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| Weapons of the 41st Millennium:; Part 4 The Space Marines | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 18 2008, 06:23 PM (374 Views) | |
| WarhoundTitan | Aug 18 2008, 06:23 PM Post #1 |
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Weapons of the 41st Millennium: Part 4 The Space Marines The Adeptus Astartes, Space Marines, the Angels of Death. The names that they use are legendary as are the weapons with which they wage war. They are the ultimate expression of Humanity’s warriors, utterly fearless and the users of the finest weapons created by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Assault Cannon The assault cannon is one of the most feared weapons in the 41st millennium, and the sight of a terminator bearing one has caused more than one foe to balk at the idea of attacking a position. Designed as a static weapon to be placed in trenches and defensive positions the weapon was adopted by the Space Marine Terminators when they realised that they required an anti-infantry weapon with slightly longer range than the trusty heavy flamer for fighting on open battlefields as opposed to the close-quarters battles in Space-Hulks in which they originally excelled. The assault cannon is a surprisingly advanced weapon despite its humble origins. The weapon uses a relatively small round, only 20mm in diameter, and belt-fed from a box magazine in the case of the Terminator weapon, and belt fed from an internal magazine in the case of the vehicle based weapon. The rounds are exceedingly destructive though, their small size being out-weighed by the fact that they are made of depleted-uranium. This material is a by-product of the fission reactors used in some areas of the Imperium, but it can also be created in workshop conditions, although this process is extremely hazardous, only servitors are used in the production of such a dangerous material. For all of its hazards depleted-uranium does allow the weapon to possess the impact of a round more than twice its size in terms of momentum. The rounds are contained in a brass shell-casing within the magazine within which an explosive charge is contained. What makes this triggering mechanism more advanced than other similar weapons is that the weapon is not triggered by a firing-pin. Instead the charge is triggered by an electrical current in the breech. The lack of a mechanical mechanism allows a much higher rate of fire. When combined with the rotating barrels of the weapon this means that an assault cannon is capable of a firing over 3500 rounds per minute. Combined with the high rate of fire this means that an assault cannon can literally “chew” its way through even the thickest of armour, even capable of penetrating the thick multi-layered armour of the Land Raider, the weapon has even proven a capable weapon when facing the Monoliths of the Necrons. The largest weakness of the Assault cannon is that such a high rate of fire means that the weapon tends to run through its available ammunition prohibitively quickly, especially when carried by terminators, normally only capable of carrying 2000 rounds, so careful monitoring of ammunition is required by any warrior bearing this weapon. Autocannon Although considered an appropriate weapon for use by the Imperial Guard the Autocannon is solely used as a vehicle mounted weapon by the Adeptus Astartes. The Predator Main Battle Tank may not possess the thick armour of the Leman Russ or the speed of a Salamander Scout Tank but it does manage to combine versatility with survivability. With this in mind there are few weapons as well suited for the Predator as the Autocannon, with its reasonable strength and relatively high rate of fire. The Autocannon is a fairly typical representation of a ballistic weapon, very easy to construct and maintain it is very popular with Techmarines. The weapon uses 30mm high explosive rounds with each round loaded into a brass casing. Within each casing is an explosive charge, Space Marine’s have access to the finest technology produced by the Imperium so this charge will always be some form of promethium and nitrous explosive. This charge is triggered by a simple percussion cap in the base of the casing; a firing pin within the breech of the cannon pierces the cap causing a systematic explosion within the charge, propelling the round down the barrel of the weapon. Autocannon rounds are belt-fed, normally from an internal magazine, the belt is normally unarmoured within a vehicle, as any weapon which is powerful enough to penetrate a Predator’s armour will tear the armour on an ammunition belt to pieces. The usual configuration upon the belt is that every fourth round will be an incendiary “tracer” round, the flight of these rounds makes the lie of the aim of the weapon to be assessed and corrected mid-shot. Autocannons have a rate of fire of approximately 900 rounds per minute, and vehicle based Autocannons are normally only capable of being fired on full-automatic. The fuse in an Autocannon round is an impact fuse, designed to explode on impact with a target, the aim being that the round will tear the target to pieces in the case of infantry, or shatter the armour of a vehicle. Boltgun If there is any weapon which truly defines the Space Marines it is the Boltgun, or Bolter. Consecrated to the Emperor’s service, blessed by the Chaplains of the Chapter, using this weapon is as much an act of worship to the Space Marines as their daily prayers. Many ancient weapons exist, carried by great heroes of the Chapter’s that keep them, used in a thousand campaigns, or possibly a new Bolter will be given to a warrior when they are declared a fully-fledged Space marine. For all the variations in the Bolter’s and the millions of them in existence there are certain aspects of them which are always going to be the same. If used by a person smaller than a Space