The MG 151 (MG 151/15) was a 15 mm cannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser starting in 1940. It was 1941 developed into the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon which was widely used on many types of German Luftwaffe fighters, fighter bombers, night fighters, ground attack and even bombers as part of or as their main armament World War II.
The 15 mm weapon was experienced as having a lackluster performance as the main gun on Me 109F-2/F-3 series and was soon replaced by the 20 mm version to become the standard cannon for the Me 109F-4 series onwards until it was surpassed by the 30 mm MK 108 cannon . The 15 mm MG151/15 was phased out during 1942 but it was possible to change all of them to the 20 mm MG 151/20 by changing the barrel and some small modifications.
The MG 151 had a high muzzle velocity which makes for a stable trajectory and high impact speed/longer range than the low(er) muzzle velocity of the Oerlikon MG FF cannon. This made it a better gun compared to the latter which was also widely used on German fighter planes in the first half of the war.
Data on the 15 mm MG 151 (MG 151/15):
- Manufacturer: Waffenfabrik Mauser AG
- Caliber: 15 mm (15 x 96 cartridge)
- Weight: 42 kg
- Muzzle velocity: 950 m/s
- Rate of fire: 800 round/min
- Round types: armor piercing (AP) and high explosive (HE)
- Round weight: 66 g (AP), 51 g (HE)
Data on the 20 mm MG 151 (MG 151/20) :
- Manufacturer: Waffenfabrik Mauser AG
- Caliber: 20 mm (20 x 82 cartridge)
- Weight: 42 kg
- Muzzle velocity: 800 m/s
- Rate of fire: 800 round/min
- Round types: armor piercing and two types of high explosive: standard HE and HE(M) "mine shot" with more explosive charge and thinner shell walls
- Round weights: 117 g (AP), 115 g (HE), 92 g HE(M)
See also