Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 13:37:33 +0100 From: Liam_McCauley@qsp.co.uk Subject: Armat M41A Pulse Rifle Thank you to those who sent me stuff on materials, or who pointed me in the right direction. Below is my interpretation of a Pulse Rifle from the film "Aliens" (I'm sure a lot of these terms are (c) or TM, but WTF). Feel free to use, abuse, whatever... Notes: * I started with the ammunition, using the dimensions given, rather than the muzzle energy (probably the wrong way to go, but...). * I used Composite Laminate for the receiver and barrel to reduce weight (see TML 181). * The cyclic rate should have resulted in a RoF of 10, but that would have required a heavy receiver. Also, it should have a 4 round burst capability. I just simplified things and gave a RoF of 5. * I added Gyroscopic compensation to reduce recoil. Comments: * Not all that impressive for TL12, but then it's meant to simulate something from a film, not be the optimum design. * It actually came out pretty close to the dimensions and weight given in the book. * I never got round to designing the 30mm canister round for the grenade launcher. References: "Aliens, Colonial Marines Technical Manual" by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood "Aliens - Adventure Game" by Leading Edge Games "Aliens" - the film Pulse Rifle - Traveller TNE Armat M41A Pulse Rifle TL 12 Weapon Length 55 / 75 cm Weapon Weight 5.25kg loaded, 4.6kg empty Weapon Price 2,955Cr Magazine Weight 1.35kg loaded, 1.17kg empty Magazine Price 11.65Cr US M309 10*24mm Standard Light Armour Piercing, Explosive Tipped Round Weight 19g, 0.18Kg for 95 Price 1.13Cr, 107Cr for 95 30mm Grenade Weight 0.12Kg, 0.48Kg for 4 Grenade Price M40 HE 1.2Cr M38 HEAP 1.8Cr M60 WP 2.4Cr M72A1 Starshell 1.2Cr -Recoil- Weapon RoF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Burst Range IFR 10mm Pulse Rifle HEAP 5 5 2-2-2 3/4 95 1 4 31 - 30mm Grenade HE PA C:2, B:10 Nil - 4 0 - 86 345 HEAP PA C:1, B:3.5 29C - 4 0 - 86 345 WP PA C:2, B:6 Nil - 4 0 - 86 345 Starshell PA C:0, B:144 Nill - 4 0 - 86 345 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- WorkSheet 10*24mm, necked, caseless, HEAP Bullet Diameter 10mm Cartridge Length 24mm Ammo Length 44mm Ammo Weight 18.85g Avge Muzzle Energy 3920.7J Price 1.131 Cr 30mm, HE, Low Velocity Propelled Grenade Diameter 3cm Concussion 2 Burst Radius 10m Penetration Value Nil Total Mass 0.12Kg Volume 2.4*10-5 m^3 Price 1.2Cr PN 30mm pump-action grenade launcher Barrel Length 5 calibers (15cm) Direct Fire (Short) Range 86.25m Indirect Fire (Max) Range 345m Length 30cm Material Composite Laminate Empty Mass 0.75Kg Loaded Mass 1.23Kg Muzzle Energy 337.5J Price 897.75Cr Armat M41A Pulse Rifle 10mm Assault Rifle with PN 30mm pump-action grenade launcher 1. Light Barrel Average Barrel Length 39.207cm Actual Barrel Length 24.7cm Material Composite Laminate Barrel Weight 0.165Kg Barrel Price 131.4Cr Actual Muzzle Energy 3195J Explosive Energy 2744J Damage 5 Penetration 2-2-2 2. Light, Self-loading receiver with selective fire option Rate of Fire 1, 5 Receiver Length 25.046cm Material Composite Laminate Receiver Weight 1.31Kg Receiver Price 1303Cr 3. Retracting Stock Stock Length 5/25cm Stock Mass 0.5kg Price 50Cr Short Range 30.64m 4. Box Magazine Capacity 99 (95 usually loaded to avoid jams) Magazine Weight 1.165Kg Magazine Price 11.65 