Marine the Bolter would be almost a grenade launcher. The weapon fires 20mm high-explosive rounds. Unlike some of the more basic weapons of the Space Marine arsenal each individual round is the pinnacle of Imperial engineering. The rounds are caseless, although they are normally shrouded in a thin layer of brass for protection during transport. Within the round is a small explosive charge for firing, although this is only large enough to carry the round out of the muzzle of the gun. This charge is triggered by a firing pin, which penetrates the rear of the round. Once the round is out of the muzzle a secondary charge triggers, activating a small rocket in the round, which then propels the round to its target. It is this dual-phase firing mechanism which gives the bolter its distinctive sound, as valued by the Space Marines for its effect on enemy morale as the actual destructive potential of the weapon. The rounds are fitted with a pressure-delay fuse, the intention is that the round will be carried into the target by the armour penetrating shroud, then once it detects a certain level of pressure around the round it will pause for a half second to allow slightly deeper penetration of the target. Once the round has penetrated it will then explode, tearing the target apart from within, the combination of pressure and the fragmentation elements in the round causing catastrophic damage within the target. A standard straight magazine for the Bolter contains 25 rounds, however, with many Chapter’s the “sickle” pattern magazine is preferred due it s capacity for 35 rounds, although the curvature of the magazine does lead to a slightly higher risk of a blockage. A Bolter can fire 2 rounds per second, however, it is normally fired semi-automatically relying upon the accuracy and reactions of its wielder to cause the damage to the enemy. A side note concerning the design of both the bolter and the bolt pistol is that the ejection port for disposing of the bolt shroud can be on either side of the weapon; allowing it to be used pointed in either direction, and the shroud will always eject away from the body. This can be changed very rapidly during the course of a battle allowing the Astartes much greater freedom in choosing firing positions. Bolt Pistol Essentially a smaller Bolter, the Bolt Pistol is designed along identical lines; it uses a 10mm round, with a slightly smaller propulsion rocket, although the warhead is as destructive as its larger relative. Bolt pistols are much more varied than Bolter’s, the fact that they are often used as a mighty hero’s weapon means that many of these weapons have been modified by a master craftsman, some by Tech-adepts, or even the Techno-magus of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The standard Bolt Pistol actually has a slightly higher rate of fire than the Bolter, firing up to 3 rounds per second, although they only possess a semi-automatic mode of firing. The smaller size of round means that a straight magazine can contain 20 rounds, and the sickle magazine can contain 28 rounds. Chainsword A common close combat weapon of many of the races of the 41st Millennium the Chainsword is used by the armies of the Imperium as well as the Eldar and the Orks are known to use crude chain weapons as well. A chainsword is simple in its styling, a sword which has had its blade replaced with a chain driven belt of teeth. These teeth are styled from strong metals, regularly adamantium is used for the greatest of weapons in the Imperium, although some weapons (such as the legendary Frost Fang of the Space Wolves Chapter) use even more exotic materials to create a blade. Within the guard of the weapon is contained a powerful motor, this drives the belt around the blade, normally at speeds of between 250 and 300 rpm. The trailing edge of the blade is normally covered for the bearer’s safety. When the blade is used the bearer simply switches on the power to the motor and the belt will begin to rotate. The blade can then be used to cut an enemy. The strength of a chainsword is that they can cause immense damage from the slightest impact, although the constant vibration produced by the movement of the belt does make the weapon immensely unwieldy, although the strength of a Space Marine largely overcomes this. Cyclone Missile Launcher A Major modification of the standard Space Marine missile launcher the cyclone system is an alternative version, designed to be fitted to Tactical Dreadnought armour. As such it is a stopgap measure between the smaller single missile version carried by a “normal” Astartes and the much more massive and power intensive version mounted to Dreadnoughts. The main differences between the cyclone and a missile launcher is the targeting system and the lack of reloading capability. The targetter for a cyclone missile launcher is built into the Terminators left gauntlet, with the missile literally being fired wherever he is pointing his fist. The missiles are launched using an electrical impulse again, causing the onboard solid-fuel rocket to ignite, and all the targeting data is fed via this electrical connection. The second difference is that a Cyclone Launcher has to be pre-loaded with all of its ammunition, a process that can take many hours along with the many consecrations and prayers required by the Adeptus Mechanicus and Techmarines to ensure the operation of this highly sophisticated weapon. Once the ammunition has been expended then it is necessary for the Terminator to return to the ammunition depot for reloading. Cyclone missile Launchers are loaded with standard Adeptus Astartes Frag and Krak missiles. Deathwind Launcher The Deathwind is a short ranged multiple shot missile launcher, designed to be fitted to specialised intervention drop pods. The launcher is fitted into the troop compartment of the pod, and they are used to clear an area in preparation for teleportation or further