HK-36
The Iron Lord Protector (Neutral Good)
Image: Taken from DeviantArt, a piece called "Redemption Flamer" by artist ImashimeTheDaemon (Link here)
Intent: To begin a series of chemistry-based weaponry for Iron Company with a popular chemical weapon- the Flamethrower
Development Thread: If necessary
Manufacturer: Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers
Model: Barony of Abregado-Rae, Partially Omega Protectorate (See Production)
Modularity: Comes in wrist-mounted, handheld, backpack-mounted, or vehicle-mounted sizes. Wrist mounted Flamers utilize Graphite capsules or backpack-mounted fuel packs for ammunition, handheld Flamers utilize exchangeable canisters or backpack-mounted fuel packs, the backpack-mounted Flamers utilize only the largest fuel packs, and the vehicle-mounted Flamers are connected to on-board fuel compartments.
Production: Minor (Enough to supply the Iron Company and Militia of Abregado-Rae, any additional production would require a development thread with backing from another manufacturing company, i.e. Omega Corps buying off the design to manufacture the weapon for Protectorate forces)
Material: Durasteel with Bronzium details, Electrum ignition wire, Echani Graphite fuel packs, canisters, and capsules.
Description: Flamethrowers have been a weapon used in many Galactic cultures, including the Galactic Empire. So have they been used by the Protectorate, HK often gave them out to his Iron Company troops, however, those were always back-pack mounted generic weapons sold on the market, he decided then to make an updated version of these fearful weapons for his troops.
And so, there were four different variants of Flamethrowers made by the Gados scientists under his employment, all under the umbrella of project "Flamer". All of these weapons share the same characteristics of utilizing modern napalm mixture propelled via pressurized gasses and ignited with a super-heated Electrum wire coil. The requirement of pressurized gas has also placed a requirement of each weapon having three individual canisters attached to its systems, one with gas as propellant, and two with the napalm ammunition. While this makes it a bit of a pain in the butt to reload, especially in the variants that use Canisters and Capsules, it does increase ammunition capacity and decrease chances of the whole system being damaged in one shot. The gas is not used up to the point that the user would have to worry about replacing the compartment of it before the napalm would run out, the ammunition compartments would have to be reloaded first few times over before the gas would start to lack.
So, the four variants of the gun made were Wrist Mounted, Handheld, Backpack Mounted, and Vehicle Mounted.
The Wrist Mounted was an idea utilized before, among bounty-hunters and mercenaries, it was making a flamethrower small enough to be placed directly in the armor, letting the user utilize it at moment's notice without taking too much space in their arsenal. As such, these weapons are somewhat concealable, but at the same time they have the lowest range and ammunition capacity, all of the Flamer systems go through about a half of a liter per second of firing, this gives the Wrist Mounted Flamers only about 10 seconds of continuous fire with two ammunition capsules before the need to be reloaded. This isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but when caught in a trap or off-guard, it's enough. As such, these Wrist Mounted Flamers became popular among all soldiers of the Iron Company, those who could afford it would make them part of their arsenal as surprising, quick-to-use sidearm that did not took the precious space on their toolbelts.
The Handheld Flamers are a medium ground for personnel-issued flamethrowers, bigger than their wrist-mounted counterparts but smaller than the backpack-mounted versions. These submachine-sized weapons have 20 seconds of continuous fire with two ammunition canisters before reloading, they use screwed-in fuel and gas canisters, making them easier to reload then the wrist variants which need their capsules to be ejected and then new ones pushed in. They are a weapon for a versatile soldier, small size and lack of a back-pack canister means they can be holstered on the belt while another weapon is used, allowing the soldiers to pick up these weapons at will or swap with something more suited for the current situation.
The Backpack mounted Flamers are the heaviest personal flamethrowers made by the Guild of Hammers. Their backpacks add to the weight the soldier has to carry about, but they also come with much greater range and ammo capacity. Coming in at 40 seconds of continuous fire and range of 90 meters, it makes these weapons great at clearing out enemy fortifications and bunkers by infantry via ejecting the burning napalm into the structures. These are weapons for dedicated flamethrower infantry troops, the backpack canisters are rather difficult to reload without special training, but the fact that the soldier could just put them on, if they can find a spare one, means they can be easily replaced.
