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[Sensei]

Crazy idea, what if we pulled a Cannala and skipped HMG calibers altogether to go straight to 20mm auto cannons? It'd be a boon to future vehicles for sure.

[Madman198237]

We'd have weight problems, ammunition weight problems, ammunition supply problems, rate of fire problems, use case problems, space constraint problems, and overkill problems.

There's good reason that there's a rifle-caliber or .50 cal machinegun in and on many modern tanks and not a 30mm cannon or a 20mm cannon. The Russians keep trying to use those things as RCWS on tank turrets but they also keep finding them to be problematic.

[Maxim_inc]

This balloon is considerably larger than the Tsirk hot air balloons. It is filled with hydrogen, in three cells of treated cotton, all inside a single non-rigid outer casing (the fore and aft are supported in a conical shape by wooden spars). Each lifting gas cell has a ballonet, a smaller balloon inside into which outside may be pumped, filling this reduces buoyancy and emptying it allows the craft to rise. The pitch is adjusted by altering the fore and aft ballonets. Thrust is provided by two four-cylinder automotive engines with reversible transmissions driving propellers, one on either side, mounted high attached to the gondola close to the center of drag. There is also a rudder and elevator control surface. The gondola is constructed of aluminum, and is twenty-five feet long. It is capable of holding a number of passengers, although it ordinarily carries a pilot, engineer, and commander/bomber, as well as up to five tons of bombs. The bombs are, for now, modified 120mm artillery shells. They have fin stabilizers, and a pull-ring fuse, where the pull-ring is attached to a carabiner clip and cable on the gondola. Dropping the shells causes the pull-ring to be removed, staying with the carabiner clip.

Dice Gods Say: 6


The 'Agaaryn Tolgoi' is the Confederations first foray into the realm of lighter than air powered flight, a market formerly only cornered by inventors from the  Republic of Normandy and Kingdom of Bohemia. After much rigorous testing for the most efficient aerodynamic shapes we could create and shameless copying of foreign engine designs for domestic production has resulted in a design comparable to other foreign examples. While sourcing the aluminum in quantities from our mines that would be sufficient in number was slightly difficult we were able to acquire enough to carry onwards with the project. The two automotive engines themselves are found to be quite fuel hungry due to the tweaking we've done to them so they could propel such a heavy craft forwards at a quite fast jogging pace, a large portion of the ballast and extra weight was devoted to fuel storage, this also impacting the bomb load lowering it from 5 to 3 tons capacity totaling about 175 modified shells. The maneuverability of the craft itself is quite difficult; the ballonets themselves work fine but in the often rainy and windy coastal weather of both countries it was found that a single pilot was under too much strain trying to maneuver the craft so a second pilot was added to split the work between operating the rudder and elevator separately. The craft itself is able to stay in the operation zone for a total of two hours on minimal engine use before needing to return home and re-fuel. The Coast Watch themselves have shown some interest in the craft and have procured a pair of them for sea patrol.


Its now the Revision Phase!

I think I got everything in that description, I'm more familiar with planes than dirigibles and zeppelins.

Confederation Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 Ogedi Commission Infantry Rifle: The standard issue rifle of the Confederation, the Ogedi was designed by a rifle commission during the closing days of the Alliance Wars. This 50 inch long rifle fires a 45. Caliber straight walled blackpowder rifle round out of its trapdoor configuration breech through a rifled barrel. It comes with a flat bladed bayonet. It is Cheap at 2 Ore.

R-I-M1900a1: Coming in with a modern 6.5mm round this rifle is a decent rifle and comparable to other rifles on the continent in its effectiveness after fixing some teething problems and replaces our old rifle in its entirety, cavalry can use it but its still a little too long to be used comfortably by them. It also comes with a blade bayonet. It is Cheap at 2 Ore.