drop pod assaults. In order to carry the maximum number of missiles they have a significantly smaller propellant charge, although they do have a slightly larger warhead than standard frag missiles. The second restriction on the effective range is that the machine spirit fitted to a Drop Pod is very basic, as a more complex spirit would be unlikely to survive the descent through a planet’s atmosphere and the probable turbulence caused by atmospheric effects and enemy action. The weapon is designed to scan the area for probable threats to a landing, determine which are most likely to be suppressed by fire from the missiles and then engage the target with a spread of high explosive fragmentation missiles. These missiles are of a similar size to standard frag missiles, although a higher proportion of the missile is given over to warhead than in a standard frag missile, giving it a slightly higher kill probability, although a slightly lower armour penetration ability due to the smaller fragments of shell case. Deathwind launchers are normally loaded in such manner that they could be expected to maintain a reasonable rate of fire for approximately an hour before they begin to run low on ammunition, this is considered the necessary time to effect a successful Astartes landing against virtually any foe. Demolisher Cannon Another weapon used purely upon vehicles the Demolisher Cannon is only used by the Space Marines when mounted upon a Vindicator siege tank. The weapon is valued by the Imperium for its massive destructive potential, being one of the most powerful ballistic weapons in the 41st Millennium. The weapon was developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus for use by the Imperial Guard, especially for fitting to Super Heavy tanks. However, the weapon was then altered to be fitted the Leman Russ Demolisher variant. The Space Marine’s pride themselves with being an independent arm of the Imperium so the decision was made that the Techmarine’s should adapt an existing chassis to mount the weapon. The weapon was finally mounted upon a reinforced Rhino chassis to create the Vindicator. The rounds of the Demolisher are truly massive, over 500mm in diameter, they contain their own propellant, although the propellant charge is relatively small compared to the size of the round, deciding that a larger warhead was preferable to range, especially considering the intended field of battle for the weapon. The warhead of the Demolisher Shells is actually a minute fusion bottle, attached to a proximity fuse. The fuse is designed to trigger within a metre of the target, shutting down the magnetic containment field, within which a self-sustaining fusion reaction is contained. This fusion reaction contains temperatures of over 2000 degrees centigrade, and when it explodes it bathes the area with the material, incinerating armour and flesh alike, virtually nothing survives in this area, everything is destroyed in a single cataclysmic moment of immolation. Flamer Weapon’s that spout flaming materials have been in use by mankind for longer than human memory, longer than the existence of the Imperium. The flamer’s used by the Space Marines are the same design used by the Imperial Guard, a simple reservoir containing a fuel source, in the case of the Space Marines this will be promethium, a highly flammable liquid that has the additional property of being highly adhesive, any surface that the promethium touches it will adhere to, and it also burns at a relatively high temperature, in the region of 300 degrees centigrade, hotter than any gasoline based fuel source. The fuel is pumped from the reservoir into a diffusing nozzle, this dissipates the fuel into a spray as opposed to a jet, meaning that there is wider area doused in fuel. The nozzle directs the fuel across a compact lighting mechanism, effectively a gas burner lit by a sparking mechanism, depressing this trigger normally leads to the gas being fed past the sparker, creating a small, hot fire, the fuel is then sprayed over the flame lighting the promethium, the gas is then cut off to the igniter as the promethium continues to light new fuel without the sparker. It is also possible to light the sparker independently or to spray fuel without lighting the igniter; this allows the user to soak a target in fuel before they ignite it, making this a very popular weapon for saboteurs. Force Sword/Axe/Rod Psykers are an integral part of most Space Marine Chapter’s. Rather than acting as purely psychic conduits like the sanctioned psykers of the Imperial Guard regiments the Librarians of the Adeptus Astartes are expected to be masterful warriors as well as psykers. With this in mind they have created a number of weapons psychically attuned to their bearers. Many Chapter’s include the creation of a force weapon as part of a Librarian’s training, sometimes it is the final part of the process. Every force weapon is a unique item, and can take any form, it is not even necessary for the form to be that of a weapon, although it is preferred to use sword’s, axe’s or quarterstaff’s. Most weapons are constructed from metal, often adamantium, although other materials are used, with many chapter’s having a preferred material. The weapon is constructed first, whilst the initiate conducts rituals of binding and power, intended to amplify the Librarian’s power. Force weapon’s channel the psyker’s power amplifying their will and focussing it upon the runes of power carved and bound onto the blade. When a foe is struck with a force weapon is focuses all of their malice, rage and contempt upon the target. A strong willed foe may survive this attack upon their psyche, but most creatures will die in seconds, their entire consciousness torn from them in a single moment of psychic agony. Frag Grenade Space Marine assault troops make regular use of frag grenades to break up enemy formations and to force their foes