Approved Tech M44/Mg Thermite Rifle

[Amelia von Sorenn]

Image Source: Here​

Intent:

• The creation of a ranged weapon produced to provide the Templar Order's members the means to fight against Force Users.

Development Thread: If Necessary

Manufacturer:

• Templar Order Armorers​

Model:

• M44/Mg Thermite Rifle

Affiliation:

• The Templar Order

Modularity:

• No

Production:

• Limited
  ​The Templar Order

Material:

• Durasteel
• Boa-Wood
• Slugthrower Components

Classification: Slugthrower

• Size: Personnel Heavy
  Length: 1,280mm
• Weight: 13kg

Ammunition Type:

• Frangible Thermite Rounds
• Magnesium Flare
  50 Round detachable pan magazine
• 5 Round flare canister

Effective Range:

• Effective firing range: 500m
• Maximum firing range: 1,000m
  ​Flare Launcher Effective Firing Range: 500m
• Maximum firing range: 800m

Rate of Fire:

• 10 Round Burst Fire
  ​1 Flare shot per 10 Round Burst Fire

Special Features:

• Iron Sights
• Gas Operated Action
• Collapsible Bi-pod
• Padded shoulder butt
• Detachable Weapon Sling

Description:

Force Users, one of the most dangerous individuals that you could come face to face with, and for many that are not capable of meeting them toe to toe in such a battle, there is little for them to do beyond flee or find another Force User that is preferably on their side. This though is no longer the case as the Templar Order rises to defend a galaxy plagued by such individuals. Yet how can mere people stand against what many believe are 'gods'?

Thus we introduce the M44/Mg Thermite Rifle; A weapon of war to be utilized in the unending conflict that Force Users are waging across the galaxy. The weapon is designed in a way to take the enemy by surprise, and can easily be utilized against ground forces as well other than just Force Users. Its detachable pan magazine holds fifty rounds of frangible thermite rounds.

When these rounds strike an object in the environment it bursts into a fine powder, creating a homogeneous cloud. A high temperature flare (often composed of magnesium) is then fired into this cloud, producing a reaction that turns the cloud into a burning mass. The weapon is designed in a way as such that will only allow it to fire in ten round bursts to ensure that the weapon and barrel does not over heat thus preventing the rounds from going off in the barrel and destroying the weapon.

While there are many strengths in the weapon's capability when it comes to its combat effectiveness, there are just as equally many flaws. Due to the pan magazines location, a carefully placed shot from a Blaster can cause the rounds to go off prematurely, turning the pan magazine into a cutting device that melts through the metal and destroys the weapon. Likewise, the weapon itself requires constant maintenance to ensure that it is always in proper working order. Lack of maintenance is just as dangerous and can cause the weapon to jam, over heat, or even explode. Even with these dangers however, the Templar Order still sees it as a viable weapon for their continued fight against Force Users.


Primary Source:

• ​Not Applicable

 

[Rusty]

RESEARCH REVIEW

Star Wars Canon:
Pending initial review

Starwars Chaos:
Pending initial review

WITHOUT DEV THREADS
Pending initial review

WITH DEV THREADS
Pending Initial review

SUGGESTIONS
Pending Inital review

 

[Rusty]

Hi, I'm Rusty. I'll be your friendly neighborhood Codex Factory Judge for this submission.

Functionally, the M44 seems to be the love child of a Browning M1917 and a Lewis Gun. Heavy cast body, pan fed magazine, cooling shroud, the works. Can't say that I'd want to try to fire the thing standing, as those shrouds get stupid hot. As in, strip the skin off your hands hot. As such, I really, really would not recommend firing it from anything but the prone supported. That's just a friendly recommendation.

There are a few issues that need to be addressed.

Effective Range:
Effective firing range: 800m
Maximum firing range: 3,200m

800 meters would be about right for a normal .30 caliber machine gun. Ordinarily that wouldn't be a problem, but that pan magazine throws a wrench in the works. Every time you reload, you're going to lose zero on the rear sight. Combine that with the high sight line, and you're probably looking at closer to 500 meters on a point target.

And while we're at it, mind listing a range for the flare launcher?

Rate of Fire:
Semi-automatic ​
10 Round Burst Fire

I'm kinda confused here. Does it fire in semiautomatic AND ten round bursts, or does it fire semi with a 10 round limit? If it's the first, that's fine. Ten round bursts are a little more than the average machine gunner would like, but there's no mechanical reason why that couldn't work. If, however, you're saying it's semi and it'll only fire ten rounds at a time, that's another issue altogether.

