Editing Cannon (section)

====Autocannon====
{{Main|Autocannon}}
[[File:USSVixenMaximMachineGun.1898.ws.jpg|thumb|right|A large bore Maxim on {{USS|Vixen|PY-4|6}} c. 1898]]

Autocannons have an automatic firing mode, similar to that of a machine gun. They have mechanisms to automatically load their ammunition, and therefore have a higher rate of fire than artillery, often approaching, or, in the case of [[rotary cannon|rotary autocannons]], even surpassing the firing rate of a machine gun.<ref name="Autocannon Rate of Fire"/> While there is no minimum bore for autocannons, they are generally larger than machine guns, typically {{convert|20|mm|abbr=on}} or greater since World War II and are usually capable of using explosive ammunition even if it is not always used. Machine guns in contrast are usually too small to use explosive ammunition;<ref name= "dictionary definition">{{Cite dictionary |title=cannon |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannon |dictionary=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary |publisher=Merriam Webster |archive-date=20 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920111236/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannon |url-status=live |access-date=17 September 2011}}</ref> such ammunition is additionally banned in international conflict for the parties to the [[Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868]].

Most nations use rapid-fire cannon on light vehicles, replacing a more powerful, but heavier, tank gun. A typical autocannon is the [[25 mm caliber|25&nbsp;mm]] "[[M242 Bushmaster|Bushmaster]]" [[chain gun]], mounted on the [[LAV-25]] and [[M2 Bradley]] [[Infantry fighting vehicle|armoured vehicles]]. Autocannons may be capable of a very high rate of fire, but ammunition is heavy and bulky, limiting the amount carried. For this reason, both the 25&nbsp;mm Bushmaster and the 30&nbsp;mm [[RARDEN]] are deliberately designed with relatively low rates of fire. The typical rate of fire for a modern autocannon ranges from 90 to 1,800 rounds per minute. Systems with multiple barrels, such as a rotary autocannon, can have rates of fire of several thousand rounds per minute. The fastest of these is the [[Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23|GSh-6-23]], which has a rate of fire of over 10,000&nbsp;rounds per minute.<ref name="Autocannon Rate of Fire">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Anthony G. |year=2000 |title=Rapid Fire: The Development of Automatic Cannon, Heavy Machine Guns and Their Ammunition for Armies, Navies and Air Forces |location=Shrewsbury, UK |publisher=Airlife |page=241 |isbn=978-1-84037-435-3 |oclc=50940059}}</ref>

Autocannons are often found in aircraft, where they replaced machine guns and as shipboard anti-aircraft weapons, as they provide greater destructive power than machine guns.<ref name="Aircraft Cannon"/>