Oerlikon

Oerlikon may refer to:

Oerlikon (Zürich)

Oerlikon is a quarter in the northern part of Zürich, Switzerland.

A formerly independent municipality, Oerlikon was merged with Zürich in 1934 and forms today, together with Affoltern and Seebach, the city district 11.

History

The name Oerlikon goes back to the alemannic settlement founder Orilo. Oerlikon was mentioned for the first time in the year 946 (other source: 942) as Orlinchowa. At that time the town consisted of no more than one dozen houses and was part of the municipality Schwamendingen, where the inhabitants of Oerlikon went to school and attended church. In 1855 a railway that connected southern Germany with Zürich was built. Thus, Oerlikon grew at a very fast pace and became a hub for industry and trade. In 1872 Oerlikon was separated from Schwamendingen and became its own municipality. In 1897 a tramway from Zürich to Oerlikon was built. Branch lines led also to Seebach and Schwamendingen.

Places of interest

South of the railway line the Oerlikon town center with the shopping centres Neumarkt and züri 11 shopping, the luxurious hotel Swissôtel and the market place are located. North of the station, a new quarter called Neu-Oerlikon (New Oerlikon) is being built. In the former industrial area new living and working area is created. This urban architecture is lightened up by generous parks. In the last few years, four very outstanding new parks were built: The Oerliker Park with a look-out tower, the MFO-Park on the area of the earlier engine factory Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, the Traugott Wahlen-Park and the Louis-Häfliger-Park.

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German 20 mm Becker design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II, and many versions still in use today.

History

Origins

During World War I, the German Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon, known now as the 20 mm Becker using the Advanced Primer Ignition blowback (API blowback) method of operation. This used a 20x70 RB cartridge and had a cyclic rate of fire of 300 rpm. It was used on a limited scale as an aircraft gun on Luftstreitkräfte warplanes, and an anti-aircraft gun towards the end of that war.

Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of such weapons in Germany, the patents and design works were transferred in 1919 to the Swiss firm SEMAG (Seebach Maschinenbau Aktien Gesellschaft) based near Zürich. SEMAG continued development of the weapon, and in 1924 had produced the SEMAG L, a heavier weapon (43 kg) that fired more powerful 20x100RB ammunition at a slightly higher rate of fire, 350 rpm.