Semiautomatic means that you get one bullet per trigger pull. Burst fire means that you get X number of rounds per trigger pull. Long story short, there's no reason to limit the number of rounds a semiautomatic weapon can rip out in one go. It's pretty hard to make a barrel overheat like that. Doable sure, but difficult. Your trigger finger will give out before a heavy barrel willl. Anyway, as I read it you're firing in ten round bursts, five to a magazine, and one flare per burst to light the thing, but I'd appreciate it if you could clarify.

All of this stuff is relatively minor. Iron out the kinks and you'll have a slightly impractical but perfectly functional light machine gun. The real issue is the ammunition.

When these pellets burst into the environment they produce a cloud of shimmering, glittery metal paper. A high temperature flare (often composed of magnesium) is then fired into this cloud, producing a chemical reaction that turns the cloud into a burning mass of melting metal. The weapon is designed with a semi-automatic firing system, permitting only a ten round burst to ensure that the weapon and barrel does not over heat and preventing the rounds from going off in the barrel and destroying the weapon.

Simply put, that's not how thermite works.

You've got the components right. Thermite is indeed a mixture of aluminum powder and iron oxide powder. The problem is, you can't just atomize it into the atmosphere and get the reaction you want. Finely powdered aluminum, when dispersed into the atmosphere and ignited, will get you one hell of a fireball. We're talking intensely bright, blinding fireball. Will cause flash blindness and probably burns, but it won't produce a blob of molten metal. And since machine gun rounds are fairly small, you're just not going to get enough aluminum dispersed to produce a meaningful flash.

To make thermite effective, the ingredients have to be fairly tightly packed. Disperse it too much and you get nothing. Even if everything goes right, it can still take several seconds for the mixture to get hot enough to produce a noticeable result. The result is a blob of molten iron that can burn through a great many things, but takes time to do so. I've been known to be wrong before, but I don't think there are many Force users who will stand still long enough for all that to happen.

It looks to me like the goal here is to set the Force User on fire. I can see the appeal to that, but I just don't see this particular ammunition working in the manner you describe. What you've basically got is a functional machine gun, a superfluous flare launcher, and ammo that won't work. That's not to say we can't figure something out. There are a number of different sorts of incendiary rounds out there, IRL and canon. If you find something that fits your fancy, we'll take it from there.

Lemme know when you've got the requested edits done, and if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to post here or shoot me a PM. Thanks much!

[member="Amelia Sorenn"]
[member="Bianca"]

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

The range has been edited and now includes the range for the flare launcher. Likewise the 10 round burst has been clarified as requested (though with the next bit of information, I see it likely that they may require changing once more). ​

​

The weapon I am working off of is the Thermite Rifle from The Order 1886. What I came across however was that there was no definitive across the board explanation as to how the ammunition worked, and I chose the most commonly used one among the variations that I found. However, the following video will show just exactly what I am attempting to achieve in terms of capability of the weapon. ​

​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_hYY9cB_qQ​

​

[member="Rusty"]​

 

[Rusty]

Right, that's about what I was thinking.

If I might make a suggestion:

The Star Wars version of thermite is a different animal altogether. If you use that stuff to make frangible rounds, you won't have to worry about the finicky iron/aluminum stuff. When it hits something solid, it'll explode into powder. Since it's (as near as I can tell) homogeneous, the entire cloud is usable, rather than just the aluminum particulate, which doesn't make up enough of the volume of traditional thermite to get you the reaction you want. As an added bonus, when it hits a lightsaber blade, it'll make for a pretty light show. Oh, and the name will still fit.

[member="Amelia Sorenn"]

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

I've edited it so that under ammunition, it states that it utilizes 'Frangible Thermite Rounds' with a link to the Wookieepedia Thermite article. ​

​

The Description has also been edited to include the frangible thermite rounds and how they are used. ​

​

[member="Rusty"]​

 

[Rusty]

Alright, everything looks good to go. Thanks for responding to everything so quickly.

Pending secondary.
[member="Bianca"]

 

[Ellie Mors]

<p>Awesome. Pending Admin Approval. Thanks! [member="Spencer Jacobs"]</p>

 

[Allyson Locke]

Approved.