wikipedia article day chicken gun largediameter compressedair cannon used fire dead chickens aircraft components order simulate highspeed bird strikes aircrafts flight jet engines aircraft windshields particularly vulnerable damage strikes common target tests whole dead standardsize chickens would used cooking thought accurately simulate large live bird striking plane flight aircraft component tested engine windshield etc fixed place test stand cannon fires chicken it chicken gun first used mids de havilland aircraft hatfield hertfordshire chickens killed local farm shortly use another early use chicken gun royal aeronautical aircraft establishment rae farnborough hampshire  s goodyear aerospace litchfield park arizona used gun ceramic diaphragm seal compressed air back guns barrel fire gun needle struck ruptured diaphragm allowing compressed air drive chicken in containera cylindrical cardboard ice cream carton barrel muzzle metal ring stopped carton allowed chicken pass through cameras recorded collision united states air force commissioned aedc ballistic range s test airplane canopies began operating the gun later used test aircraft parts leading edges wings development boeing  s cockpit windows subjected chicken test an anesthetized pound  kg chicken loaded pneumatic gun fired  knots  mph  kmh headonit described a messy test