from cover just before an assault. The grenades used by the Space Marines are purposefully designed to create a large blast whilst still not being powerful enough to actually damage a fully armoured Marine. The fuse of the grenade is triggered by a simple switch or button built into the grenade casing, this triggers a proximity fuse designed to explode a half metre above the ground. The fuse triggers a light-weight low-explosive charge within the centre of the grenade. Wrapped around the grenade’s charge is normally a combination of both ceramic and thin metal casings. The casing is designed to shatter when the charge explodes spreading ceramic shards and metal fragments around the area, causing minor injuries to unarmoured targets, but causing everyone to keep their head’s down. Heavy Bolter The largest of the Marine-portable bolt weapons the heavy bolter is one of the Astartes’ primary anti-personnel weapons. It firing mechanism is very similar to that used by the smaller bolt weapons, the rounds are caseless and self contained with an integral firing charge and a miniature rocket motor. The firing mechanism is an electrical impulse into the firing charge designed to launch the bolt out of the muzzle so that it is safe for the rocket motor to ignite. The rounds are much larger than the rounds in the Bolter; 80mm in diameter, 4 times the size of a standard bolter round. This additional size is used to fit in a much larger rocket motor, giving the bolt a much longer range than a bolter round, essential for long range suppression of an infantry heavy enemy. The rounds are still designed to explode when the pressure around the fuse increases in the body of the target. The size of the warhead available within a heavy bolter round is large enough to blow the body of most man-sized targets apart. The increase in size of Heavy Bolter is largely intended to increase the rate of fire of the weapon, in fact the rate of fire of a Heavy Bolter is 5 rounds per second, astonishingly high for such a heavy round, a Heavy Bolter on full-automatic can literally tear a target squad to pieces. Heavy Flamer The heavy flamer was developed as a heavy weapon for Marine veterans wearing Tactical Dreadnought armour. They knew that they needed a weapon capable of killing large number of infantry in a short period of time, and they were not afraid to close the range due to the thickness of their armour. This made the weapon a logical development for them, its large area of effect and high strength allowing it to kill large numbers of infantry in a single short-range blast. Most of the additional killing power of a heavy flamer is created by the weapon’s increased fuel expenditure, causing the flames from the weapon to burn hotter, for a more prolonged period of time. For many of the Astartes chapters the heavy flamer is considered the principle anti-infantry weapon, and the Codex Astartes recommends that heavy flamers should be utilised in large numbers when facing numerous foes, especially when fighting in enclosed areas, such as jungle and urban areas, although many Chapters utilise the heavy flamer as the preferred weapon for destroying the heretical and the xeno. Krak Grenade An acceptable anti-armour grenade the krak grenade is favoured by the Astartes due to its reliability and portability. They tend to be the approximate size of a large coin, fashioned into a disk in order to make it easier to trap the weapon in any nooks and gaps in the target’s armour. The grenades consist of a small directional explosive charge, similar to the shaped charge in krak missiles. This explosive is designed to focus all of the explosive energy of the charge into a pinpoint area. The aim of the user is to place the grenade over a weak point, or an area where even a small amount of damage can be devastating, notably fuel tanks, or over the magazines, or spare ammunition if these can be found. When the grenade is placed the trigger on the grenades housing is activated, starting the short fuse until the grenade activates. In order to keep the actual size of the grenade to a minimum there is no emplacing or fixing device included in a krak grenade, and it is not know for a grenade to slip off the target, or for Astartes to be particularly inventive when emplacing these grenades, even using the bodies of fallen foes to wedge a grenade in place! This small weakness is considered more than offset by the larger number of these grenades that a single marine can carry. Lascannon The lascannon is one of the primary anti-armour weapons used by the Adeptus Astartes. Laser weapons are created by agitating a gaseous source, in the case of most Imperial weapons the gas used is Argon, creating a slightly cruder and more energy-intensive laser beam than the weapons used by many of the xeno races. The energy source is energised by the power source of the weapon, agitating the gas. Once a certain level of agitation has been reached the gas releases the excess energy as a photonic burst. This light energy is focussed using a series of crystals and lenses as it leaves the breech and passes down the barrel. The power of the weapon is restricted by the amount of energy that can be absorbed by the gas and the larger breech in a lascannon allows a more powerful laser blast, along with the focussing power of the crystals means that the power of the lascannon’s shot is focussed onto a target area only three centimetres in diameter, allowing a lascannon to cut through virtually any armour known to exist, including adamantium to a limited extent and even the armour of a Necron Monolith or an Imperial Battle-Titan. The advanced power source used in a portable lascannon is capable of producing two shots, and after this it has to be replaced, and charged in a dedicated charger. Devastator Marines equipped with lascannon’s carry a backpack containing a limited charger, capable of maintaining three spare power