Witchfire 6.5mm Light Machinegun Model 1900: A light machinegun at around 29 pounds the Witchfire uses the same 6.5mm cartridge as the R-I-M1900a1 fed from a 40 round pan magazine and operated by a long-stroke gas piston system. It comes with a wooden stock, foregrip and pistol grip plus a bipod. It is well accurate in short burst but suffers overheating problems over a long period of time and lacks a quick change barrel. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Witchfire 5x35mm Carbine Machinegun Model 1902: A novel attempt at miniaturizing the Witchfire LMG firing a new 5x35mm round. It is hard to control, underpowered, has poor accuracy at anything other than point blank range and prone to frequent part breakages after sustained use. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Saber: This slightly curved blade comes with a single cutting edge and is used by both officers and cavalry alike, currently it is the only weapon available to be used by cavalry. It is Cheap at 1 Ore.

"Ganaa" 75mm Artillery: A reliable, if prone to needing replacement parts more often than others, field artillery cannon which fires HE and Fragmentation shells from its one-piece smokeless ammunition cases. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Uul Ganaa 75mm L/12: A lightened and shrunk mountain version of the Ganna using lower velocity 75mm shells than its bigger brother and is capable of being broken down and carried by a team of mules or men. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Godstrike 120mm Howitzer: A heavy artillery piece firing fixed 120mm HE shells at extreme ranged. Its advanced breach allows for its man loaders to fire a quick volley of shells before they become exhausted. It is Expensive at 5 Ore.

Confederation Battle Dress: A pair of bright red trousers and undershirt with a gold vest with white sashes plus a black kepis hat. This eye-burning combination of colors help the infantry of the confederation stand out gloriously among the battlefield and its conditions for all to see. No Cost.

Confederate Combat Dress 1900: A well fitting Combat Dress of drab greys with sturdy boots and a leather ammunition harness plus a winter weather trenchcoat. A full metal helmet is included which has a tapered brim to protect from shrapnel and sunlight, its not bullet proof. It is Cheap at 1 Ore due to the steel needed for helmets.

'Tsirk' Spotter Balloon: A propane burning hot-air balloon made of sturdy materials capable of taking its two occupants to a great height though suffers from intense cold at high altitude, a lack of an aerodynamic shape and inconsistent fuel burning. The onboard telegraph doesn't play well in the cold either. It is Cheap at 3 Ore and 2 Fuel.

'Agaaryn Tolgoi' Dirigible Balloon: A hydrogen cell dirigible propelled by two domestic copies of foreign automotive engines. Staffed with a Commander/Bomber, two pilots and an engineer it carries 3 tons of bombs modified from 120mm Godstrike shells. It is quite difficult to maneuver and the modified engine guzzles fuel limiting its operation time. It is Complex making it Expensive at 3 Ore and 3 Fuel.

Transport Barge: A medium sized barge used for transporting men and equipment from the homeland to the Volcanic Island. It has no defenses other than a small marine contingent with standard issue rifles. It is Cheap at 3 Ore and 2 Fuel.

[evictedSaint]

Juggler Pins

Simply named, the Juggler Pins are our foray into hand-held grenades.  The design is quite simple; a stick of dynamite is affixed to the end of a hollow tube.  The fuse runs down the length of the tube.  The ignition mechanism is a striker on a spring at the base of the tube, held in place with a spoon running up the length of the handle.  Once the pin on the spoon is pulled, the spoon flies off, allowing the striker to ignite the fuse.

In order to increase lethality, segmented steel wire is wrapped around the stick of dynamite.  The explosion will break the wire at the segmentations, throwing shrapnel into the air.  The mechanical advantage of using the handle to throw the grenade allows the device to be thrown further than it would otherwise go.  The fuse is expected to last five seconds, and soldiers are "discouraged" from "cooking" the grenades before use.

Duchy idiots did a grenade via revision, we can too.

[Sensei]

Since we need a real suggestion, I'm just gonna double down on the Witchfire Carbine. I'm open to other ideas.

Make it less rattly, less jittery, retool the cartridge if we have to (it shouldn't be THAT underpowered!) or stop the gas system from wasting gas or whatever the problem is. It's also smaller, lighter, and uses smaller cartridges, so try to cut the cost down to 3 ore.

