Rusty
Purveyor of Fine Weaponry
Image Source
Intent: To create a mass produced variant of Bertha.
Development Thread: If necessary. I want to say I had a dev thread for it somewhere, but I've no idea where I left it. I can dig it out if needed.
Manufacturer: Rusty's Custom Firearms and Cutlery
Model: RR-1
Affiliation: Opem Market
Modularity: Interchangeable sights, ammunition
Production: Limited
Material: Durasteel, carbon fiber, recoilless rifle components
Classification: Recoilless Rifle
Size: Man Portable
Length: 1 meter
Weight: 8 kg
Ammunition Type: 80mm recoilless rifle ammunition
Ammunition Capacity: 1
Effective Range:
- HE- 1100 meters
- HEAT- 900 meters
- Canister- 150 meters
- HVP- 1500 meters
Special Features: Capable of using various types of ammunition to effectively engage various targets at ranges up to but not exceeding 1500 meters.
Strengths:
- Wide variety of ammunition allows the RR-1 to be used against a variety of different targets in a variety of different situations.
- Easy to use, intuitive design
- Unlike most man portable recoilless rifles, the RR-1 can be reused.
- The backblast of the RR-1 is tremendous. Fatal for anyone up to three meters directly behind the weapon in the open, dangerous out to 7 meters. Use indoors without full body protective gear will kill the shooter and anything in the same room, assuming the room is smaller than an auditorium.
- Slow rate of fire. Three rounds per minute is the absolute maximum, and can only be achieved after extensive training.
- There's no hiding when firing this thing. Between the massive backblast, the tremendous noise, and the massive thermal bloom that can be seen on infrared, the RR-1 is not subtle. Failure to take out the target with the first shot will almost certainly let them know where you're at.
- Heavy. The weapon weighs 8 kilograms, and the ammunition is also bulky and heavy. It's easier than toting around an artillery piece, but still not something one moves quickly with.
- High Explosive- A simple high explosive charge with three fuse settings: contact, proximity, and delay. Useful for light armor, thin walled buildings, and troops behind cover.
- High Explosive Anti Tank- A combination antipersonnel/antiarmor shell. Uses a shaped charge to punch through light to medium armor, scours the outside of the vehicle with shrapnel.
- Canister- Fires tungsten/steel ball bearings. A lot of them. Very quickly. Basically, a giant shotgun shell.
- Hypervelocity Penetrator- A proprietary round designed to be effective against heavy armor. Fires a ramjet propelled shell that quickly reaches speeds well into the hypervelocity range. Upon impact with heavy armor, osmium spike is driven through it with great gusto. Useless against light armor and individual unarmored troops, as the osmium penetrator will not encounter enough resistance to impart a significant amount of energy. It'll leave a nice hole, but will keep going through as though the vehicle was never there, unless it hits an engine or something.
Much like Bertha, the RR-1 is not for use indoors or in closed spaces. Without proper protective equipment, the backblast alone will kill the shooter and probably anyone else in the room. Most of the rounds aren't suitable for indoors use either. Though it may be tempting to unleash a load of cannister shot in a corridor on a ship, RCFC highly discommends the practice, as the tungsten balls can easily punch through a light hull. If you survive the backblast, the explosive decompression will probably do the trick. If the hull is strong enough that the balls bounce, well, then you're little more than a bumper in the galaxy's most lethal pinball game.
Seriously, don't do it.
However, when used properly, the RR-1 can be an effective tool that allows for the common soldier to have an effective countermeasure against armored vehicles. Due to the destructive nature of the weapon, it is not legal to sell to civilians. The RR-1 must either be purchased on contract through a government, or by mercenary groups.
Primary Source: Bertha
