Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[DolosusDoleus]

Prelude Design Phase: Artillery

Proposal: M1 Traction Howitzer "Beetle"

Wheeled vehicles, it seems, have recently gone out of style. By which I mean they all skidded off the ice and into a ditch. Shame, really. We've discovered that caterpillar treads, of the sort they used to use on tractors when arable land existed, actually do quite well on frozen ground.

After overhearing someone argue that artillery would be effectively immobile nowadays with horses all too vulnerable to the chill, the designer who'd come up with this fact grew a disconcerting grin.

The resulting prototype is a several dozen ton beast of a vehicle, with two wide sets of caterpillar treads supporting a steam engine, artillery gun, and crew cabin. The steam engine takes its fuel from a coal tender that juts behind the treads, accessible through a hatch. The power it generates is devoted mostly towards moving the treads, but must also power an air compressor that lends force to the pneumatics that elevate the gun.

The crew consists of the commander, a driver, an engine-tender, a gunner, and a loader, all of whom are protected by 20mm of armor. While it gets in the way of loading, a closed cabin is necessary to maintain acceptable temperatures within the Beetle's cabin. The gun itself is 100mm in caliber, firing conventional HE shells to a maximum distance of 6 miles. While capable of direct fire, this is not advised as the cannon is only capable of three rounds per minute, and carries no other weaponry for defense.

Difficulty: Very Hard [-2]
Result: 4+3-2 [5] = Below Average

Wheels were indeed no longer a viable means of transport, and the few horses initially brought to the colony had all succumbed to the cold. Previous experiments in the field and observations of the raiders' strange machines gave one engineer in particular the idea of replacing the wheels of a mobile firing platform with caterpillar treads, and so the M1 Traction Howitzer, or the "Beetle" as it came to be known among troops, was born.

Although powerful, the beetle itself is dreadfully slow. The sheer amount of energy required to fire the weapon renders the machine completely immobile as the pneumatic device charges. As a result, the entire vehicle must remain completely immobile for up to 20 minutes before and after the turret fires. This however is made up for by the amount of damage the turret can put out, capable of reducing an enemy position to rubble in a matter of minutes.

It is now the Revision Phase

At first it seemed as though we were going to drive the raiders back. With the help of the Beetle, our troops were able to bombard the Jarnskeggi's positions, throwing them into disarray and destroying several of their terrifying machines. But slowly, surely, the barbarians began to push into our defenses, closer and closer to Dubrovich. To make matters worse, a massive storm was brewing, with temperatures dropping to unheard-of levels. Though our top scientists predicted that the storm would pass within a week, reports from our scouts estimated that the raiders would reach Dubrovich just as the storm reached it's lowest point. It seemed as if though this was the end...

Spoiler: Preliminary Designs (click to show/hide)

Pigeon-Class Airship: A medium-size airship, capable of traversing large distances quickly given the right conditions. Due to issues regarding insulation, catastrophic hull failure can be an issue when caught in winter storms.

Icarus-Class Airship: A light airship, able to traversing large distances even when caught in ice storms. Maintains hull integrity and aerodynamic performance by manipulating frost buildup on its hull. Capable of regenerating light damage by re-growing its frost barrier.

EHR-6 Rifle: A bolt-action rifle that fires 7x64mm rounds. Has improved range and stopping power thanks to a small electromagnet coiled around the barrel. This functionality can only be activated for a few minutes before needing to recharge the battery.

Teslarator: A device constructed near coal mines that produce power from coal gas byproducts. Supplements a colony's central steam core with additional power and heat.

M1 Traction Howitzer "Beetle": A several-ton tank with treads to better allow travel over the frozen wastes, requires a small crew to operate. Capable of firing 100mm shells up to a distance of 6 miles, but must remain completely immobile for 20 minutes before and after each period of sustained fire.

Spoiler: Cities (click to show/hide)

Total Resources: [/b] 2 Coal, 2 Wood, 2 Metal

Dubrovich: 7 Coal, 2 Wood, 2 Metal (3/3)
Whitemere: (0/3)
Hartton: (0/3)
Storm's Eye: (0/3)
Ilburgh: (0/3)

[TricMagic]

Spoiler: Maybe Relevant Posts (click to show/hide)

Wheeled vehicles, it seems, have recently gone out of style. By which I mean they all skidded off the ice and into a ditch. Shame, really. We've discovered that caterpillar treads, of the sort they used to use on tractors when arable land existed, actually do quite well on frozen ground.

After overhearing someone argue that artillery would be effectively immobile nowadays with horses all too vulnerable to the chill, the designer who'd come up with this fact grew a disconcerting grin.