If we can make the Witchfire actually cheap and good, it really should be worth something in the trenches. I expect this to basically amount to a reroll with a bonus, considering we've tried it already and have hopefully learned from it.

Replace the foreign-bought motors with ones built in-country, and specialized for aircraft use, but of a similar size so as not to impact ore cost. In our case, specialized for aircraft use means high-revving, and being relatively fuel efficient at high revs and max power output, as opposed to automotive engines which spend most of their time at lower revs and are tuned accordingly.

If we're lucky this might remove the complex tag and/or get us some better performance, but even if it's a flop and we don't actually use them, it will be crucial experience in designing motors.

Witchfire Carbine MkII: (1) Sensei

[TricMagic]

Since we need a real suggestion, I'm just gonna double down on the Witchfire Carbine. I'm open to other ideas.

Make it less rattly, less jittery, retool the cartridge if we have to (it shouldn't be THAT underpowered!) or stop the gas system from wasting gas or whatever the problem is. It's also smaller, lighter, and uses smaller cartridges, so try to cut the cost down to 3 ore.

If we can make the Witchfire actually cheap and good, it really should be worth something in the trenches. I expect this to basically amount to a reroll with a bonus, considering we've tried it already and have hopefully learned from it.

Replace the foreign-bought motors with ones built in-country, and specialized for aircraft use, but of a similar size so as not to impact ore cost. In our case, specialized for aircraft use means high-revving, and being relatively fuel efficient at high revs and max power output, as opposed to automotive engines which spend most of their time at lower revs and are tuned accordingly.

If we're lucky this might remove the complex tag and/or get us some better performance, but even if it's a flop and we don't actually use them, it will be crucial experience in designing motors.

Witchfire Carbine MkII: (1) Sensei
Agaaryn Tolgoi Domestic Motors: (1) TricMagic

[Madman198237]

Witchfire Carbine MkII: (1) Sensei
Agaaryn Tolgoi Domestic Motors: (2) TricMagic, Madman

I would very much like to move to armored cars and this will get us there with our next design if we can spend it.

[Sensei]

Witchfire Carbine MkII:
Agaaryn Tolgoi Domestic Motors: (3) TricMagic, Madman, Sensei

Sure, I'll pile on. eS may or may not have rage quit so I think that makes a complete vote.

[Thanatos Russ]

why did eS ragequit lmao?

[Maxim_inc]

Replace the foreign-bought motors with ones built in-country, and specialized for aircraft use, but of a similar size so as not to impact ore cost. In our case, specialized for aircraft use means high-revving, and being relatively fuel efficient at high revs and max power output, as opposed to automotive engines which spend most of their time at lower revs and are tuned accordingly.

Dice Gods Say: 1.....

The Domestic Motor project is well its not pretty. It turns out building motors domestically from the ground up is alot harder than we thought. Originally we held a contest with support of the Parliament and Prime Minister, the best mechanics who built the foreign models of engines would compete to create a new aviation engine! Of course asking men who only copied design plans and never researched how they work internally to design engines from the ground up ended with a whole host of half-baked and cobbled together designs made from combining aspects from multiple foreign engines in a failed attempt that during testing exploded during a presentation and killed the Minister of Defense, this greatly angering the Prime Minister. The inventor who made that particular design was sentenced as a criminal against the state and party then 'volunteered' to serve his prison sentence on the front line. Out of all the domestic motors designs only a peasant herder and his design proved of some worth though is only powerful enough to propel a bicycle at an average speed....without the rider on it. The herder calls its the 'Aduu' engine after his horse's name...'Aduu' being the quite original name translating from Kalchan into 'Horse'.


It is now the Design Phase once the battle report has been posted.

Confederation Armory:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 Ogedi Commission Infantry Rifle: The standard issue rifle of the Confederation, the Ogedi was designed by a rifle commission during the closing days of the Alliance Wars. This 50 inch long rifle fires a 45. Caliber straight walled blackpowder rifle round out of its trapdoor configuration breech through a rifled barrel. It comes with a flat bladed bayonet. It is Cheap at 2 Ore.