packs at maximum charge for an effectively unlimited period of time, or of recharging the four power packs up to a maximum of three times each during a single battle. Lightning Claws A preferred assault weapon for many assault terminators and heroes of the Adeptus Astartes the Lightning Claws are designed to be used as a matched pair in an assault. The distinctive fighting style associated with the weapons is highly feared by most enemies of the Space Marines as the blades are used in conjunction with each other, one blade parrying or blocking whilst the other is used to attack, cutting under an enemies guard. The weapons are created using the gauntlets from a suit of armour. A power source is built into the vambraces of the gloves. Foot-long monomolecular blades are then added to the gloves, normally bonded to the back of the hand, from the wrist to the knuckles, although there have been examples created where the blades are bonded to the actual fingers of the glove, allowing each blade to manipulated individually. These blades are equipped to the power source in the vambraces, allowing a power field to be generated around them, this field disrupts the integrity of any solid material that it comes into contact with, allowing the blades to cut through the object with minimal resistance, although the field is of limited benefit against the strongest metals as the field is only capable of penetrating a tiny amount into the armour, and they do nothing to increase the admittedly formidable strength of the Space Marine wielding the weapon. Melta Gun A common weapon, in use by many of the races of the 41st millennium, the melta gun works on a theory of sub-atomic microwave agitation in order to destroy a target. The weapon generates a beam of microwaves along a narrow wavelength, thus decreasing the risk of interference from external influences. The beam imparts energy into a target by causing the atomic structure of the target to increase exponentially until the molecules begin to lose their coherence. The weapon uses the target’s own mass against it meaning that it can break down even the strongest armour with apparent ease. The largest draw-back to the weapon is the rapid dissipation of the beams energy in atmosphere, as the beam heats the air’s molecule during its passage. This does mean that the weapon’s already prodigious armour penetrating abilities are enhanced to the extent at close-range where the weapon is one of the most effective tank destroyers in the Astartes arsenal. Melta Bomb The ultimate saboteurs weapon the melta bomb is a variant of grenade that it is impossible to throw. Although given the designation of a grenade the weapon is actually much larger, the combination of its attachment device and the bulky generator required for the weapon make a melta bomb the size of a brief case. The bomb has a magnetic fixture plate on one face, and this also acts as a trigger mechanism for the weapon. The act of the magnetic face adhering to a target applies enough pressure to the plate to activate the bomb. When the bomb is activated this causes a small single-use microwave generator to activate, with the emitter panel facing into the fixture plate. This focuses the full power of a melta gun onto a target a mere inch from the emitter, cutting through any armour with apparent ease. Alternative forms of attachment have been developed to combat xeno races that use materials other than magnetic metals to construct their vehicles; the main technique uses pneumatic suction cups to attach them to the target vehicle. The melta bomb is a favoured weapon of Assault Marine Squads, especially when facing rogue Imperial Guard foes and the Traitor Marine Legions. Missile Launcher Space Marine missile launchers are designed to be simple to maintain and hardy pieces of equipment. They are expected to be able to survive the rigours the battlefield as well as the Astartes who bear them! To this extent the missile launchers are designed in a highly simplistic manner, little more than a tube for firing the actual missile out of. However, they are still missiles that are in use and not rockets so the weapon does have some small extent of guidance. Generally the weapon is loaded with a single missile, this is connected by a contact strip within the weapons firing mechanism that allows the user to designate a target using the weapon’s built in targeting array, little more than an optical tracker with a basic range-finder although this data does allow the launchers basic computer to evaluate the best burn rate for the missile’s fuel and the trajectory for attack. Once this data has been evaluated the weapon will give the firer some indication, this varies according to the world of construction or even between different companies within the same chapter, with marine’s regularly performing some level of customisation on their personal weapon. The most common forms of target lock indication are either a varying tone played by the marine’s earpiece or a colour changing target indication in the reticule. Once this lock has been achieved the data is automatically downloaded to the missile and then updated as the data changes until the trigger is depressed, causing the missiles onboard rocket motor to fire, launching the missile. The missile launcher remains a favoured weapon of the Astartes due to its versatility. The weapon is designed to be fitted with two classes of missile, the armour penetrating krak missile, or the anti-infantry frag missile. Krak missiles used a shaped charge, high explosive anti tank (HEAT) warhead in order to penetrate armour. The round uses a shaped explosive charge to forge an explosive jet; this burns through exceedingly thick armour with little difficulty, cutting all but the heaviest vehicles down in a single hit, and annihilating most man-sized targets. Fragmentation, or frag, warheads are used to break up large formations of