The resulting prototype is a several dozen ton beast of a vehicle, with two wide sets of caterpillar treads supporting a steam engine, artillery gun, and crew cabin. The steam engine takes its fuel from a coal tender that juts behind the treads, accessible through a hatch. The power it generates is devoted mostly towards moving the treads, but must also power an air compressor that lends force to the pneumatic device that elevates and aims the gun. Though in most cases, this aiming is rather quick due to the tried and true tactic of massed fire.

The crew consists of the commander, a driver, an engine-tender, a gunner, and a loader, all of whom are protected by 20mm of armor. While it gets in the way of loading, a closed cabin is necessary to maintain acceptable temperatures within the Beetle's cabin. The gun itself is 100mm in caliber, firing conventional HE shells to a maximum distance of 6 miles. While capable of direct fire, this is not advised as the cannon is only capable of three rounds per minute, and carries no other weaponry for defense.

Rail Cannon

The Rail Cannon is a device some 100 mm in diameter, loading steel/titanium alloy poles. The Barrel is made up of conductive materials, and wrapped around this are coils. This in turn is mounted on a truck-bed, and can be angled to control the fire angle.

When loaded, these iron poles are launched via a rail, being accelerated by the coils. This makes the poles move a tremendous speed. crashing through anything in it's flight path, before finally expending it's energy in crushing force. It has a 10 to 60 degree firing angle, with upwards of 300 miles range at the full angle. However, to achieve that regularizes a higher charge, and 45 degree angles are sufficient for up to 200 miles. And at lower angles, it's range drops to 50-140 miles. However, if fired into a forest with it's pointed pole, it will pierce through near everything in that range.

It's effectively a very power kinetic weapon. Nothing truly fancy, just electricity and sheer force. A Rail Cannon can be delivered by it's attached truck to it's location, so while it does not have the best mobility due to it's size and the need of clear paths, it's range allows bombardment of areas held by an enemy. Or attackers, if placed defensively.

A good portion of the parts are insulated with wood to prevent discharge into the cabin, acting as the base supports for when it is in it's lowest position, the angle it is transported in.


It requires quite a few people and equipment to reload it, so one shot a minute is likely the best/worst case.

The Beetle's 'Horn'

One of the things is the fact that despite talks to the contrary, a immobile arterilly would be quite useful.

Enter, the Horn, an emplacement that can be placed on the city walls and powered far more directly. Rather than having to power treads, the steam engine will entirely power the gun of a beetle. Along with the pneumanics for aiming. The fact that this also keeps Horn duty warm and being around the nice and warm city is a bonus.

This is mostly taking a Beetle's Horn and placing it in a fixed position, allowing for 1 shot per minute fire and devastating damage to any who would approach our walls. Like these idiots. It's power and mostly having direct connection will serve it well in destroying an approaching enemy through massed artillery fire.

Of lesser note is the Horns can also be set up outside with their own steam engine, but their rate of fire slows down quite a bit due to not being connected to the city's supply lines. In most cases, the Beetles would usually outperform them unless we have plenty of time to set them up before hand, so the Horn takes it's place as a purely defensive emplacement most times.

The Beetle's 'Horn': (1) TricMagic

[Aseaheru]

While heavy artillery is all well and good, close defense requires options other than one shot per minute on target. Enter the EHAR-6 Auto-Rifle, a modified form of the EHR-6 redesigned to be operated by gas pressure by dint of some rather extensive additions bolted on(such as a gas piston and a cover for where the bolt travels). Select fire, the operator can use single shots or bursts of automatic fire to make enemy units cower in fear, while a new enlarged detachable magazine allows for greater volumes of fire still. Noting that the onboard power supply is unlikely to be effective, an external port is provided.

 Storms would mean lower visibility, so artillery would have problems. Plus, between the Howell, the Charlton, Rieder, and a few dozen more, its more than possible to do this.

The Beetle's Horn : (1) TricMagic
EHAR-6 Auto-Rifle : (1) AseaHeru

[TricMagic]

The issue is the cold, and having to get close. Did I mention the cold that apparently shut down the Beetles?

That and this being prelim turns, having siege defense would help on all our cities. That is something that would never change, no matter how cold it gets. These things stay at the nice and warm city.

[Doubloon-Seven]

Ideas, I guess.

The Jarnskeggi draw nearer, and the designers' efforts have only slowed their advance. To try and defend the city conventionally, weak as we are, is beyond our grasp. Instead, the city that would otherwise become the Jarnskeggi's triumph shall become their snare. Evacuation of the lower quarters is already beginning, ensuring the safety of our people while the army becomes like a shadow in the darkened streets.