R-I-M1900a1: Coming in with a modern 6.5mm round this rifle is a decent rifle and comparable to other rifles on the continent in its effectiveness after fixing some teething problems and replaces our old rifle in its entirety, cavalry can use it but its still a little too long to be used comfortably by them. It also comes with a blade bayonet. It is Cheap at 2 Ore.

Witchfire 6.5mm Light Machinegun Model 1900: A light machinegun at around 29 pounds the Witchfire uses the same 6.5mm cartridge as the R-I-M1900a1 fed from a 40 round pan magazine and operated by a long-stroke gas piston system. It comes with a wooden stock, foregrip and pistol grip plus a bipod. It is well accurate in short burst but suffers overheating problems over a long period of time and lacks a quick change barrel. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Witchfire 5x35mm Carbine Machinegun Model 1902: A novel attempt at miniaturizing the Witchfire LMG firing a new 5x35mm round. It is hard to control, underpowered, has poor accuracy at anything other than point blank range and prone to frequent part breakages after sustained use. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Saber: This slightly curved blade comes with a single cutting edge and is used by both officers and cavalry alike, currently it is the only weapon available to be used by cavalry. It is Cheap at 1 Ore.

"Ganaa" 75mm Artillery: A reliable, if prone to needing replacement parts more often than others, field artillery cannon which fires HE and Fragmentation shells from its one-piece smokeless ammunition cases. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Uul Ganaa 75mm L/12: A lightened and shrunk mountain version of the Ganna using lower velocity 75mm shells than its bigger brother and is capable of being broken down and carried by a team of mules or men. It is Expensive at 4 Ore.

Godstrike 120mm Howitzer: A heavy artillery piece firing fixed 120mm HE shells at extreme ranged. Its advanced breach allows for its man loaders to fire a quick volley of shells before they become exhausted. It is Expensive at 5 Ore.

Confederation Battle Dress: A pair of bright red trousers and undershirt with a gold vest with white sashes plus a black kepis hat. This eye-burning combination of colors help the infantry of the confederation stand out gloriously among the battlefield and its conditions for all to see. No Cost.

Confederate Combat Dress 1900: A well fitting Combat Dress of drab greys with sturdy boots and a leather ammunition harness plus a winter weather trenchcoat. A full metal helmet is included which has a tapered brim to protect from shrapnel and sunlight, its not bullet proof. It is Cheap at 1 Ore due to the steel needed for helmets.

Domestic Motor 'Aduu': Originally intended as an aircraft motor this engine is only likely at the moment able to propel a bicycle, without the rider. Technology, no cost but adds 1 Ore and 1 Fuel to any design using it.

'Tsirk' Spotter Balloon: A propane burning hot-air balloon made of sturdy materials capable of taking its two occupants to a great height though suffers from intense cold at high altitude, a lack of an aerodynamic shape and inconsistent fuel burning. The onboard telegraph doesn't play well in the cold either. It is Cheap at 3 Ore and 2 Fuel.

'Agaaryn Tolgoi' Dirigible Balloon: A hydrogen cell dirigible propelled by two domestic copies of foreign automotive engines. Staffed with a Commander/Bomber, two pilots and an engineer it carries 3 tons of bombs modified from 120mm Godstrike shells. It is quite difficult to maneuver and the modified engine guzzles fuel limiting its operation time. It is Complex making it Expensive at 3 Ore and 3 Fuel.

Transport Barge: A medium sized barge used for transporting men and equipment from the homeland to the Volcanic Island. It has no defenses other than a small marine contingent with standard issue rifles. It is Cheap at 3 Ore and 2 Fuel.

[Sensei]

Fuses armed by hand, when dealing with 5 tons of 120mm artillery shells, is a bad idea. Have them be armed by, say, a string that is ripped free when the bomb drops out of the airship's bomb bay or wherever it's stored.

I do like the idea of just reusing 120mm artillery shells, it's a good one. 5 tons of payload might be a bit much for our first-ever airship, though.