weakly armoured infantry. They consist of a relatively small explosive charge, which is surrounded by multiple layers of thin metal sheeting. This sheeting is scored so that it will shatter upon the triggering of the charge, filling the surrounding area with red-hot shards of metal, which cut any un-armoured targets in the area of effect to ribbons in a welter of blood and bone fragments. Multi-Melta A larger version of the meltagun, the multi-melta utilises the same technology on a much larger scale to gain greater range and destructive potential. The weapon uses sub-atomic agitation in order to generate a beam of high-powered microwaves. However, the higher power levels possible with the improved weapon mean that the containment field used to control the weapon’s beam is capable of being widened slightly, allowing the weapon to affect a slightly larger area. The extended beam duration allows a further effect; the containment field is oscillated around the target area allowing a much larger area to be washed with the beam. Causing a huge amount of destruction across the area as the beam is moved across the target area, making the weapon especially dangerous against vehicles as weak-points in the armour that would otherwise have been missed are targeted and destroyed. In a similar manner to all melta weapons the multi-melta is even more dangerous at short ranges, although, as you would expect, what is considered short range with a weapon of this magnitude is much longer than almost any other melta weapon. Plasma Cannon An ancient and venerable weapon used by the Space Marines since the days of the Emperor’s Crusade, almost considered as a holy weapon by some of the oldest Chapter’s especially the original Legion’s. The heavy plasma gun is an immensely powerful weapon, capable of unleashing the power of the sun directly into the heart of enemy formations. Operating on a similar principle to the smaller plasma weapons in use in the 41st millennium there have been no changes to the design since the weapon was first re-discovered by the Adeptus Mechanicus during the Emperor’s crusade to recover the Galaxy in the name of Mankind. The ammunition bottle of the heavy plasma gun contains pure hydrogen, in a compressed, purified form. When the weapon is triggered this feeds a small number of hydrogen atoms into the firing chamber within the gun’s breech. The chamber is created from adamantium, a theoretically indestructible metal yet there is still a requirement for a magnetic containment field to be generated within the breech to prevent the weapon from self-immolating. Within the chamber four miniaturised lasers agitate the hydrogen and cause it to develop into a plasma state, a highly charged form of matter. Once enough power has been poured into the chamber by the laser’s a pinhole is generated in the magnetic containment field, funnelling the plasma into the barrel as it expands rapidly. A short magnetic containment field is generated outside the barrel, creating an extended barrel, that imparts direction upon the plasma, although it is considered too energy intensive to generate the field all the way to the target, this causes the plasma to expand into a small sun by the time it reaches the target, engulfing the unfortunate object in boiling plasma. In a similar manner to all plasma weapons of the Imperium the lack of technological understanding practised by the Adeptus Mechanicus has led to weaknesses within the weapon’s containment system. During periods of intense the use it is not uncommon for the coolant to the magnetic containment field have been known to fail catastrophically, causing the plasma to wash around the weapon and the bearer, engulfing them in the destruction intended for the target. Plasma Gun A weapon which brings mixed blessings, the additional firepower provided to a squad by the plasma gun is considered highly desirable by most sergeants, however, the risk of having the weapon explode at an inopportune moment is much less popular. The plasma gun works on a similar method to the plasma cannon, just much smaller. A single hydrogen atom is injected into the breech of the weapon, where it is targeted by four separate, miniature lasers. These lasers heat the atom up, until it loses its cohesion as a gaseous particle and reaches the energetic state known as plasma. At this point the plasma begins to expand rapidly, and the complex coolant systems built into the weapon are severely taxed in their efforts to contain the powerful reaction taking place in the chamber. In order to allow the plasma to vent from the weapon the magnetic containment field within the weapon is breeched with a new, tubular containment field being generated down the length of the barrel, although the technology does not exist in the Imperium to allow a secondary containment field to be generated outside the barrel, so the weapon has to generate a higher level of power to possess the range demonstrated by the Plasma weapons of more technologically advanced races, although this does have the advantage that the weapon is slightly stronger than these other weapons. This strength and the reason for it, the cruder technology is also the plasma gun’s greatest weakness, at times it is not unknown for the weapon’s coolant system to fail during plasma initiation. Causing superheated gas to flood out of the breech destroying the weapon, and covering the marine. It is not unknown for this effect to kill even an Astartes as their Power armour’s protective systems are overwhelmed by the destruction intended for the enemy. Plasma Pistol The smallest plasma weapon capable of being maintained by the Imperium, in fact very few plasma pistols are still in use, those that are tend to be refurbished pistols from ones that have suffered a containment failure. Much of the Imperium’s ability to construct such small Plasma weapons has been lost over the Millennia, and these days