| From: | Paul Jonathan Adam <Paul@********.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Flechettes |
| Date: | Tue, 11 Apr 1995 20:01:37 GMT |
> > to Shadowrun 'bundle' flechette apart from exotics like Glaser Safety and
> > MagSafe ammo, both of which almost stop dead on any armour by design.
>
> This sounded fine, until I read Gurths post which completely contradicted
> it. So what's the real answer? And, even if "bundle" flechettes don't
exist,
> would they be similar to the "dart" type when it came to penetration and
> damage? Or not?
Sheesh, Damon, you know how to ask the nasty questions! :-)
Okay, somewhat lengthy exposition follows.
Real world flechette ammo might equate to what Shadowrun calls APDS: a
single long dart, 1.5 to 3 millimetres in diameter, in a plastic sabot
reaching humongous muzzle velocities. Because of its minimal frontal area
its penetration is extreme, but its wounding effect is low: it just stabs
a tiny hole through you. So APDS rules would do nicely: I'd imagine in sixty
years they should find a way to make the flechette stable through solid
materials but unstable in liquid, so it has a worthwhile wound effect. (See
later for more on this).
Glaser Safety Slug ammo is a lightweight empty jacket with a ceramic tip,
filled with No. 12 shot in a liquid matrix. On hitting anything, the tip
ruptures and the shot sprays out. It has almost no penetration at all of
anything - Kevlar or plate are equally good at stopping it - but it does
have a massive wounding effect on unarmoured targets. So up damage
dramatically on unarmoured targets...but one man survived a .38 Glaser in
the chest because it shattered on a metal button on his shirt. Gives you an
idea of how little armour stops these.
The Shadowrun flechettes seem to use a bundle of sharp slivers instead of
the birdshot, which might give them some capability against soft armour while
keeping the massive wound effects. Hard armour would be disproportionately
effective, but soft armour almost no use at all, and the wound effect good.
About the medium being penetrated: the French have a rather distinctive round
called the THV, which has a bizarre shape that I can't easily describe. The
intention is to have the bullet be stable in air and in solid matter (e.g.
shooting through body armour, intervening cover etc.) but in fluids it
becomes unstable and transfers energy at an enormous rate, creating massive
wounds. The only easy solution is hide in a swimming pool :-) The principle
should eventually be adaptable to "real world" flechettes, as I said.
--
When you have shot and killed a man, you have defined your attitude towards
him. You have offered a definite answer to a definite problem. For better or
for worse, you have acted decisively.
In fact, the next move is up to him.
Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk
