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Re: sniper weapons for SGII

From: Tony Wilkinson <twilko@o...>
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 1998 01:00:36 +0100
Subject: Re: sniper weapons for SGII

At 13:45 26/06/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Some one I know who knows things! (as much as I'm saying :)
>
>Tells me that armed forces are at the planning stage for these 
>weapons. But they are actually talking tank killing !
>So does this mean Snipers taking out tanks.
>

	Sounds a bit like the return of the old anti-tank-rifle idea
which the
Germans first came up with in WWI. Used a .50 cal slug which became the
basis for that used by the Yanks in their HMG (and still is by them and
their allies). Anti-tank-rifles dropped out because to make them
effective
against tanks of '41 on they had to be very hefty and kick like 10
mules.
The Russians presisted until the end of the war when they came up with
the
RPG. German tankers were a bit shaken when they'd roll over a Russian
infantry position, supporting inf got hammered by mortars and SMG's
while
the tankers coped 14.5mm rounds in the side and rear.
	How you make an effective weapon of this sort today is a bit of
a
question. .50 cal rounds are supposed to be ok against light armour like
the M113 (this is what I'm told as I have only ever fired the damn thing
from a ship at 44 gal drums. I was all over the place.) You'd have some
trouble against things like the M2/M3 Bradleys or tanks unless you can
get
a track. To improve penetration you could go for squeeze bore but that
makes the weapon heavier (and kick more) and not so popular with grunts.
APFSDS rounds seem to me to be more the go particularly if you make the
round out of uranium. You might up the calibre to 25/30 mm, drop the
muzzle
velocity and use EFP (Explosively Forged Projectile) rounds which turn a
lump of metal into a thin pentrator and up your velocity before impact
(British Merlin rounds for 81mm work this way IIRC). Problem would then
be
getting promity sensors small and tough enough to use in the round.
Interesting problem.
	These weapons are already represented in SGII. In DSII you might
make it
an infantry weapon with 8" or 12" range and hitting as an RFAC at medium
range.

	Tony.
	twilko@ozemail.com.au

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