The Vehicle mounted Flamers are a counter-part of that only designed to be integrated into vehicular systems.
The flamethrowers are most effective against organic infantry, that includes both sentient and non-sentient beings alike, as well as light and medium-armored infantry. Due to the popularity of Durasteel, and its high melting point, these weapons are in a way ineffective against Droid, Heavy Armored Infantry, and vehicles. I say in a way because these weapons use napalm, and the fun with napalm is it can bounce and splatter, meaning that it can also go between crevices in armor. This can be used to defeat more armored beings if their armor is not air-sealed, so if they are not entirely covered in metal plates, like some droids, modern armor suits that allow its user to survive in the Void of Space, or many vehicles, the napalm can fly through spaces between armor plates or openings like a window or lack of neck-protector. If one is stubborn they could potentially start melting Durasteel, or more likely, start cooking their enemy in their Durasteel armor, however, this could be done only with a Backpack or Vehicle mounted flamers, not because they burn hotter, but because they can burn for longer periods of time, letting them reach that threshold where the Durasteel becomes molten and damaged due to heat.
The streams of fire the flamethrower projects travel in a concentrated path until impacting the target, at which point the flaming liquid splatters and bounces, possibly spreading the fire to other targets, as opposed to gas-operating flamethrowers which have shorter range but more spread to their cone of fire. These flamethrowers can also have the igniting wire turned off with a push of a button, firing only the napalm liquid, having chance to spread it and then ignite it with a second burst. Since their ignition system is electronically based, these flamethrowers could possibly be used in environment with low or no oxygen, however, that depends on the ammunition fuel used. Default fuel quickly burns out in the Void and drastically reduces the range.
The fuel and gas containers for this particular flamethrowers were made from Echani Graphite cylinders, making them extremely durable, even resistant to lighsabers. Now this is a great boon to Flamethrower technology as it allows for one weakness to be eliminated, combustion and exploding the fuel canisters during combat by enemy troops. While this is something very difficult to do when using slughthrowers, the advanced energy-based weaponry can achieve such reactions with precise shots, combustion of the fuel and exploding it on user's back, even when using the strong Durasteel. However, now with these new much more durable Echani Graphite containers the flamethrower infantry does not have to worry about that unless facing heavy vehicle or turbolaser fire.
However, these weapons still have weaknesses, requiring three separate canisters or three separate capsules in Wrist and Handheld variants means that they are a pain in the butt to reload, and the fact that they go through their ammunition canisters pretty quickly (Only vehicle mounted flamers are able to sustain prolonged stream of fire for longer than a minute) that it will be a pain in the butt the soldiers will have to face on the battlefield. This means that they are not often used unless one is certain that they will be facing Light, Medium, Organic, or Vulnerable to Fire enemies, and even then the bigger flamethrowers are given to more heavily armored troops who have the armor necessary to allow them and be a target while they reload them.
For they will be a target, showy weapon like that, and one which can be used as a terror tactic in psychological warfare, will mean that enemy soldiers will find the Flamer Troops easy to aim at. So, if someone carries a weapon like that into combat, they better be ready to have barrages of fire thrown at them.
Classification: Flamethrower
Size: Handheld or mounted
Status: Military
Length: Wrist Mounted- 20 centimeters, Handheld- 85 centimeters, Backpack mounted- 1 meter, Vehicle mounted- 1.20 meter
Weight: Wrist Mounted- 5 kilograms, Handheld- 15 kilograms, Backpack Mounted- 28 kilograms (Compared it to British Portable Flamethrower No 1, 29 kilograms), Vehicle mounted- 40 kilograms
Ammunition Type: Fuel canisters
Ammunition Capacity: Fuel Capsule- 2.5 liters, Fuel Canister- 5 liters, Backpack Fuel Pack- 20 liters (Compared it to British Portable Flamethrower No 1, 18 liters), Standard Vehicle Canister- 2,000 liters (Compared it to fuel capacity of Churchill Crocodile Flame Tank, 1,800 liters)
Effective Range: Wrist Mounted- 40 Meters Handheld- 60 meters Backpack Mounted- 90 Meters (Compared it to Contemporary Flamethrowers with range of 50-80 meters) Vehicle Mounted- 125 meters (Compared it to Churchill Crocodile Flame Tank with range of about 110 meters)
