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During the Vietnam War, the Navy acquired a fleet of small craft which were used to patrol the coastal waters and rivers of Vietnam. These boats had a need for larger automatic weapons than the 0.50" (12.7 mm) BMG. By the 1960s, the number of Oerlikons available was limited and spares were becoming difficult to find, so the Navy decided to adapt AN/M3 aircraft guns for shipboard use. These modified guns were then designated as Mark 16. Unlike the Oerlikon, the Mark 16 was belt-fed and fired a larger and more powerful round than did the Oerlikon. There were two principal versions of the Mark 16 in service: Mod 4, which has an electrical trigger mechanism, and the Mod 5, which has a hand-operated stepped mechanical trigger. Ammunition was linked and fed through a feed chute to the delinking feeder on top of the gun. Lubrication for the ammunition was provided by a pump that put a drop of semi-fluid lubricating oil (LSA) in the chamber each time the gun fired. About 5,000 Mark 16 guns were delivered during the Vietnam War. In 1982 those guns and mountings still remaining in naval service were described as being unreliable and difficult to maintain and were subsequentially phased out in favor of the 25 mm chain gun. However, many Air Force M24 guns were cannibalized during the 1980s and 1990s to provide spare parts for the Mark 16, which continued in service with the US Coast Guard. Unless otherwise noted, the data that follows is for the Mark 16 Mod 5. |
20 mm Mark 16 Mod 5 mounted on a Mark 67
Mod 1 gun mount in March 1971
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