Quote:
Originally Posted by David603
The simple answer is that the USAAF and USN wanted the 20mm, but US built Hispano cannon were very unreliable. Consequently, they had to stick with .50cals. Given a general lack of bomber opposition, .50cals proved sufficient, and even up until the end of the war US Hispano cannon remained unreliable.
After WWII, the USAAF was quite happy with its .50cals, but the USN still wanted 20mm, and they finally had a reliable version of the Hispano.
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Wasn't the later Hispano's like Mk V. used in Tempest pretty realiable already? And what kind of failure rates are we talking about with Hispano? Did it jam every 10th belt or what and what made the RAF to go that direction instead of sticking with the MG. So why did it take until mid 50's or whatever to mount them?
And what about the cannons on Russia and Germany used? One would assume that the technology and production blueprints would have been either handed over through reversed lend/lease or captured as the US pushed deeper into germany. Were VYa-23's and ShVAK's just as unrealiable as Hispano's?