FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': The ‘Wiel’ is the newest revolutionary design for machine guns. Feeding the regular 11mm round as our carbine from a 200 round canvas belt or 75 round metal feed strips. The belt/strip is inserted into the right side of the gun and the weapon is charged to load the first round by the loader simply rotating the flywheel with his hand. The furniture of the weapon is simple metal with a L shaped metal tube handle possessing a trigger. There is an optional stock that can be screwed into a small hole at the bend of the handle, the stock being made out of wood and designed to fit comfortably into the shooter’s shoulder to increase control. Great care is put into ensuring the quality of the action and of the spring with the former of die forged machine finished parts and the latter of quality steel.
There is also a carry handle, also wood, located on the barrel of the weapon which can also be used to remove and change the barrel. The barrel underside itself is lined down three-quarters of it’s length with steel half fins to disperse heat from the barrel to prevent overheating. The sights is a forward post sight with a rear ladder sight ranged from 100 to 1500 meters.
The action of the gun is a gas-operated lever action system, though instead of a typical lever it's a small teacup plate sized flywheel attached to a spring. As the 11mm round passes through the barrel a small amount of it’s gas is diverted through a small hole and directed onto a small cup on the side of the flywheel, the resulting force causes the flywheel to spin and tighten the spring which moves the action and ejects the spend round to the left out of the gun before loading a new one as the energy of the action ceases and the flywheel spins back into place under the pressure of the compressed spring ready to repeat the process again. The operator is protected from the flywheel by a small cover that encloses the entirety of the flywheel save for it’s external cup.
The mount for the ‘Wiel’ is a simple tripod that can either have it’s movement axis locked into place and moved with small ratchet screws for precise directional fire or unlocked for a free range of movement. In order to prevent over-stressing of the spring and to keep the recoil from shaking the gun too much the fire rate is artificially capped at 350 rpm by a small limiter screw which slows the rotation of the flywheel, the rpm of the ‘Wiel’ can be made even slower or faster by simply loosening or tightening the screw up to a maximum fire rate of around 780rpm. The Flywheel and spring can be easily replaced by removing the Snap-On cover and replacing the two parts, the cover having a cut-out as to not get caught on the fly-wheel's cup.
The machinegun is designed to be cheap to produce while prioritizing reliability.
Roll: 6
Difficulty: -2This is your first machine gun, a difficult task for any manufacturer. It uses a design based on the 1895 colt-browning "potato digger" in which gas pushes a lever away from the barrel. The difference is that instead of a large lever which tends to hit the ground and can get things stuck in it, this uses a wheel in a housing. Initial attempts at a "teacup size" wheel were unsuccessful, it was quickly determined that a larger wheel was needed for more leverage. This resulted in a 220mm diameter wheel. The initial idea of offering belts and feed strips wasn't finished, the gun only runs fabric belts. The addition of cooling fins on the quick change barrels, of which multiple must be included with each gun, adds cost. Grabbing the "cup" was found to be difficult, so a lever was added. Fabrique Riviere being a former lumber company, wooden furniture was quicker and cheaper to implement than steel tubing, which was deemed acceptable since weight was not a priority.
FR No.2.a Machine Gun 'Wiel': This is a machinegun in FR 11mm. It is a large, heavy weapon which sits on a tripod, and feeds from 200-round cloth belts. Its unusual "wheel operation" method gives the gun a distinctive outline. On the right side of the barrel mounted vertically is a wheel enclosed in a sheet metal housing, about 240mm, with a crank. Under the barrel is a small "pedal" attached to the wheel. When the gun is fired, a gas port pushes on this pedal, the wheel rotates 180 degrees and then springs back, pushing on a lever which operates the gun. There is an adjustable screw which places friction on the wheel to control rate of fire, but when set too low the gun simply fails to operate, so it really only adjusts between 400-500 rounds per minute. The rest of the gun involves a long extractor arm which pulls cartridges from the belt, and pushes them into the chamber, as well as the bolt itself, and a number of tiny parts which regulate their operation. The belt sits below the receiver and casings eject from the top. Most of this is hidden in a sheet metal case with a lid which clips into place for ease of maintenance. It also features a front carry handle which, when pressed down, acts as a release for quick change barrels, which are finned for cooling. It has fixed ladder sights with range markings out to 1500m, and a pistol grip with an optional wooden shoulder stock. The gun operates with reasonable reliability, though its reciprocating parts lurch the gun violently up, down, forward and back during operation. Attempting to use the front handle to hold the front down often loosens the quick change barrel. At higher rates of fire, the barrel can simply come loose on its own (it will rotate and the gas port will cease operating the gun harmlessly). 40 credits.
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Topic: Armories of Valturia: Fabrique Riviere Thread (Read 7155 times)