MG 151 cannon | VFA-151 | No. 151 Squadron RAF | 151 | ''U-151'' | DB Class 151 |
More heavily armed than its predecessor, with five forward-firing MG 151s; three in the nose and two under the belly (the underbelly guns were not present during the first flight tests) and one 12.7 mm rear-facing Breda-SAFAT machine gun.
/ JG 300 became such a Sturmgruppe unit at this time and, equipped with the Focke-Wulf 190 A-8/R2 or R8 with two MK 108 30mm cannon, and two MG 151/20 20mm cannon, enjoyed initial success in downing bombers, but also suffered heavy losses to the massed fighter escorts.
The armament was to be the same as the Me 210 A-1: two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons, two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns, and two remotely-controlled, rearward-firing 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns.
It saw widespread use in those roles by the German Luftwaffe, particularly during the early stages of World War II, although from 1941 onwards it was gradually replaced by the 20 mm MG 151/20.
Using experience gained from 20mm and 30mm cannon utilized by Luftwaffe aircraft, a larger-caliber cannon shell for the new gun was deemed desirable, as it contained room for an explosive with more destructive force than the .30 and .50 caliber machine gun cartridges previously employed, and thus capable of destroying aircraft with only a few hits on target.
It was the prototype for the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon widely used on German Luftwaffe fighters, night fighters, fighter-bombers, bombers and ground-attack aircraft.
The French Air Force and French Army aviation arm (ALAT) utilized MG 151/20 cannon as both fixed and flexible armament in various aircraft, including helicopters.