"Mike Kanze" wrote in message ...
John,

The USN may have had additional issues due to the gun getting banged about
during traps.

Not just traps. Aircraft handling - particularly on a crowded hangar deck -
is not conducive to the health and longevity of protruding "attachments."
The EA-6B folks - with jamming pods that cost (circa 1972) $1 million a
pop - learned early on that "sailors and pods don't mix."

.... or 'sailors and props' having on more than one instance had major
dings put in my props while the plane was buried on the hangar deck.
Severity of damage/inability to repair was directly proportional to
proximity of fly-off too...

Will Dossel
Last of the Steeljaws (VAW-122)