Figure 6-15.—F-14 M61A1 gun installation.
F-14 GUN SYSTEM INSTALLATION
The F-14 M61A1 gun system (fig. 6-15) is mounted
in the forward fuselage on the left side of the aircraft.
Depending upon the mission objective, this gun system
can be operated in an A/G mode, A/A mode, or an air
combat maneuver (ACM) encounter mode. The
computer pilot attack mode (ACM encounter mode)
operates in conjunction with the weapon control system,
computer signal data converter (CSDC), and the vertical
display indicator system to display target data. The
manual attack mode is normally used in the A/G mode.
It is also used as the primary backup for the ACM
encounter mode in case of system malfunction.
The M61A1 gun system accommodates a maximum
of 676 rounds of 20-mm ammunition. There are 576
rounds in the drum and a total of 100 rounds in the
chutes, transfer adapter assembly, and gun. The system
can be set by ground maintenance personnel for
unrestricted firing, or for rounds limit of 50, 100, or 200
rounds per burst. The HOOK/GUN panel contains a
gun-rounds counter that gives a digital readout
countdown of the rounds remaining in the gun system.
The clearing sector holdback assembly and safety
pin (fig. 6-16) is used to clear the gun manually. With
the clearing sector holdback assembly installed, the
breech-bolt assemblies are diverted to the clearing cam
path. Keep the clearing sector holdback assembly and
safety pin installed until just before aircraft flight.
REVIEW NUMBER 5
Q1. In F/A-18 aircraft, fired projectiles exit the
aircraft through the gun blast diffuser assembly
that is located _________________________ .
Q2. What maximum number of rounds does the
M61A1 gun system hold when used on the
F/A-18 aircraft?
Q3. What component, located in the gun
compartment, can be preset to limit the total
number of rounds the pilot can fire?
Figure 6-16.—F-14 clearing sector holdback assembly and
safety pin.
6-17
