Parvus Armory #1 ($275, Spring 1921)Parvus Preserver ‘18
The Parvus Armory seems relieved that someone – anyone – answered their contract, and are ven more overjoyed to see it’s a good patriot design. The Parvus Preserver ’18 is easy to use and reliable, even if a number of basic features (such as a safety or a foregrip) seem to be missing. It lacks the range, precision, and power of a modern rifle and reloading is a labor by itself, but it will do for now.
The Parvus Armory is quite curious about the shield sticking off the side of the gun, but after being reassured it can be removed they’ve decided to accept Gerhardt & Sons’ bid.
Socialas Party Police #2 ($85, Spring 1920)Commie Crusher ‘18
Cancer Adreptus
The Socialas Party Police receives two bids – one for the Commie Crusher ’18 (a revolver), and one for the Cancer Adreptus (a toggle-lock). The Commie Crusher is quite hefty for a revolver, but it is reliable. The Party Police note that the reloading process is quite tedious and lacks more modern mechanisms like a crane, break-action, or hot-swap cylinder. Additionally, the fact that the cylinder wears out is quite concerning, as it represents a weak point in a critical space on the firearm.
The Cancer Adreptus, on the other hand, is much more modern in design. The magazine makes reloading easy, and the cool mechanical sound it makes when fired is quite distinctive – several members on the contract committee agree that it could “become a sound that was feared”. The gun does, however, fail during testing – a round fails to feed into the barrel, and the user was required to clear the jam by manually operating the push-tab.
The decision is made easy when one member pointed out that a shiny silvery gun seems like the sort of thing a bourgeoisie might carry on his hip, and the rest of the committee quickly agree (some might even say tripping over themselves in sheer panic) that the cold black finish on the Crusher is much more in line with communist ideals.
The Socialas Party Police accepts Sandblaster Inc.’s bid.
Mariti Naval Office #3 ($125, Winter 1920)KAM
TM-18-1A “Buzzard”
A1 Holocaust
By far the most popular contract this year, the Mariti Naval Office sees three bids for their Heavy Machinegun posting.
Krupp-Allen Family’s KAM firing 20mm ammo sparks a legitimate conversation as to whether it would be a viable weapon not just for anti-air operations, but for anti-ship operations as well. It’s ultimately decided that screening ships will be able to keep anything small enough to be threatened by a 20mm at bay, and the focus should be on anti-air capabilities. To that end, the requirement of a dedicated mount prohibits the number of guns that can be placed on the ship, and the 20mm rounds are judged to be overkill when a 7.7mm round can shred a biplane’s canvas wings just as easily. While a ships machining deck can handle most of the repairs and maintenance for the quickly-worn barrels, the unreliable API blowback system, limited firing time, and diminished volume of fire all count against the KAM where it’s needed.
The Buzzard’s high rate-of-fire is received much more favorably, even though the requirement for a dedicated carriage mount would mean less of them per ship. The frequency of failures gets some serious conversation as the contract committee discuss whether the ships armory and machining deck can keep up with repairs
and barrel replacements. The vibrations and shake also count against the weapon’s ability to track aerial targets, leaving the committee less-than-impressed.
The A1 Holocaust firing 15mm rounds again raises concerns about mounting and carriages, but the technicians hesitantly suggest that with properly reinforced mounts more could be fitted per ship than the two previous bids. However, the problem with the A1 is that it’s not…particularly impressive. It’s a water-cooled large-caliber machinegun that would not be out of place at the start of the Great War. Box-shaped, heavy, and violently unfriendly to use, it struggles to track targets with the heavy recoil and flash that obscures sightlines.
Mariti’s Naval Office spends a significant amount of time mulling it over before opting for Korsgaard’s Buzzard. The smaller (if 13.5mm could be called “small”) caliber and high rate of fire lend it well to the needs of their small navy, and despite the unreliable and fragile nature of the guns they hope it will work with their anti-air experiments.
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Topic: RISKY ARMS VENTURE - Spring, 1930 (ENDING SOON!) (Read 33853 times)