5. Options Folding SA Stock Gyroscopic Compensator PN 30mm grenader launcher Component Length (cm) Weight (kg) Price (Cr) Barrel 24.7 0.17 131.4 Receiver 25.05 1.31 1,303 Folding SA Stock (5/25cm) 25 0.7 200 Gyroscopic Compensator 0.5 300 Grenade Launcher 0.75 897.75 Magazine 1.17 11.65 Weapon, Empty 74.75 4.6 2,843.8 95 rounds 10*24mm 0.18 107 4 Grenades 0.48 4.8 Weapon, Loaded 74.75 5.25 2,955.6 Bulk 3/4 Recoil Single Shot 1 (1.49) Burst 4 (3.74) Grenade 0 (0.47) Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 09:47:35 +0100 From: Liam_McCauley@qsp.co.uk Subject: Re: Pulse Rifle Thanks for all the help with materials & caseless ammo for my Pulse Rifle design. Thanks also for any compliments. I'm especially glad to hear that it might get used in someone else's campaign. I've re-done the design using Lahtinen's caseless ammo notes, and will put the summary at the end of this post. The low short range for the weapon is due to the very short barrel length (24.7cm c.f. average barrel length of 49cm for the ammo), and because the ammo is HEAP (0.75 multiplier). I imagine that this would give it a hell of a muzzle flash. The cannister round for the grenade launcher that someone asked about simply holds buckshot. Being lazy, I couldn't be bothered going through the full sequence for the ammo again, so I just left it as an exercise for the reader ;-). I noticed that the only thing that would change if I dropped the TL from 12 to 10 would be the explosive energy of the HEAP round. This gives a damage of 5, rather than 6. Are there no other developments in standard slug weapon design above TL 10? There are a few things I would change if I was designing the weapon myself from scratch (longer barrel, shorter cartridge to improve range and recoil), but I wanted to stay close to the parameters I had been given. These were (from "Aliens: Colonial Marines Training Manual"): Rifle without Mag 3.4Kg Full Mag 1.5Kg Barrel Length 24.7cm Rifle Length 69.5/84cm Muzzle Velocity 840m/s Max Range 2.1km Max eff. Range 500m Cyclic Rate 900rpm "The M41 fires the standard US M309 10mm * 24 round. This ammunition comprises a 210 grain (13.6g) projectile embedded within a rectangular caseless propellant block of Nitramine 50. The propellant content is small, but highly efficient, generating muzzle velocities on the order of 840m/s. The round is steel jacketed & explosive tipped with impact fusing which is preset during manufacture. The M41 uses electronic pulse action to fire, controlled directly from the trigger. The internal mechanism, including the rotating breech, is mounted on free floating rails within a carbon-fiber jacket." Armat M41A Pulse Rifle TL 12 (at TL 10, reduce damage to 5) Weapon Length 57/77 cm Weapon Weight 6.0Kg loaded, 4.1kg empty Weapon Price 3,265Cr Magazine Weight 1.8kg loaded, 0.4kg empty Magazine Price 12Cr US M309 10*24mm Standard Light Armour Piercing, Explosive Tipped Round Weight 15g, 1.4Kg for 95 Price 0.9Cr, 86Cr for 95 30mm Grenade Weight 0.12Kg, 0.48Kg for 4 Grenade Price M40 HE 1.2Cr M38 HEAP 1.8Cr M60 WP 2.4Cr M72A1 Starshell 1.2Cr Weapon RoF Dam Pen Blk Mag SS Brst Range IFR 10mm Pulse Rifle HEAP 5 6 2-2-2 3/5 95 1 4 24 - 30mm Grenade HE PA C:2, B:10 Nil - 4 0 - 86 345 HEAP PA C:1, B:3.5 29C - 4 0 - 86 345 WP PA C:2, B:6 Nil - 4 0 - 86 345 Starshell PA C:0, B:144 Nil - 4 0 - 86 345 Cheers, Liam Liam_McCauley@QSP.co.uk