only a very few of the oldest chapter’s are still able to construct new weapons, most have to rely upon the Forge Worlds to construct such weapons. The weapon is operated in a similar manner to the larger plasma weapons using micro lasers to superheat a hydrogen atom, and then using magnetic containment to control the resultant plasma and focus it onto the target. The shorter barrel, hence shorter magnetic containment field does reduce the effective range of the weapon significantly, although it is an immensely powerful weapon at short ranges. It does also share the same weaknesses as the larger weapons, where its containment field can fail catastrophically during periods of intense use, possibly destroying the weapon, definitely rendering it useless without significant refurbishment. Shotgun Some scout squads of the Astartes use the Combat Shotgun as an assault alternative to the bolter or bolt pistol, although a much weaker weapon with a shorter range the weapon does have the advantage that it can be fired rapidly and accurately “from the hip” whilst closing with an opponent for an assault. Shotguns have existed within the armoury of humanity for millennia, and they had existed for millennia when the Emperor walked the surface of Terra uniting the tribes of Man. The actual design for shotguns has not altered greatly in all of this time, the most popular style being the pump-action or automatic shotgun. In this style of weapon the ammunition is held normally underneath the barrel, in the magazine, the rounds are fed into the weapon by inserting each round individually via the ejection slot, where the empty cartridges are expelled from. These rounds are held in the magazine until the action of the pump brings the round back and up into the breech. The standard combat shotgun used by the Astartes scouts can hold up to eight rounds in the magazine, and another round in the breech, and each round can be replaced individually, allowing this to be maintained. If the weapon is placed in automatic mode the weapon uses the expelled gases from the firing of a round to force the pump action, pushing another round into place, this can allow a semi-automatic firing rate of almost five rounds per second, in manual pump-action it is necessary for each round to be pumped into the breech individually, by hand operation the pump. For most battles the weapons are loaded with a solid shell, inside a plastic casing, this casing includes the firing charge and a percussion cap. When the round is fired the firing pin penetrates the cap, causing the firing charge to ignite, and launches the shell. Numerous secondary shell types can be used for specialised missions, the most common being a scattering buckshot round and a high explosive breaching round used for breaking down secured doorways. Storm Bolter A further adaptation of the Marines archetypal weapon the storm bolter began its life as being little more than two bolters fixed together, operated by a single trigger. The weapon was developed to give marines wearing the new Tactical Dreadnought armour an enhanced level of firepower, essential in the close quarter battles that they were intended to be fighting where the carefully co-ordinated firepower of entire squads of Astartes would not be possible. For all of these differences though, a Storm Bolter is still a bolter in most respects, it uses the same 20mm high-explosive rounds, it can even use the same magazines, with the weapons being specially designed to accept either the specially designed double magazines and 50 bolt capacity drum magazines for the Storm bolter, or two individual magazines from standard bolters, even accepting magazines of different designs, although this practise is discouraged, as it is inadvisable in a weapon with the firing rate of a Storm Bolter to have magazines running out of ammunition at different times. The co-joined aspect of the Storm Bolter means that the weapon fires each muzzle a fraction of second separately, maintaining a rate of fire of 4 rounds per second, this means that a squad of terminators with Storm Bolters can unleash a veritable hail of fire against their foe, as superior to a “normal” Astartes as an Astartes is to a man. Sniper Rifle Space marine scouts are regularly sent on assassination missions as well as reconnaissance. It is for these missions that the sniper rifle comes into its element. Built to exacting tolerances, and requiring years of training to be used, these weapons are the perfect indication of how long the reach of the Imperium is to destroy its enemies. The weapons use a two part firing mechanism in order to attack their enemies. The first part is a very low powered laser, this is generated for two reasons, the first is that it acts as an active target indication device, the scope on the weapon is able to view the laser, even though it cannot be seen by the naked eye. The scope on the weapon is normally capable of up to a 15 times level of magnification, normally in a battle this is kept in the vicinity of 10 times magnification, with the higher scales only being used when it is necessary to hit a specific part of a target. The laser is calibrated precisely so that it indicates where the round will fall upon the target. The windage is assessed by the weapon, and then a correction is input into the lie of the laser, so that it judges the windage and the range and alters the lie of the shot accordingly, all the Scout has to do is lay up the laser so that it contacts the target. The second task performed by the laser is that it allows armour penetration. When the trigger is depressed the laser undergoes a micro second pulse, allowing it to leave a small hole in the targets armour, although, the effectiveness of this method is often limited against thicker classes of armour. The round itself is a crystalline toxin, formed into a small dart, or needle. These are kept in a refrigerated