'Crate Mover' Truck
The internal combustion engine-driven automobile is a remarkable tool for moving things, like crates. So we've developed a small 1.5-ton truck with an unusually robust suspension system to aid our logistical efforts and begin to displace the horse as the primary tool of the logistics arm of our military. This truck uses an internal combustion engine running on regular old gasoline developed by our own engineering team and produced in our own factories, a first for our nation. In order to do this the engine is made simpler and perhaps proportionally a bit less space-efficient than most engines are, but since it aids in keeping it running and manufacturing it in a country not used to doing so we're pretty sure it'll be worth the trade-offs. Our (new) mechanics will undoubtedly be glad that we've tried to keep the truck easily maintainable and durable, at least.

It's got a flat bed that can optionally be covered, and can carry supplies or troops over its moderate range (for the time). For carrying troops we toss some bench seating in the back.

So some ICE experience might allow us to do an armored car to try and shift the balance of certain theaters, it would also improve our logistics immensely which might just have its own benefits.

I'm going to make basically this proposal, but nerd it up with engineering details and add a gun mount for yuks. Now we have two truck proposals.

The TRUCK (come up with a better name if you want) is powered by an air-cooled, 4-cylinder, horizontally opposed 'flat' engine, with a total displacement of 1.6 liters, tuned for maximum torque and low-end power. The engine uses a flathead valve arrangement with only one intake and exhaust valve per cylinder. The engine is in the front and the clutch is mounted directly to the driveshaft, which in turn leads to a 3-speed rear transaxle with an open differential which may be locked by use of a lever in the cabin. The cabin is a "cabover' shape, where the driver sits above the engine, making the cabin very short and leaving room for a longer bed. The bed is 3.5m long, and can be available as a flatbed, with wooden side-walls and a tailgate, a canvas-covered bed with benches, or any other convenient arrangement which can be made with planks, a hammer, and nails. The top of the cabin includes a swivel mount for a Witchfire machine gun, which is built heavily in case we make a larger gun later. There is a small step on the back of the cabin where the machine gun user would stand, having climbed in from the bed. While the gun mount is included, not every truck needs to be equipped with a gun depending on its role. The whole truck is sat on simple but robust leaf springs.

TRUCK: (1) Sensei
-Call is the TRUCK: (1) Sensei

[Madman198237]

Definitely don't include the machinegun, it's a completely unarmored transport vehicle, it shouldn't need it. Also given how the Witchfire is built it doesn't need a built-in mount to be used from an open-topped truck (which is what you would want to be fighting from, as opposed to a canvas-covered one where you can't see or accurately shoot out). Definitely mention that we're making these engines ourselves so we don't end up with more imported ones.

I feel like maybe you've dived too far into the weeds on this truck design and that Maxim is unlikely to care about most of it.

I'm not sure whether to go for the simplicity of the truck or try for an armored car directly. Actually, wait, the jokers on the other side got a working helicopter in one turn, I think armored cars ought to be pretty darned easy if we wanted to go that route.

[Sensei]

I'm not sure whether to go for the simplicity of the truck or try for an armored car directly. Actually, wait, the jokers on the other side got a working helicopter in one turn, I think armored cars ought to be pretty darned easy if we wanted to go that route.

It's a bit subject to rolls but yeah, we can shoot for it. I kinda-sorta want an HMG first but it's not 100% necessary.

[Madman198237]

I mean, the British armed many of their first tanks with nothing more than four rifle-caliber machineguns, admittedly belt-fed which would be much superior to magazine feed for the purpose of hosing down enemy trenches.

However the advantage of armor being deployed would probably be pretty big. I would like to use the revision to revise our airship's engines once we've got a working home-made engine going in this design, but we might be able to revise belt feed into the Witchfire next turn or perhaps we don't really want to have more airships...but I think we do want more airships.

[TricMagic]

TRUCK: (2) Sensei, TricMagic
-Call is the TRUCK: (2) Sensei, TricMagic