rpm and the 40mm mount would be 300-450 rpm. Of course both mounts would be on power turrets to control the heavy recoil and maintain accuracy. The 40mm version would probably even need to occupy the same amount of space as a twin Bofors gun.

Also, I have very little knowledge about the basic function of either the clip fed or belt fed guns, which is why I am asking.

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About the only difference between magazine feed and belt feed is the method of getting the rounds into the chamber. A belt fed weapon doesn't necessarily have to be larger, just a different feed mechanism.

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"Anybody remotely interesting is mad in some way." - The Seventh Doctor

Belt-fed intermediate autocannon rounds are now common, as witnessed by these 30mm Bushmaster training rounds:

There are already several linked belt weapons of greater than 20mm.
The primary gun armament on all US aircraft are 20mm and the gun on the A-10 'Warthog' is 30mm. Rates of fire are significantly higher than you suggest, though they are artificially limited by ammo supply.

How about Vickers 2-pdr? It's a real belt-fed 40mm gun.
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_2pounder_m2.htm

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Thanks!

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Well, another question: would it be plausible to scale up the MG42 proportionally to fire a .50 caliber or 20mm round? The amount of required gear would be no problem, but I just need to know if it would need a power mount or if it could still fit on a tripod or pedestal mount.

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Totally feasible to make a roller locked .50 but a 20mm I'm not sure about. You could definitely man handle a 20mm on it's own on a pintle/pedestal without a motor traverse.

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I'm not sure if the MG42 construction could do it, but the principle is sound enough.
The Madsen machine-gun came in calibers ranging from 6.5mm to 23mm.

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Source Materiel is always welcome.

Hmmm... depends on what kind of mechanism as to what size round can ultimately be handled.
How the bolt locks, if the bolt locks (as IIRC, the MK-19 doesn't)... all these things have bearing on that question. The simple answer is just 'the heavier the construction, the better it works when scaled up.'