JDJarvis wrote: "cool, gyrojets are always a fun and funky sci-fi weapon. They also beg for specialized ammo with payloads one isn't likely to see in a conventional firearm."
KMSV Ammunition and Payloads-
Isahey' ('Writhing - Speciality load - Anti-personnel')
* Type: Hydrokinetic Penetrator /Shaped Explosive
* Effect: Lethal 3d6x5 DP + Explosive 1d6x20 15' Radius
* Range: roughly 2,000 Yards
* Frequency: T
:: The term writhing is derived from the in-flight motion of the elastic, fluid-filled payload, once released from the gyrojet sabot. The properties of the combination of the elastic casing and the hydrokinetic fluid contained within increases the round's ability to penetrate light vehicular armour, as well as the heavier powered augmentation suits employed during this and later eras.
:: Once the elastic casing yields to impact stress or is shredded passing through a hard surface, a micro-fuze detonates two half-cylinder incendiary shaped charges, affecting personnel in much the same way as White Phosphorus munitions: a spinning shower of white-hot non-soluble fragments easily burning completely through human tissue and bone.
:: If a target is stuck within 1,000 yards, only the initial Effect is delivered, and the ordinance neutralised.
Tanheles ('Gliding Observer')
* Type: Robotic Surveillance Drone
* Effect: Intel 3d6+3 in a 180* arc out to 1 mile for 1 Turn (10 minutes)
* Range: roughly 3.5 Acres directed glide area, 6,000 feet altitude
* Frequency: V
:: Once launched (usually at a 45* angle), the remotely controlled drone can terminate the gyrojet sabot at any point past 25 Yards and begin assisted gliding at the designated altitude for use in real-time audio-visual and other sensor data transmission.
:: The ease with which these recon drones could be used later created a need for selective disruption of the enemy's drones while not affecting 'friendly' units in the same theatre, but those anti-recon drones have an X frequency, as they came late in the era.
:: Non-hostile uses included the recognition of fallen troopers 'IDSigs', as well as GPS-marking no-artillery zones which were fed-back to the automated guns to help prevent friendly-fire incidents.
Tsiumhx ('Aerial Insertion Mine')
* Type: Indirect-fire Anti-personnel Mine
* Effect: Explosive 2d6x10 10' Radius
* Range: roughly 800 Yards
* Frequency: S
:: More common than many other speciality munitions for the long-range rifles, these were employed in area-denial operations, such as covering tactical retreats as well as channelling the enemy into unfavourable terrain.
:: Once fired (usually 45* angle) the parabolic arc carries the insertion unit three-quarters of the way before the sabot is discarded and the projectile penetrates soft ground cover. On hard surfaces, most units are destroyed rather than leaving intact mines. Some nations or factions did produce hard-surface versions with limited degree of success, but most groups instead utilised grenade launchers with purpose-built ordinance.
:: Colour-coded with alternating bands of black and red on a green body, these ordinance are noticeably heavier than virtually all other gyrojet munitions.
Damn! Don't let anyone from Lockheed-Martin read this.
ReplyDeleteRob: Nice to hear from you! :D
ReplyDelete--Thanks. Perhaps my true (evil) calling. ;)
Love your weapons! They not only make sense from a technological standpoint, but they're different from the usual run of RPG weaponry in having practical uses in tactical combat situations. Some of the odd stuff one used to see in games like "The Morrow Project" used to leave me with serious doubts about what would happen if anyone actually tried using some of the listed weapons. The oversized, rotary-magazined 'combat shotgun/grenade launcher' was my personal un-favorite weapon in that particular game, and I'm sure others will come up with similar examples.
ReplyDeleteFired a gyrojet pistol, once upon a time; expensive, but it was dang fun... :)
Jeff: Thanks for the tease, but would you consider a brief anecdote elaborating on the gyrojet?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment. :)
Sure; happy to help...
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine who was a weapons collector had managed to get some ammunition for his gyrojet pistol; one box was sealed, and stayed in his collection, but he wanted to fire off the partial box that he'd gotten. He offered to let me shoot off some rounds, and of course I accepted; it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, given that the rounds were so rare, and I offered to pay the range fees as a way to help out.
So we headed out to the range; he brought a .45 M1911A1 for comparison, and I brought my beloved .455 Mk. VI. I was very surprised by the gyroc being so light; it was about the same size as the regular pistols, but half the weight. You had to hold it very firmly when firing it, and make sure to keep the weapon on target as there was a very slight delay between pulling the trigger and the round leaving the muzzle. I use a two-handed grip normally, and it worked very well with the pistol; one could certainly fire it one-handed, but the lightness of the pistol would have been an issue for aiming, I think. The delay was a lot less then the delay you get when firing black-powder weapons, but still there and you had to take that into consideration when aiming.
Muzzle flash was about the same as for the Mk. VI with issue ammunition, and you had to be aware that some of the exhaust gas from the round would 'splash' out from the barrel vents; a certain amount of care in how you held the thing was required. The flash was coming back at you, remember, not away from you as in a normal pistol. The round seemed pretty 'hot' in terms of velocity, and putting holes in the target was pretty easy; we were shooting at a 50' target.
The odd thing, of course, was that there was no real recoil, and not very much noise. You could feel the firing lever getting slammed back into position for the next round, but in comparison to the 1911 or the Mk. VI it was like nothing. You just had to remember not to twitch or anything when you pulled the trigger, as once the round left the barrel it was going to keep right on going in that direction; the round was still accelerating out to about ten to fifteen meters and looked a bit like a tracer round for that distance. It was fast, though, and you had to look sharp to see it.
I got to fire six rounds, one load's worth, and it was quite fun once you got used to the light weight of the weapon. Aiming wasn't as instinctive as it was (for me, anyway) with as it was either the .45 or the .455, but I think that was because I had to think about where the sight picture was on the gyroc. I wouldn't call it a point and shoot weapon, but more of a deliberate aim weapon.
Does any of this help?
Yes! Yes it does. :D
ReplyDelete--Thank you. :)