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Difference between revisions of "Fire Birds"
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[[Image:Browning-M3A.jpg|thumb|none|350px|Browning M3 heavy machine gun .50 BMG]] | [[Image:Browning-M3A.jpg|thumb|none|350px|Browning M3 heavy machine gun .50 BMG]] | ||
| − | [[Image:FireBirds50Cal.JPG|thumb|none| | + | [[Image:FireBirds50Cal.JPG|thumb|none|500px|Stoller firing the Browning M3 heavy machine gun on his "Scorpion attack helicopter"]] |
== GE M134 Minigun == | == GE M134 Minigun == | ||
Revision as of 00:59, 16 November 2010
The following weapons were used in the film Fire Birds (also known as Wings of the Apache):
M16A1 Rifle
During the mission near the end of the movie, U.S. Army soldiers can be seen carrying M16A1 rifles, though none are fired on-screen. The M16A1 was transitioned out for the M16A2 during the time of the film, set in the early 1990's.
FIM-92A Stinger
After the Apache flown by Chief Warrant Officer Brad Little (Tommy Lee Jones) is shot down, CWO Billy Lee Guthrie (Sean Young) lands her helicopter to assist him, and the two are attacked by an enemy fighter jet. Little then instructs her to remove one of the still-functioning FIM-92A Stinger missiles from his AH-64 Apache and reconfigure it to be shoulder-launched, allowing Guthrie to shoot down the enemy aircraft.
M911A1
There are several appearances in the film of the M1911A1, first in the hands of the drug cartels' mercenary pilot Eric Stoller (Bert Rhine) in briefing photos of him, then seen in holsters on South American & U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency operatives during the mission towards the end of the film. Little can also briefly be seen carrying one when he arrives in South America.
Smith & Wesson Model 15
Most of the U.S. helicopter pilots can be seen armed with Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolvers as their sidearms, another anachronism since Army chopper crews carry semi-automatics such as the M1911A1 or M9 Beretta as their issue sidearms.
M60 Machine Gun
At the beginning of the film, a member of an ill-fated D.E.A./South American anti-drug operation can be seen carrying an M60 machine gun while riding in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter which is shot down by Stoller.
Browning M3 Heavy Machine Gun
As the primary antagonist of the film, Eric Stoller flies a "Scorpion attack helicopter" (in reality a McDonnell Douglas MD 500 Defender) armed with a 2.75" rocket pod and a Browning M3 heavy machine gun in a SUU-12/A gun pod. Stoller uses this pod to shoot down Little's AH-64 Apache by knocking out the tail rotor and damages Chief Warrant Officer Jake Preston (Nicolas Cage)'s Apache, resulting in his gunner, Chief Warrant Officer Calvin Breaker (Bryan Kestner) being wounded when a round penetrates the cockpit.
GE M134 Minigun
At the beginning of the film, Preston can be seen flying an AH-1 Cobra armed with two nose-mounted GE M134 Miniguns. The Cobra proves to be no match for Stoller's Scorpion and Preston barely escapes alive. What's interesting is that this weapon configuration was only used on the original AH-1G Cobra and yet the Cobras appear to be the upgraded AH-1F model which replaced this armament with a single three-barreled 20mm rotary cannon.
The aircraft pictured is not an AH-1F. It is an AH-1S(MOD) belonging to the 1-285 ATK HEL BN that was stationed at Silverbell AHP, Marana, AZ. You are correct that the dual minigun configuration for the M28 turret is unusual. Ordinarily the left hand gun would be a 40 mm grenade launcher. However we went with the dual minigun because it looked "cool". In practice the left hand minigun was prone to jamming, additionally the 40mm was an excellent suppressive weapon and was actually more reliable in combat. By the way, that's me in the back seat.
BGM-71 TOW
In addition to the nose armament, Preston's Cobra is also armed with eight BGM-71 TOW missiles mounted in groups of four on the outboard pylons. These missiles are not fired though, as Preston has no chance to return fire during Stoller's ambush and the TOW is intended for use against ground targets, not enemy aircraft.
Uzi
There are several appearances of Uzi submachine guns in the film, primarily in the hands of South American operatives, as well as Stoller in a briefing photo.
Smith & Wesson 3000
In one briefing photo, Eric Stoller can be seen carrying a Smith & Wesson 3000 shotgun customized with a side-folding stock, pistol grip, high-capacity magazine tube, and vertical foregrip.
M242 Bushmaster Chaingun
At one point in the film, Little devises an unorthodox method of helping Preston overcome his eye dominance problem which is hindering his training on the Apache; blindfolding his dominant eye and forcing him to drive a jeep at high speed using only his other eye, the protagonists having several near-misses with other vehicles on the base, including an M2 Bradley armed with an M242 Bushmaster chaingun.
