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[[Category:Armament]]

{{Infobox Gun
|name         =20mm Hispano
|image        =<!-- photo.... no "Image:", just the filename -->
|type         =Autocannon
|cartridge    =20×110mm
|country      =France, UK, US
|manufacturer =Hispano-Suiza
|weight       =93lb
|length       =9'1"
|rateoffire   =700 rounds/min
|muzzlevelocity   =2888ft/s (880m/s)
|damagevalue  =4.03lb
}}

The Hispano-Suiza '''HS.404''' 20 mm autocannon was one of the most widely used aircraft weapons of the 20th century, used by British, United States, French, and many other military services. Firing a 20 mm diameter projectile, it delivered a useful load of explosive from a relatively light weapon. This made it an ideal aircraft weapon, replacing the multiple 7.62 mm (.30 caliber) machine guns commonly used in military aircraft in the 1930s.

==Development==
It was based on the earlier Swiss Oerlikon FF S weapons, which Hispano-Suiza manufactured under license in France as HS.7 and HS.9. In the late 1930s engineer Marc Birkigt designed a new and much improved version with a revised action, much faster rate of fire, and somewhat higher [[muzzle velocity]]. The result was the '''Type 404''', or '''HS.404''', which was widely considered the best aircraft cannon of its kind. The 404 was widely used on pre-war French designs, notably in installations firing through the drive shaft of the Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine, a system known as a ''moteur-canon''. The HS.404 was fed by drum magazines that could accommodate at most 60 rounds. Since in most installations the magazine could not be switched during flight, the small ammunition capacity was problematic. In 1940, Hispano-Suiza was developing a belt-feeding system, as well as derivatives of the HS.404 in heavier calibres such as 23 mm, but all these projects were halted with the German occupation of France.

In the meantime, Great Britain had acquired a license to build the HS.404, which was first used in a British fighter as the '''Hispano Mk.I''' with the Westland Whirlwind of 1940. British engineers developed a belt-feeding mechanism. The new design was adopted by the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm in 1941 in a slightly modified form as the '''Hispano Mk.II'''. Four cannons replaced the eight [[Browning Model 1919 machine gun|Browning .303]] machine guns in the [[Hawker Hurricane]] and in tropical versions of the [[Supermarine Spitfire]], and became standard armament in later fighters. Most other Spitfires had only two cannons, because of technical difficulties (i.e., inadequate gun-heating capacity for the outboard cannon leading to the gun freezing at high altitudes), along with four 0.303 calibre or two 0.50 calibre machine guns.

The gun was also licensed for use in the United States as the '''M1''', with both the [[United States Army Air Corps]] (USAAC) and U.S. Navy planning to switch to the 20 mm as soon as sufficient production was ready. A massive building program was set up, along with production of ammunition, in 1941. When delivered the guns proved to be extremely unreliable and suffered a considerable number of misfires due to the round being "lightly struck" by the firing pin. The British were interested in using this weapon to ease production in England, but after receiving the M1 they were disappointed. In April 1942 a copy of the British Mk.II was sent to the U.S. for comparison, with the differences being primarily that the British version used a slightly shorter chamber that they believed was the cause of the U.S.'s problems.

The U.S. declined to modify the chamber of their version, but nevertheless made other different modifications to create the no-more-reliable '''M2'''. By late 1942 the USAAC had 40 million rounds of ammunition stored, but the guns remained unsuitable. The U.S. Navy had been trying to go all-cannon throughout the war, but the conversion never occurred. As late as December 1945 the [[United States Army|Army's]] Chief of Ordnance was still attempting to complete additional changes to the design to allow it to enter service.

Meanwhile, the British had given up on the U.S. versions and production levels had been ramped up to the point where this was no longer an issue anyway. They upgraded to the '''Hispano Mk. V''', which had a shorter barrel, was lighter and had a higher rate of fire, although at the expense of some muzzle velocity. One of the main British fighters to use the '''Mk. V''' was the [[Hawker Tempest]] '''Mk. V Series II''', which mounted a total of four. The U.S. followed suit with the '''M3''', but reliability problems continued. After [[World War II]] the United States Air Force (USAF) adopted a version of the M3 cannon as the '''M24''', similar in most respects except for the use of electrically primed ammunition.

