textfiles/anarchy/WEAPONS/autorife.ana

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   #	The ZED/NET Presents...#
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   #	    A Guide to:        #
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   #	  INFANTRY WEAPONS     #
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     By The ZED/NET Writer #1


Automatic Rifles
----------------

   When you think of machine guns, you think of automatic rifles, usually the
American M16.

   The most popular automatic rifle in the world today is the Soviet Ak-47,
invented by Mikhail Kalashnikov.  Certainly everyone should have one, so the
Soviets give them out to any Communist guerilla group they can.  Over 20 million
are in somebody's hands right now.

   When the bullet is fired, the pressure of released gasses which drive it down
the barrel is as great forwards as it is backwards.  In the AK-47 and most
modern automatic rifles, the backward pressure is used to push the bolt back,
eject the empty cartridge case and allow a new round into position.  This can
the nbe pushed into the barrel by returning the spring- loaded bolt formard.
The AK-47 is fed by 30-round detachable magazine and can be used to fire single
shots as well as bursts of fire.

   The AK-47 is not without rivals.  The German G3 is just as good as the AK-47.
The 47's main competitor, however is the American M-16.

   It seemed that automatic rifles were to heavy for infantry.	Thus, the
Armalite AR-15 was created.  It fired a lightweight bullet (as opposed to the
huge 7.62 mm the AK-47 uses), and was made out of lightweight materials.

   So by 1980, everybody decided they needed a light automatic rifle.  So the
Soviets produced the AKS 74 (a 5.45 mm remade Kalashnikov), the Israeli 5.56 mm
Galil, and NATO with its Armalite M16, a perfect light automatic fighting
machine.



Sub-Machine Guns
----------------

   Although not used much by the military, the sub-machine gun has seen many
unusual uses.  It is great for "house clearing", and is often used by organized
crime.	They are usually cheap and easy to produce.

   Certainly the most famous sub-machine gun in modern use is the Israeli Uzi 9
mm SMG.  It is only 44.45 cm, making it ideal for use by troops in armoured
vehicles, or for pulling out of your jacket and "clearing house".  The Uzi is
particularly nice at close range because of the burst of fire from a weapon not
much bigger than a pistol.  However, long and medium range use is very difficult
because it is not very accurate.



Heavier Weapons
---------------

   The smallest unit of riflemen is usually 10 men, called a section.  Each
section usually has one machine gun and one anti-tank weapon.  Although there is
much criticism of the need of a machine gun when every rifleman has an automatic
rifle, soldiers will all say they need one badly.  Because of its tripod or
rest, the machine gun can fire larger rounds with much more accuracy than a
rifle.

   During WWII it was common for sections to be equiped with light machine guns
with box magazines and belt fed heavier guns for use when sustained firing was
required.  This resulted in a mixture of weapons which all had to be trained
for, and many differening products had to be made.  A need was felt for a
general purpose machine gun (GPMG).

   The British L7A2 is a good example of a GPMG.  It does all the tasks of a
light and heavy machine gun, but is not entirely satisfactory in any of them.
As a light machine gun, it weighs to much at 28 pounds when loaded with a belt
of 30 rounds.  The belt feed can also be cought in undergrowth.  But the belt
feed is a necessity when the gun is fired at 750-1000 rounds per minute.  At
these rates however, the barrel overheats and needs to frequently be replaced.

   All this in mind, there still is no real replacement for the GPMG.  The
Belgian MAG and the L7A2 will still be in the forefront of GPMG's for a long
while.	However, with the introduction of lower caliber ammunition (5.56 mm and
lower), the GPMG may be increased in efficiency.

   Another possibility is the tripoding of light machine guns.	The Israeli
Galil has already been equiped with a bipod and magazine sizes up to 50 rounds.



The Rocket Launcher
-------------------

   The most interesting type of weapon today is the rocket launcher.  The
single-man anti-tank device have had troubles.	The US M72 launches a 66mm
rocket, is not effective against modern tanks unless it is used against the thin
back armour.

   The best anti-tank single-man rocket launcher is undoubtedly the Soviet
RPG-7.	This 40 mm launcher fires an 85 mm rocket-propelled greanade to a max
range of 500 meters.  The shaped explosive charge will penetrate 20 cm of armour
and squirt hot gas and molten armour inside.

   This serious anti-tank deficiency will soon be relieved by the new British
light anti-armour weapon (LAW).  The LAW is a throwaway launcher which fires a
single highly lethal round.  It can destroy any armoured vehicle (including the
formidable Soviet T-72 MBT) at ranges up to 300 meters.  No doubt the Warsaw
pact forces will soon be issued LAW copies instead of the RPG-7.

   Until a while ago, the main anti-tank units were two or three man crews
working recoiless rifles and guns of various types.  The Soviet 73 mm SPG-9
fires a rocket assisted round that does very well even past 1,000 meters.  The
recoiless rifle is not yet dead!

   The increase in rockets on the battlefield ment the increase in various
guidance systems.  There is manual control (from a joystick), and the second is
line-of-sight.	Line-of-sight means the operator simply keeps his target in the
sights, and the rocket will follow it.	However, both the British Swingfire and
Soviet Swatter are manual rockets that work as good as line-of- sighters.

   There is a difference between anti-tank rockets requireing three men, and
those that are carried by a vehicle.  The Frecnh designed MILAN (Missile
d'Infanterie Leger Anti-char) is a line-of-sight that the manufactures say has a
98% chance of striking targets 250-2000 meters away, and it hits hard.	The US
TOW (tube-launched, optically- tracked, wire-guided) missle is a good example of
an easy to operate vehicle mounted missile.

   Light and medium mortars give infantry their own artillery section.	The
British-Canadian ML 81 mm L16 is a highly successful example of a medium mortar,
which can throw out 15 rounds per minute to a max range of 3,200 meters.

   Because of the popularity of blitzkrieg attacks--over running the front lines
and quickly moving armour through into the heartland--infantry needed some sort
of transport faster than walking.  Thus comes the Armoured Personel Carrier
(APC).	APC's are typically mounted with NATO 20 mm cannon, while the Soviets
like a single- shot gun that fires a larger round.  Such armed APC's are called
infantry fighting vehicles (IFV).  The most lavishly equiped is the Soviet
BMP-1, with a 73 mm gun with a coaxially mounted 7.62 mm machine gun.  A
launcher for the "Sagger" anti-tank missle is partitioned over the gun and a
SA-7 anti- aircraft is carried inside it.

   Both the SA-7 and Swedish made RBS 70 from Bofors laser- guided are shoulder
mounted anti-aircraft missles.	This may provide a deterent to aircraft up to
10,000 ft.

   The role of the infantryman will probably stay the same-- to use his personal
rifle to take and hold ground that is important to his commanders.

-------
-*****-   A ZED/NET Production
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---*---  By Writer #1
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-*****- thanx to special forces
------- and the Incorporeal

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