Blasting a killer tomato with a 57mm gun (VIDEOS)

Developed by BAE Bofors in Sweden, the 57mm Mark 3 cannon is used around the world — but can it kill a giant floating sausage?

The above video, released this week by the Canadian military, shows the warship HMCS Vancouver in a surface fire exercise while deployed in a joint exercise with U.S. forces in the Pacific. The handy little Halifax-class frigate is armed with a 57mm Bofors as a hood ornament and they get some gunnery practice in against a big red target float. These floats are unofficially termed killer tomatoes in the U.S. Navy and boudin (sausage) in the Canadian service, for obvious reasons.

Stick around till the end to see the perforated vinyl deep-sixed with some good old reliable M2 love, sent to the bottom like Megatron.

For those who are curious and squee out to specs, the Bofors fires at up to 220-rounds per minute (though the magazine drum only holds 120 party sub-length shells) with a range out to nine miles. The U.S. uses the same gun, designated the Mk110, on littoral combat ships and Coast Guard cutters. Sure, they are no 16-inchers, but they get the job done on small stuff.

Want a little more excitement? The below from gun maker BAE shows tests of various 57mm loads against selected targets.

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