To equip them, and to give them an advantage in the frenzied atmosphere of close-quarters urban combat, we have designed the EHR-6 Quickfire Device. Functionally, it's the bolt of a carbine and the magazine of a pistol, just without the rest of the gun. Field disassembly of the EHR-6 allows a soldier to remove the original bolt and then slot in the QF device without much fuss. The limited nature of semi-automatic firing systems means that it has to fire a pistol variant of our standard round, though when one has access to an oversize magazine filled with 30 of those shots without needing to work the action, it's more than made up for.

I doubt that we can get a semi-automatic rifle in a revision, at least not so cleanly. Thus, here's the Pedersen Device with the serial numbers filed off.

Artillery isn't everything, either. The Jarnskeggi don't even have artillery themselves, so we don't need to do counterbattery fire, and shells can only do so much before you run out, get overrun, etc.

The Beetle's Horn : (1) TricMagic
EHAR-6 Auto-Rifle : (1) AseaHeru
EHR-6 QF Device : (1) Doubloon

[TricMagic]

Nother Idea. Or two.

World-field EM Detector

From Tesla's notes are the specifics of magnetic fields. It turns out, humans do in fact cause minor fluctuations. And in large enough groups, these can in fact be detected.

By a combination of setting up cables underground, and creating data gathering nodes. And by setting up a World Field EM Detector in our city.
 We can create a map of the EM field the earth gives off. In turn, we can detect when humans and/or electrical equipment appear in sufficient numbers. And then...

Then we can strike them with the Beetles atop the walls, and destroy that group.


As for how it actually works, the WFEMD sends out an alternating magnetic signal. This signal interacts with the area around it, and creates a pattern of the magnetic field in question. As this occurs, the nodes also give off the signal. The data gathered  is transmitted to the main node in our city, and assembled, before being sent to the other nodes for any people in those buildings to work with.


This creates the stabilized map of the EM pattern. And in the presence of humans and electronics, this pattern is warped. When enough are gathered, about a hundred or more signals, this warp can be seen. Moreover, emotions tend to create different warps as well, though for now, simply knowing they are there is important.

To prevent all our forces from giving false positives, they are assigned a magnetic resonator, which crates an alternating current through an electromagnet. In sufficient number, this produces a very different warp pattern than those without it. It's a lot more uniform for one. So they won't be mistaken for enemy forces.


Radio Packets Broadband EM-Radio

It is well known some things work better when colder than others. Meet the EM-Radio, which using electromagnetic waves, can send voice through it's wavelengths to other EM-Radios. So long as they are powered and tuned to the correct frequency, they will receive sound from the same frequency, and send it along those waves.

In this manner, runners no longer need to run to tell of enemy positions. Instead, they can act as proper scouts. It will also help with communication for commanding our troops.

It primarily works by working with the native electromagnetic field of Earth, allowing a lot of range for almost no setup. Though Booster Towers could be made in the future to help bounce messages along the Earth's Magnetic Field to the proper recipients. The current ones only have 4 frequencies that can be used in the general without connecting to the other frequencies.

Perhaps the best part is that the electromagnet we are using only gets better as it gets colder. So messages will always be clear. Though it does not do well in the heat.

[10ebbor10]

The Beetle's Horn : (2) TricMagic,10ebbor10
EHAR-6 Auto-Rifle : (1) AseaHeru
EHR-6 QF Device : (1) Doubloon

[Jilladilla]

The Beetle's Horn : (2) TricMagic,10ebbor10
EHAR-6 Auto-Rifle : (1) AseaHeru
EHR-6 QF Device : (2) Doubloon, Jilladilla

[Aseaheru]

The Beetle's Horn : (2) TricMagic,10ebbor10
EHAR-6 Auto-Rifle : (0)
EHR-6 QF Device : (3) Doubloon, Jilladilla, AseaHeru

[TricMagic]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Rail/Coil Machine Gun

A gun with rotating barrels. 4 of them. When the electricity is turned on, it spins up quickly. And bullets come flying out at a very fast rate.

As for how this works, the coil is wrapped around where the six barrels spin, and as the barrels spin, it creates a stable magnetic field which causes the bullets to spin as they fly out.

In turn, it is otherwise a normal machine gun with clips that reload a bullet each time a barrel passes by, an electromagnet pulling it in while there. Upon moving away, the electromagnet deactivates, and the bullet is fired.

The actual thing weighs twenty pounds, and needs to be held with both hands. Man can it clear streets though, with 80 RPM tearing through everything. As for ammo, it has four boxes, each with 20 rounds each. However, these rounds are steel armor piercers made with our pistol's caliber. As are the barrels from our rifle. The only major thing is the electric motor and power pack at the base of the gun connecting to the coil/rails.

Ignore this.