compartment with the weapons stock, and have to be loaded individually within a minute of taking the shot so as to avoid any possibility of the toxin becoming less effective. The toxin used depends upon the foe. Specially tailored toxins have been created for virtually every xeno race encountered by the Imperium, and there are even rounds made from a blessed metal, or made of crystalline liquids that have been consecrated by the Ecclesiarchy designed for combating daemonic targets. This needle is fired down the same trajectory as the laser, ideally penetrating through any hole produced by the laser’s pulse, allowing the toxin to enter the target’s blood stream, allowing it to attack the target directly. Thunder Hammer A mighty close combat weapon, designed primarily for troops wearing tactical dreadnought armour, although some lighter versions do exist these are used solely by great heroes of the Imperium. Thunder hammers were designed for battling aboard space hulks, where it may be necessary to force a route where there wouldn’t otherwise be one, so the weapon is designed to be capable of releasing a vast amount of energy in a single blow. Thunder hammers are designed to look like a normal hammer, although somewhat larger, some may be the size of a normal man. Within the head of the hammer is a compact power generator, with most of the head of the hammer performing the task of being an immense capacitor. The generator constantly bleeds power into the capacitor, which stores the energy. When the face of the hammer is hit into a target with sufficient force then this causes the capacitor to release the charge in a single cataclysmic blow! This weapon may increase the apparent strength of the bearer, but far more significant is the additional effects that it produces. Being hit by the equivalent of the entire sonic output of a thunderbolt in a single blow will stagger even the greatest of creature for a time, leaving them insensible, and easy prey for any follow up attacks. The effect that the weapon has upon a tank is awe inspiring, as the sound from the blow echoes within the armoured hull, deafening crew members and any passengers alike. The thunder hammer is crafted from some of the strongest alloys known to the Adeptus Mechanicus, in order to allow it to survive the treatment that it undergoes, as the capacitor releases its charge repeatedly during the course of a battle. Typhoon Missile System The typhoon missile system is an upgraded weapon system designed to allow rapid deployment forces of bikes and Land Speeders to possess an amount of mutual fire support. The system itself is little more than an integrated missile launcher similar to the system fitted to Dreadnoughts and cyclone missile launchers. However, in order to keep the mass penalties of such a weapon system to a minimum the missiles themselves were altered slightly so that they are a slightly more powerful version of the frag missile, with a larger warhead. These are controlled by the gunner of the Land Speeder, who designates a target using the basic targeting system of the Land Speeder. Once a target has been determined the data is transferred to a pair of missiles, one in either sponson. When the missiles are actually triggered it raises one of the greatest design problems encountered by the Tech Marines during the weapon’s development. The timing of the firing has to be precise, otherwise it disrupts the balance of the vehicle and its drive. The missiles have to fire at the same moment in order to minimise the effects. Then the missiles are designed to explode on contact with a target, as a more advanced form of fuse was considered too mass intensive to be practical for a light unit. Whirlwind Rocket Launcher The heaviest class of Rocket used by the Adeptus Astartes is the Whirlwind Rocket. These are fitted into the launchers attached to a Rhino APC hull. The standard rockets are given the codename Vengeance, and are designed to break up large formations of troops, whilst the vehicle remains safely concealed. The Whirlwind MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) is designed to provide assault-range support to Astartes troops. The concept is that the surgical strike performed by the Astartes requires a closer level of support than that provided by the Imperial Guard mobile artillery units, and one that can react more rapidly. Because there is no requirement for the MLRS to be laid in prior to launching due to its highly versatile turret mount the weapon can react with seconds of receiving a fire-support request. The guidance system and logic engine that drives the targeting computer are both at the cutting edge of Imperial computer technology, with a constant uplink maintained to a dedicated fire-support radio frequency this means that the possibility of a fire-support request being missed is virtually non-existent. Vengeance rockets are a basic high explosive fragmentation warhead, designed to explode between 2 and 10 metres above the surface, allowing a much wider spread of the shrapnel from the warhead. A number of different rocket classes have been designed and approved for use on the Whirlwind MLRS, including two classes of anti-aircraft missiles, the Hyperios and the Hunter, although these are so rare they will not be discussed in this article. The second common variant of rocket is the Castellan class of rocket, which is designed for battlefield denial rather than attack. The castellan rocket is actually a complex form of submunition, where the rocket approaches the required target area, and then the outer shell fragments, scattering the payload of mines across a wide area. In this manner the Adeptus Astartes can deny large areas of the battlefield, and create fire lanes rapidly, altering the layout of the battlefield to fit their own battle plan, and thwart that of the opponent. |
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3:35 PM Jul 11