This U.S. Navy training film (MN 10121a) showcases the Mark 4 Gun Pod (Mk 4) and features footage of the gun pods on a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and an A-7 Corsair II. The film opens with a Skyhawk firing the 20mm ammo used in the Mark 4 Gun Pod. The jet flies through the air and strafes the ground. The Skyhawk taxis to a stop on a runway carrying the gun pods (01:14). The plane’s crew remove a gun pod from the plane. An illustration is used to show the structural layout of the Mk 4 (02:08). The Skyhawk armed with the Mk 4 pods takes off. The film shows the actual gun on a platform–outside of the pod (02:51). Graphics are again used to show the anatomy of the gun itself. Viewers see the two barrels and Mk 11 gun with its revolving chambers, as well as how the revolver works firing rounds, the yoke pivoting, and its booster recoil. A man takes off the loader frame to point out the gun’s ejectors and sprocket set (07:04). Two men feed ammunition belts into the loading dock of the Mk 4. They close the access doors and latches then connect the pod electrically to the aircraft. An A-7 Corsair II flies through the sky firing the Mk 4 (09:30). A view from inside the cockpit shows the armament control, charge clear switch, and ready safe switch (10:42). Illustrations are used to show how the gun pod responds to the cockpit controls and how the trigger sends fire voltage relays through the control box to the first fire barrel. There is more footage of the Corsair flying and firing the gun pod. Another view from the cockpit shows how the pilot clears the guns from the cockpit controls. The film concludes with a plane firing the Mark 4 Gun Pod at a target.

Developed by the US Navy, this pod is fitted with the Mk 11 Mod 5 20 mm cannon, along with 750 rounds of ammunition. This pod is said to have been used on a variety of US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft including the A-4 Skyhawk, F-4 Phantom II, A-7 Corsair II, and OV-10 Bronco. Approximately 1200 Mk 4 Gun Pods were manufactured by Hughes Tool Company, later Hughes Helicopter, in Culver City, California. While the system was tested and certified for use on the A-4, the A-6, the A-7, the F-4, and the OV-10, it only saw extended use on the A-4, the F-4, and the OV-10. In the case of the OV-10, the unit was used by VAL-4, a Navy squadron assigned to Binh Thuy, Vietnam, and was used extensively for close air support missions.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com