The Hispano fired a 130 gram (4.58 oz) 20 mm × 110 mm projectile with a [[muzzle velocity]] between 840 and 880 m/s (2,750 and 2,900 ft/s), depending on barrel length. Rate of fire was between 600 and 850 rounds per minute. It was 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in) long, weighing between 42 and 50 kg (93 and 110 lb). The British Mk V and American M3/M24 weapons were lighter with higher rates of fire than the early HS.404 guns.

In the post-war era the HS.404 disappeared fairly quickly due to the introduction of revolver cannon based on the German [[Mauser MG 213]]. The British introduced the powerful 30 mm ADEN cannon in most post-war designs, and the French used the very similar DEFA cannon, both firing the same ammunition. The USAF introduced the 20 mm M39 revolver cannon to replace the M24, while the Navy instead combined the original Hispano design with a lighter round for better muzzle velocity in the Colt Mk 12 cannon.

==Usage==

===France===
;HS.404

* [[Morane-Saulnier M.S.406]]
* [[Potez 631]]
* [[Bloch MB.152]]
* [[Breguet 693]]
* [[Dewoitine D.520]] 
* [[LeO 451]]

===United Kingdom & Commonwealth===
;Hispano Mk. I
* [[Gloster F.9/37]] -a design not taken into service
* [[Westland Whirlwind (fixed wing)|Westland Whirlwind]] - the RAF's first cannon armed fighter.

;Hispano Mk. II
* [[Blackburn Firebrand]] 
* [[Bristol Beaufighter]] 
* [[CAC Boomerang]]
* [[Liberator B Mk I|Consolidated Liberator GR I]]
* [[de Havilland Mosquito]]
* [[A-20 Havoc|Douglas Boston III (Intruder)]]
* [[Fairey Firefly]]
* [[Gloster Meteor]]
* [[Hawker Hurricane|Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC]]
* [[Hawker Tempest|Hawker Tempest Mk V Srs I]]
* [[Hawker Typhoon|Hawker Typhoon Mk IB]]
* [[P-51 Mustang|North American Mustang IA]]
* [[Supermarine Spitfire]] to Mark 20

;Hispano Mk. V
* [[Bristol Brigand]] 
* [[de Havilland Hornet|de Havilland Hornet & Sea Hornet]]
* [[de Havilland Vampire]]
* [[de Havilland Venom|de Havilland Venom & Sea Venom]]
* [[English Electric Canberra|English Electric Canberra B.Mk.6 & B(I).Mk.8]]
* [[Hawker Sea Fury|Hawker Fury & Sea Fury]]
* [[Hawker Sea Hawk]]
* [[Tempest_Mk_V|Hawker Tempest Mk V Srs II]] and subsequent [[British_military_aircraft_designation_systems#Mark_numbers|Marks]]
* [[Martin-Baker MB 5]]
* [[Supermarine Attacker]]
* [[Supermarine Seafang]]
* [[Supermarine Spiteful]]
* [[Spitfire|Supermarine Spitfire]] - Marks 21 and later
* [[Westland Welkin]]
* [[Westland Wyvern]]

===United States===
;M1

;M2
* [[Bell P-39|Bell P-400 (P-39 Airacobra diverted from export)]]
* [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]]
* [[P-38 Lightning | Lockheed P-38 Lightning]]
* [[P-61 Black Widow|Northrop P-61 Black Widow]]
* [[F4U-1C|Chance Vought F4U-1C Corsair]]

;M3
* [[F4U Corsair|Chance Vought F4U-4B Corsair and all following versions]]
* [[F6U Pirate|Chance Vought F6U Pirate]]
* [[F7U Cutlass|Chance Vought F7U Cutlass]]

;M24
* [[Convair B-36]]
* [[F-89 Scorpion|Northrop F-89C Scorpion]]

==Specifications==
* '''Type''': single-barrel [[automatic cannon]]
* '''Caliber''': 20 mm × 110 (0.79 in)
* '''Operation''': [[gas operated]]
* '''Length''': 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)
* '''Weight (complete)''': 42–50 kg (93–110 lb)
* '''Rate of fire''': 600–850 rpm
* '''Muzzle velocity''': 840 to 880 m/s (2,750 to 2,900 ft/s)
* '''Projectile weight''': 130 g (4.58 oz)
* '''HE round explosive filler''': ~6 g

==References==
Templates used on this page:
Template:! (protected)
Template:Infobox Gun
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